- Hardcover: 264 pages
- Publisher: Parkstone Press; Ubr ed. edition (Mar 1 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1859957501
- ISBN-13: 978-1859957509
- Product Dimensions: 32.8 x 24.8 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,316,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Daring sea voyages undertaken today are routinely monitored by satellite and highly sophisticated technology. It was not always so. In the Middle Ages, navigation was a tenuous balance of art and science. Progress in shipbuilding gave sailors more freedom. Mathematics and compasses encouraged them to set out on longer trips for destinations further and further away. Yet ocean travel remained mysterious and terribly dangerous. Sailors had to rely on their knowledge of the stars, the direction of the wind, the currents, and migrating flocks, and on the lore and wisdom of their fore-fathers. They also relied on handmade maps, crudely but beautifully drawn.
The selection of maps in this handsome book dates from the 12th to the 18th century. While they may appear quite primitive to our eyes, they reveal the steady progress of the earliest seafarers in their determination to conquer the sea. What they lack in geographical accuracy, they make up for in charm. They are fascinating historical documents and an eloquent testimony to the bravery of all those who set out not really knowing where on earth they were going.
About the Author
Wigal holds degrees in music, adult education, and liturgical theology, all of which he has taught at universities, along with Gregorian chant and film education. He also has certification from the Institute for Spiritual Theology and from the University of the City of New York.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
A pure pleasure for the mind and the eyes
July 31 2002
This book is absolutely fascinating! The author has done a wonderful job in speaking of these ancient maps. Although I was not too interested in the subject, I quickly found myself devouring the book! It is a perfect gift for all, both for its iconography and the insight it gives on this remarkable page of our history...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A pure pleasure for the mind and the eyes
July 31 2002
This book is absolutely fascinating! The author has done a wonderful job in speaking of these ancient maps. Although I was not too interested in the subject, I quickly found myself devouring the book! It is a perfect gift for all, both for its iconography and the insight it gives on this remarkable page of our history...
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful
A Major Disappointment
Feb 23 2002
I got suckered by this book. The typos are abominable; the text trite. Sure the maps are good, but most are the same classics you see in any history of maps book.
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