This is a large and diverse collection of images of maps and plans , some illustrations are quite small in size, from different countries and periods . It is labelled a book of "historical and curious " maps and some are unusual . There is a mix of colour and black and white illustrations. The book comprises 122 pages but some pages show more than one image. Frankly I was disappointed as this book contains no information or background narrative who the cartographer was and for many the date of publication is missing . I is definitely not a Tooley or a Skelton . But the angle to this book is that this is a computer based resource and these maps are to be used via the enclosed CD rom inserted into your computer . I suppose it is a sign of the times to publish a book almost as an addendum to a disc. Now don't dare separate book from the disc. It is all about visual graphics and the map as an image and you can decorate your stationery or perhaps even a book plate with a map, but read the online terms and conditions. It is hardly a serious work of cartography . I would have thought that gathering all these maps and plans between covers then would have demanded explanation and analysis . The book came to me shrink wrapped because of the CD and perhaps I would not have bought it had I opened it up, It was a case of judging a book by the cover and the outside blurb (in fact the blurb comes in eight languages ) . It is a Pepin press publication ( a Dutch company ) and printed in Singapore . I can only rank it at 2 stars, ie it only just keeps its place in my library . ( )

This is a coffee-table sized collection of unusual and very early maps. Some of the maps predate written language, many others were made before themiddle ages.

There are maps with projections we don't often see. There are maps of continents made long before those continents were mapped very accurately in outline. Some maps are more like pictographs, made by ancient civilizations.

The book provides a perspective on the many forms maps have taken over human history, as wel as the progress toward accuracy and detail achieved the last few centuries.

Another aspect of the book is to show the different styles of map layouts. Many early maps were elabortely decorated around the edges while others employed very fancy fonts for labeling within the map boundaries. Various styles of portraying water bodies and different topology for land surfaces are illustrated as well.

The book is a good reference of at least some of the many styles maps have taken over several millenia. ( )