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Folded, detailed street map of multi-city metropolitan Los Angeles area, with inset map L.A. freeway system. Includes Hollywood. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

california map
This map is ok if you need the lamination; however, it doesn't have as much detail as a regular Rand McNally map, so be forewarned.It's alright if you're not going anywhere tricky or improvising a lot on the fly. ... Read more

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Condensing centuries of history into one volume, Cities of the World traces the historic form and special character of the world's greatest cities through a breathtaking collection of maps and panoramic views. Peter Whitfield focuses on more than sixty cities--from Athens to Brasilia, Washington to Moscow, San Francisco to Saigon, and Venice to Lhasa. He presents an extremely wide range of maps, historic prints, and photographs from many periods that show how the architectural form and the social life of our cities have been shaped--not only by their geographical setting, but also by religion, royal power, commerce, social ideals, and occasionally artistic vision. These images illustrate the historic heart of the cities: the ancient harbors, the hilltop fortresses, the encircling walls, and the houses, churches, and palaces that have been added over the centuries. For the armchair traveler or anyone passionate about the history of human civilization, this beautiful, unique book captures the richness of the urban fabric and reflects the collective memory of each metropolis.
Cities of the World demonstrates how the city was linked to the birth and progress of civilization itself, how it has acted as a focus for ideas and technologies, arts and sciences, and even religious devotion. It shows the ways that some cities grew slowly into haphazard, unplanned beauties, while others were shaped by the will of masterful individuals. Whitfield chose the cities featured here not only because they are richly and beautifully illustrated, but also because they demonstrate a notion of spirit--an outward and inward uniqueness.
Many of these historic maps have a pictorial quality that vanished long ago from the functional town-plan. Depicting the classical city-state, the medieval fortress, the baroque capital, and the industrial metropolis, the sumptuous illustrations in this book chronicle how simple outlines found on Babylonian clay tablets evolved into the stylized pictures of medieval times and spectacular bird's-eye panoramic views, finally culminating in the highly functional mass-produced maps of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Wonderfully evocative of the places they depict and the artistic tastes of their time, these maps shed new light on civilization itself, with all of its contradictions, shortcomings, energy, and aspirations.
Copub: British Library ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Substantial
This book is suitable for a coffee table, but also could be considered a college planning course text book.As a geographer, I found this book intriging and filled with information about the development of cities, as well as many maps, both modern and historic.

A thin, lazy, uninteresting book
The worst anthology of maps I have ever encountered, lacking depth or a point of view, and with no historical or cartographic intelligence. How can you reveal anything about a place ot a culture with two maps? How can you pretend to say anything about Rome or its cartographic history without Nolli's 1748 masterpiece? A ridiculous effort.

A Unique Way to Show History
The author has collected some 150 maps from the history of about sixty cities from around the world. I expected these maps to be beautiful works of art, but I didn't expect that the differences in the maps would show much more than that. The nature of the maps seem to show a lot about how the map maker viewed the city. The maps date from several hundred years ago when map makers were not all using Mercator projection in a more or less standard fashion.

Here are maps of many styles. Some show the roads of a city, some show the fortifications, some are more concerned with making a pictorial representation of the city. ==As the subtitle of the book says, here in only a few pages the history of the city can be seen. The cities grow, and the view of the city changes with the will and skill of the map maker.

This book gives me a completely different view of maps and what they can show. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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San Diego freeways & major streets, detailed inset maps of downtown San Diego & Tijuana, places of interest, city & community index. ... Read more

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Using more than five hundred historical maps from collections around the world, this stunning book is the first to tell the story of America's past from a unique geographical perspective. Covering more than half a millennium in U.S. history--from conception to colonization to Hurricane Katrina--this atlas documents the discoveries and explorations, the intrigue and negotiations, the technology and the will that led the United States to become what it is today. Richly detailed, visually breathtaking maps are accompanied by extended captions that elucidate the stories and personalities behind their creation.
Coasts and mountains, rivers and lakes, and peaks and plains are described by explorers encountering them for the first time. These maps can convey explorers' ideas of what lay over the mountains ahead, their notions about what was discovered, and their explanations of the land's potential for sponsors back home. The maps can also show a promoter's attempt to sell his project to settlers or a general's assessment of a coming battle. They chart the wars that created and molded the country: the French and Indian War and the War for Independence; the Mexican and Civil Wars; the numerous Indian wars; as well as more localized battles of conquest and survival. Readers can follow the progression of map creation and design as more knowledge was gained about the American continent.
Distilling an enormous amount of information into one handsome volume, the Historical Atlas of the United States highlights the evolution of geographical knowledge at the same time that it presents a fascinating chronicle of the expansion and development of a nation.
Copub: Douglas & McIntyre ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great read from afar
Purchased this book to gain an appreciation of the US before visiting from Australia next year. Absolutely fascinating - how many folks know New York was once known as New Amsterdam ?. Delightful and easy to read. Fairly general in it's treatment of history but the maps tell the story of early exploration, failures and finally establishing permanent European presence. Picks up all the significant historical events until the last decade or so and certainly offers the reader an understanding of the how events shaped the nation and its people. For example,I never really new much about the differences between the North and South, and who and what they stood for.The Gettysburg address holds more significance for me now, as does Dukes of Hazard with the Confederate flag painted on the side of the General Lee... has a whole new meaning.... Haven't finished reading and the only downside is I need to keep referring to a modern map of the US as I am yet to learn where most places are. Quality of pictures, print and bindings are all terrific.

Dad loved it.
We it for my father who is a big History buff.He liked it a lot.

Awesome book on US History
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in US history, geography and maps.The narrative along with an amazing collection of maps from the time of Columbus up to the 21st century tell the story of the United States in a whole new way.Once you open this book, you will have a hard time putting it down!

Great Service!
Fast shipping - couldn't find in bookstore, so was excited to be able to find it here for my son-in-law

BEAUTIFUL REFERENCE BOOK
I purchased this book as an aid in understanding the geography of the United States at different periods in history, and it has fulfilled my expectations perfectly.I am writing a biography and this has filled in my lack of knowledge of how people moved from one area to another in the past, when territories became states, the building of the first railroads, who the first nations were who settled the eastern seaboard, and many other details pertinent to my research. ... Read more