The Library of Lost Maps
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3 Months Free
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The Library of Lost Maps
Narrated by:
Elliot Chapman
Buy Now for £13.52
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Narrated by:
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Elliot Chapman
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By:
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James Cheshire
"A beautifully illustrated book." —The Wall Street Journal
"An enlightening and lovingly presented tribute to the necessity and wonder of libraries and archives." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A concise and engrossing study of cartographers' urge to make the world behave." —Kirkus Reviews
Join renowned geographer James Cheshire on a tour through a forgotten collection of maps that shaped over 200 years of Western history.
Tucked just beyond offices and a lecture hall in the heart of London lies a turquoise door. Intrigued, James Cheshire stepped through and was astonished by what he found inside: thousands of maps and atlases, spilling out of wooden drawers. It was a map library.
In The Library of Lost Maps, Cheshire transports us to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when the library’s maps were wielded for war and negotiated during peace; when its charts traced, for the first time, the icy peaks of the Himalayas. Maps have played a vital role in shaping our scientific knowledge of the world, inspiring the theory of plate tectonics and showing the impact of climate change. They have also guided politicians, encouraging both beneficial reforms and horrific conquests, the consequences of which we live with today.
Brimming with surprising discoveries, The Library of Lost Maps unveils the power of maps to remind us of our past and inspire us toward a better future.©2025 James Cheshire (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Critic reviews
A beautifully illustrated book . . . The Library of Lost Maps collects and presents some of the great maps of the past for leisurely perusal. Readers needn’t travel down dusty corridors or through mysterious doors to find them. Although that does sound like fun.
[An] exquisite volume . . . Cheshire not only shares his joy at digging through the archives, but also astutely charts how maps offer a new angle on historical events . . . It amounts to an enlightening and lovingly presented tribute to the necessity and wonder of libraries and archives.
[A] handsomely illustrated study of mapmaking . . . [Cheshire] is an infectious guide, tracing how maps evolved from hand-tinted curiosities to instruments of science, propaganda, and power . . . A concise and engrossing study of cartographers’ urge to make the world behave.
An exquisite homage to the charts that plot the way . . . The Library of Lost Maps is a beautiful book filled with vivid renderings of the maps Cheshire discusses.
Cheshire takes the reader on an inherently fascinating tour through a forgotten collection of maps that shaped the last 200+ years of Western history . . . Unique, special, instructive.
Dozens of nineteenth- and twentieth-century reproductions showcase the inventive graphics and obsessive attention to detail of pre-digital cartographers. Equally impressive are the stories Cheshire tells.
Cheshire describes how early map printing involved making plates from meticulously hand-drawn maps, then etching them before they were individually printed. In addition to maps, Cheshire introduces the creators of early maps and the impact of their work.
Engaging, deeply satisfying and elegantly designed.
The Library of Lost Maps is in one sense an act of remembrance—a rage against the dying of the light, as map libraries are shuttered and their holdings discarded or deaccessioned. It’s certainly a compelling argument against their closure. It also happens to be an absolute delight, one of the best general-interest map books I’ve read in a long while.
An intriguing account of a large but largely overlooked map and atlas library at University College London rediscovered by Cheshire who reveals his many and varied discoveries which touch on subjects such as border control, climate change, and ocean exploration.
I finished it feeling pride in my work as a cartographer . . . and inspired to create visuals that someone may someday want to add to a library of their own. Readers should approach The Library of Lost Maps with the expectation and anticipation of great maps ahead.
Cheshire found a gold mine. His discussion of it will only lead you to seek out other maps.
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