Edward Brooke-Hitching is an author, documentary filmmaker, and incurable cartophile. The son of an antiquarian book dealer, he lives in a dusty heap of old maps and books in London.
"The Phantom Atlas is charmingly written, stunningly illustrated,
and elegantly presented (kudos to designer Keith Williams). Even if
your passport is stamped to a fare-thee-well, this beguiling book
will be an eye-opener - one eye for Arimaspi, four for Nisyti. It
tempts travelers toward destinations they will never reach."
-The Santa Fe New Mexican
""The Phantom Atlas" will prove rewarding for armchair adventurers
and nautical historians. For more intrepid souls, it affords an
indispensable guide to legendary sites or, just possibly, remote
realms waiting to be reclaimed. Don't forget to bring a
camera."
- The Wall Street Journal
"Ever seen a map of the flat world? Or an illustration of the
'Patagonian giants, ' a race of nine-foot-tall humans that graces
16th-century maps of South America? In his curious, illustrated
book, Brooke-Hitching explores the map mistakes of yore, from
innocent mistakes (fog that sailors mistook for islands) to
straight-up lies (fake countries, dreamed up to trick investors out
of money)."
-AFAR magazine
"Excellent. Well researched, crisply written and lavishly
illustrated . . . Beguiling."
-Times Literary Supplement
"Fascinating...Mr. Brooke-Hitching, by examining these erroneous
maps, delves deep into the history of exploration and the
fantastical misconceptions of cartographers."
-Wall Street Journal
"From the magnetic mountain at the north pole to Australia's inland
sea, Edward Brooke-Hitching charts five centuries of
misrepresentative maps."
-The Guardian
"In this atlas of the world 'as it was thought to be, ' cartophile
Brooke-Hitching documents the persistence of fictitious
places-Sandy Island in the eastern Coral Sea, for example,
'existed' a full seven years after the launch of Google Maps. Early
ghost places are understandable, explains the author-maps
exaggerating the might of God's creation were common in the Middle
Ages, for instance, and the dearth of accurate instruments on early
ships are another culprit, as sailors often took mirages or clouds
as landforms. Maps showing such intentional or accidental slips are
apparently legion, and 58 of them, marking well-known "places" such
as Atlantis as well as real locations that were mapped incorrectly
("Korea as an Island") are reproduced in color here, with the
mistake (or wholesale fabrication) outlined in a few absorbing
pages per entry... An intriguing look at how maps can shape our
worldview."
-Library Journal
"Maritime map fanatics rejoice...this compilation of lively,
skillfully illustrated stories about myths, mysteries, and
imaginings as recorded on maps holds something for everyone, young
and old."
-Sea History magazine
"The Phantom Atlas also provides a fascinating glimpse into the
history of map making, and how our view of the world has evolved to
the picture we have today. Editing is a laborious task even today,
and one can only imagine how tough the task was in the Middle Ages,
as cartographers only had limited information and the anecdotes of
wayward seafarers. The temptation is often strong to simply
embellish and fill in the gaps on maps with islands and lands that,
while they tell a good tale, simply do not exist."
-AstroGuyz.com
"This collection of cartographic errors from maps throughout
history provides an entertaining glimpse into the spread of
misinformation during the age of exploration....Cartophiles will
find much to amuse themselves."
-Publishers Weekly
"Unreservedly recommended."
-The Monocle
"What makes Brooke-Hitching's book more than just a collection of
oddities is the emphasis on why these errors happen, and how
relying on religion at the exclusion of science, or valuing
outsider reports ahead of indigenous knowledge, detrimentally
impacted centuries of exploring."
-Hyperallergic
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