A Mapmaker's Dream

A Mapmaker's Dream
Author: James Cowan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 180
Release: 1997
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780091834999

A compelling work of historical re-creation, philosophical intrigue and spiritural enquiry: a sixteenth century monk struggles to create a complete and perfect map of the world.In sixteenth century Venice, in an island monastery, a cloistered monk experiences the adventure of a lifetime - all within the confines of his cell. Part historical fiction, part philosophical mystery, A Mapmaker's Dream tells the story of Fra Mauro and his struggle to realise his life's work: to make a perfect map - one that represents the full breadth of Creation. News of Mauro's project attracts explorers, pilgrims, travellers and merchants, all eager to contribute their accounts of faraway people and places. As he listens to the tales of the strange and fantastic things they've seen, Mauro comes to regard the world as much more than just continents and kingdoms: that it is also made up of a vast and equally real interior landscape of beliefs, aspirations and dreams. Mauro's map grows and takes shape, becoming both more complete and more incomprehensible. In the process, the boundaries of Mauro's world are pushed to the extreme, raising questions about the relationship between representation, imagination, and the nature of reality itself.Praise for A Mapmaker's Dream:'Full of startling leaps of imagination and thought, this small gem of a book proves that the mind's desire can be seaworthy a vessel as a schooner exploring new world's. US Publishers Weekly'An unquestionably brilliant contemplation of maps, both esoteric and exoteric, that propels the literary traveller into a series of philosophical and meditative twists and turns that never fail to astonish and provoke.' Rudlolph Wurlitzer, author of Hard to Travel to Sacred Places'To read this multilayered journey around the world and across time is to fall headlong into the emotional tumult of an antique map - one with sea serpents devouring ships and fair winds blowing out of cherubs' mouths. James Cowan tells the farthest-flung adventure story through the eyes of a monk who never leaves his cell. And every exotic word works. Dava Sobel, author of Longitude.

A Mapmaker's Dream

A Mapmaker's Dream
Author: James Cowan
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1590305205

In sixteenth-century Venice, in an island monastery, a cloistered monk experiences the adventure of a lifetime—all within the confines of his cell. Part historical fiction, part philosophical mystery, A Mapmaker's Dream tells the story of Fra Mauro and his struggle to realize his life's work: to make a perfect map—one that represents the full breadth of Creation. News of Mauro's projects attracts explorers, pilgrims, travelers, and merchants, all eager to contribute their accounts of faraway people and places. As he listens to the tales of the strange and fantastic things they've seen, Mauro comes to regard the world as much more than continents and kingdoms: that it is also made up of a vast and equally real interior landscape of beliefs, aspirations, and dreams. Mauro's map grows and takes shape, becoming both more complete and incomprehensible. In the process, the boundaries of Mauro's world are pushed to the extreme, raising questions about the relationship between representation, imagination, and the nature of reality itself.

The Mapmakers

The Mapmakers
Author: John Noble Wilford
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 530
Release: 2001-12-04
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0375708502

In his classic text, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner John Noble Wilford recounts the history of cartography from antiquity to the space age. They are among the world's great pioneers and adventurers: the mapmakers who for centuries have been expanding our knowledge of who and where we are, and where we want to go. From the surprisingly accurate silk maps prepared by Chinese cartographers in the second century B.C., to medieval mapmakers who believed they had fixed the location of paradise, through to the expeditions of Columbus and Magellan, John Noble Wilford chronicles the exploits of the great pioneers of mapmaking. Wilford brings the story up to the present day as he shows the impact of new technologies that make it possible for cartographers to go where no one has been before, from the deepest reaches of the universe (where astronomers are mapping time as well as space) to the inside of the human brain. These modern-day mapmakers join the many earlier adventurers—including ancient Greek stargazers, Renaissance seafarers, and the explorers who mapped the American West—whose achievements shape this dramatic story of human inventiveness and limitless curiosity.

The Mapmaker's War

The Mapmaker's War
Author: Ronlyn Domingue
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2013-03-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1451688903

From the critically acclaimed author of The Mercy of Thin Air comes the profound story of a strong, resilient woman who risks everything to be true to herself, “an otherworldly tale that charts the all-too-human territory between heartbreak and hope” (Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night). In an ancient time, in a faraway land, a young woman named Aoife is allowed a rare apprenticeship to become her kingdom’s mapmaker, tasked with charting the entire domain. Traveling beyond its borders, she finds a secretive people who live in peace, among great wealth. They claim to protect a mythic treasure, one connected to the creation of the world. When Aoife reports their existence to her kingdom, the community is targeted as a threat. Aoife is exiled for treason and finds refuge among the very people who had been declared her enemy. With them, she begins a new life surrounded by kindness, equality, and cooperation. But within herself, Aoife has no peace. She cannot share the grief she feels for the home and children she left behind, nor can she bear the warrior scars of the man she comes to love. And when she gives birth to their gifted daughter, Aoife cannot avoid what the child forces her to confront about her past and its truth. On this most important of journeys, there is no map to guide her.

A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State

A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State
Author: Pat Murphy
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Total Pages: 17
Release: 2012-07-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1611873916

Traveling across the Martian polar cap, the second TransPolar Expedition is tracing the shape of the hidden lands beneath the ice and snow, but the world is not all that it seems on the surface. Beneath the polar ice lies danger and discovery.

On the Map

On the Map
Author: Simon Garfield
Publisher: Avery
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1592407803

Examines the pivotal relationship between mapping and civilization, demonstrating the unique ways that maps relate and realign history, and shares engaging cartography stories and map lore.

Map: Assembling the World in An Image

Map: Assembling the World in An Image
Author: Phaidon Editors
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2015-09-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780714869445

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves. Selected by an international panel of cartographers, academics, map dealers and collectors, the maps represent over 5,000 years of cartographic innovation drawing on a range of cultures and traditions. Comprehensive in scope, this book features all types of map from navigation and surveys to astronomical maps, satellite and digital maps, as well as works of art inspired by cartography. Unique curated sequence presents maps in thought-provoking juxtapositions for lively, stimulating reading. Features some of the most influential mapmakers and institutions in history, including Gerardus Mercator, Abraham Ortelius, Phyllis Pearson, Heinrich Berann, Bill Rankin, Ordnance Survey and Google Earth. Easy-to-use format, with large reproductions, authoritative texts and key caption information, it is the perfect introduction to the subject. Also features a comprehensive illustrated timeline of the history of cartography, biographies of leading cartographers and a glossary of cartographic terms.

Maps of the Imagination

Maps of the Imagination
Author: Peter Turchi
Publisher: Trinity University Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2011-06-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1595340947

Maps of the Imagination takes us on a magic carpet ride over terrain both familiar and exotic. Using the map as a metaphor, fiction writer Peter Turchi considers writing as a combination of exploration and presentation, all the while serving as an erudite and charming guide. He compares the way a writer leads a reader though the imaginary world of a story, novel, or poem to the way a mapmaker charts the physical world. "To ask for a map," says Turchi, "is to say, ‘Tell me a story.’ " With intelligence and wit, the author looks at how mapmakers and writers deal with blank space and the blank page; the conventions they use or consciously disregard; the role of geometry in maps and the parallel role of form in writing; how both maps and writing serve to re-create an individual’s view of the world; and the artist’s delicate balance of intuition with intention. A unique combination of history, critical cartography, personal essay, and practical guide to writing, Maps of the Imagination is a book for writers, for readers, and for anyone interested in creativity. Colorful illustrations and Turchi’s insightful observations make his book both beautiful and a joy to read.

Race To The End Of The World

Race To The End Of The World
Author: A. L. Tait
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2014-10-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0734415788

Shortlisted for The Readings Children's Book Prize 2015 Adventure and danger lie just off the edge of the map in this swashbuckling new trilogy! Quinn's older brothers may long for adventure, but he is content with a quiet life on the farm. Destiny, however, has other plans. The King is determined to create the first map of the world and has scoured the kingdom for boys who could become mapmakers. When Quinn is chosen for the King's training school, he's amazed - but that is nothing compared to his shock when he is selected as one of the three mapmakers and finds himself on board a ship, competing for the big prize. So begins Quinn's reluctant journey deep into the unknown, on a ship captained by a slave, with a stowaway girl on board, and a mysterious sea monster that seems to be following them. Hot on their trail are the other competitors for the King's prize, who will stop at nothing to win. The Mapmaker Chronicles: Race to the End of the World is packed with action, adventure and intrigue, as Quinn battles unexpected enemies, discovers strange new lands and tries to conceal two very big secrets from his crewmates... 'Not since Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest series has there been such an exciting adventure tale from an Australian author' - Readings The Mapmaker Chronicles 1. Race to the End of the World 2. Prisoner of the Black Hawk 3. Breath of the Dragon (October 2015)

Kepler's Dream

Kepler's Dream
Author: John Lear
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2023-11-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0520323203

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1965.