Mapping America
The Amazing Story of America's Birth as Told Through Maps
There is a fascinating visual window on the birth of America which has been long ignored by modern historians: the hand-colored, printed map and engraving. Maps were the most popular mass medium of their time, bringing home the thrill of undiscovered lands. In later centuries, as Europe’s major powers battled for control of the American continents, they gained a new imperative as political propaganda. That incredible story is the subject of Mapping America.
How Period Maps Change our Perception of America's Origins
From the exotic and fanciful maps of Renaissance explorers to the magnificent maps of the Golden Age and the thrilling battle-maps and charts of the American Revolutionary War, this richly detailed book is filled with 180 color images.
Asbury and Isbouts show how:
• The founding of the United States was the fulfillment of Renaissance ideals: scientific
discovery, freedom of expression, and individual empowerment
• Many diverse, indigenous cultures flourished in the Pre-Columbian Era
• English colonists focused on peaceful settlement rather than pure exploitation
• European conflicts spread to American colonies, thus setting the stage for war
• The colonies faced great odds to defeat the greatest military power on earth
• Period maps and engravings offer a unique window on the drama of America’s birth.
MAPPING AMERICA is a compelling and lushly illustrated narrative that offers a new and immersive look at the ambition, the struggle, and the glory that attended and defined the exploration and making of America.
The book is now available from Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million or Amazon.
