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Renowned map historian Nebenzahl (fellow, Royal Geographical Society) traces not only the discoveries, but also the progress of mapping itself in this awesome collection of reproductions, filmed directly from original manuscripts, woodcuts and engravings. Most of the 50 maps are double page spreads, many with section enlargements revealing the wealth of detail. The text is authoritative and interesting, the entire project an outstanding achievement. 11x141/2". Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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Library Journal Review

This magnificent atlas with 50 beautifully reproduced color plates of maps dating from the 15th and 16th centuries joins the growing literature published to commemorate Columbus's discovery. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 includes a series of maps and charts which may have influenced Columbus in preparing for his first voyage. Among them are a world map of Claudius Ptolemy reprinted in Florence in 1574 and various nautical and portalan charts. Part 2 focuses on maps of Columbus's contemporaries and includes Martin Waldseemuller's famous world map of 1507. The many discoveries of the first half of the 16th century are highlighted in part 3 in maps of the Magellan expedition by Antonio Pigafetta. Part 4 opens with Geradus Mercator's innovative mercator projection of the world (1569) and highlights Francis Drake's depredations in the Spanish West Indies in the detailed charts of Batista Boazio. Expert commentary is provided by renowned map historian Nebenzahl, whose previous works include the Atlas of the American Revolution (Rand McNally, 1974), and Maps of the Holy Land (Abbeville Pr., 1986). There is a four-page bibliography of sources cited in the text. While some of the smaller maps have been reproduced so well that place names can be easily read, other large-scale reductions are useful only for general perspectives. A valuable addition to map collections of most academic and large public libraries.-- Brian E. Coutts, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Nebenzahl is a leading figure in the rare book and map trade and a world-renowned historian of cartography. He introduces his richly illustrated and well-researched work celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America with an examination of the cartographic traditions inherited by Columbus, namely, the geography of Claudius Ptolemy and the portolan sea chart. It was this Ptolemaic tradition that through its misrepresentations of the ocean's breadth between Europe and Asia led to Columbus's belief that a westward journey to the East was possible and to his later conviction that he had sailed among the outer islands of China and Japan. Nebenzahl then moves to the Columbian revolution in cartography and through the 16th century's notable explorations and discoveries, carefully relating how new geographic information found its way onto European maps. The author closes with a selection of increasingly accurate maps of the Americas that reflect the permanent establishment of European influence in the New World in the late 1500s. The map reproductions, the heart of the atlas, number more than 100 with more than 50 maps shown in their entirety. The many detailed enlargements of the New World portions of significant 16th-century world maps, in addition to full reproductions of the world maps themselves, make for a more readable and useful atlas. The high-quality map reproductions, admirable book design, and Nebenzahl's lucid text have combined to produce an exceptionally fine, timely, and engaging atlas of discovery which is recommended to all libraries. -P. L. Stark, University of Oregon