LEADER 04316nam 2200721 a 450 001 9910459090203321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-282-90461-2 010 $a9786612904615 010 $a0-226-53432-4 024 7 $a10.7208/9780226534329 035 $a(CKB)2670000000060974 035 $a(EBL)616051 035 $a(OCoLC)690162717 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000427254 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11306268 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000427254 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10406004 035 $a(PQKB)10283522 035 $a(StDuBDS)EDZ0000123122 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC616051 035 $a(DE-B1597)524586 035 $a(OCoLC)956669523 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780226534329 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL616051 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10432642 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL290461 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000060974 100 $a20031218d2004 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aRhumb lines and map wars$b[electronic resource] $ea social history of the Mercator projection /$fMark Monmonier 210 $aChicago $cUniversity of Chicago Press$dc2004 215 $a1 online resource (257 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-226-53431-6 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 207-229) and index. 327 $aBearings straight? an introduction -- Early sailing charts -- Mercator's re?sume? -- Revealing replicas -- The Wright approach -- Travelers' aide -- Soldiering on -- On track -- Wall maps and worldviews -- Size matters -- Points of view. 330 $aIn Rhumb Lines and Map Wars, Mark Monmonier offers an insightful, richly illustrated account of the controversies surrounding Flemish cartographer Gerard Mercator's legacy. He takes us back to 1569, when Mercator announced a clever method of portraying the earth on a flat surface, creating the first projection to take into account the earth's roundness. As Monmonier shows, mariners benefited most from Mercator's projection, which allowed for easy navigation of the high seas with rhumb lines-clear-cut routes with a constant compass bearing-for true direction. But the projection's popularity among nineteenth-century sailors led to its overuse-often in inappropriate, non-navigational ways-for wall maps, world atlases, and geopolitical propaganda. Because it distorts the proportionate size of countries, the Mercator map was criticized for inflating Europe and North America in a promotion of colonialism. In 1974, German historian Arno Peters proffered his own map, on which countries were ostensibly drawn in true proportion to one another. In the ensuing "map wars" of the 1970's and 1980's, these dueling projections vied for public support-with varying degrees of success. Widely acclaimed for his accessible, intelligent books on maps and mapping, Monmonier here examines the uses and limitations of one of cartography's most significant innovations. With informed skepticism, he offers insightful interpretations of why well-intentioned clerics and development advocates rallied around the Peters projection, which flagrantly distorted the shape of Third World nations; why journalists covering the controversy ignored alternative world maps and other key issues; and how a few postmodern writers defended the Peters worldview with a self-serving overstatement of the power of maps. Rhumb Lines and Map Wars is vintage Monmonier: historically rich, beautifully written, and fully engaged with the issues of our time. 606 $aMercator projection (Cartography) 606 $aCartography$xSocial aspects 606 $aLoxodrome 606 $aPeters projection (Cartography) 606 $aNavigation 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aMercator projection (Cartography) 615 0$aCartography$xSocial aspects. 615 0$aLoxodrome. 615 0$aPeters projection (Cartography) 615 0$aNavigation. 676 $a526/.82 686 $aND 8570$2rvk 700 $aMonmonier$b Mark S$0276408 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910459090203321 996 $aRhumb lines and map wars$92055572 997 $aUNINA