Posthistoire: Has History Come to an End?

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on December 1, 1993. The length of the article is 1062 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Posthistoire: Has History Come to an End? (book reviews)
Author: Christopher Kent
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 1993
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: v28 Issue: n3 Page: p640(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

One atlas you don't want to shrug off!

Great resource, fascinating reading for history fans

My highest recommendation - A great piece of work!

America Discovered: A Historical Atlas of Exploration
Derek Hayes
Manufacturer: Douglas & McIntyre
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Expeditions & Discoveries | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Historical | Atlases & Maps | Reference | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1553650492

Book Description

Map researcher Derek Hayes applies his signature approach to a collection of maps that trace the discovery, exploration, and settlement of North America from 1000 A.D. to the present. Rich narratives make over 300 beautiful maps come alive, with North America's coasts, waterways, prairies, and peaks freshly described by explorers such as Columbus, Coronado, and Lewis and Clark as they encounter these territories for the first time. A final spread discusses modern scientific exploration and includes a detailed catalog and index of the maps.

Customer Reviews:

One atlas you don't want to shrug off!.......2004-12-10

This beautiful book takes you on a guided tour of the geographical exploration of America. And it does that by showing and explaining over 300 of the maps explorers created while discovering North America. Many of these maps are richly detailed and visually stunning. The seven-page map catalog in the back of the book "sums up" these maps by providing the page on which the map appears, map name, map author, and source. Some of these are in vaults and not available for public viewing.

Hayes is a solid researcher and you can trust his work. That scored big points with me, because I've recently come across several books that present themselves as factual--when in reality they are poorly-researched and full of misinformation.

Unlike some authors, Hayes honors his contract with the reader.

Hayes combines his solid research with a writing style that brings the subject to life, warts and all. The journey he takes you on starts in 1000 AD and continues to the present day. With Hayes as your guide, you follow the explorers as they discover North America and its wonders. These include the wide prairies, complicated coastal waterways, expansive rivers, and many mountains that make North America such a geographical treasure trove.

Hayes does a good job of arranging the maps by area and era. For example, he looks at the West and starts with maps from the earliest years of exploration and then proceeds to the most recent maps. Through Hayes' narrative, you see history unfold as though you are there watching the explorers themselves. We see their human side, which is sometimes self-defeating. Hayes uses a combination of objective observation and witty commentary to provide a tour that is both informative and entertaining.

The maps in this book reflect the knowledge and the ignorance of the times in which they were drawn. For example, the obsession with a "Northwest Passage" across the continent--a short trade route to China--caused many mapmakers to draw in waterways that weren't there. Other mapmakers would then copy and propagate the mythological features.

I found myself reading this book with my tabletop globe at my side. As Hayes discussed the various islands, bays, rivers, and other features, I wanted to know where each one was and how it fit into the overall map. I also found myself frequently comparing the explorers' maps to the globe and chuckling as Hayes revealed how this or that map differed from reality--and why.

Because I have an interest in geography, I would have been satisfied with just the maps and some brief explanatory text. And I think even someone not especially interested in geography would have found such a book worth sitting down with for an afternoon if that's all it contained, because these maps are just so intriguing. But, there's more. Far more.

Yes, I've already said Hayes also explained other things. But, he didn't throw in a few "human interest" tidbits about the explorers. He told the story behind the story. The stories of the political machinations that drove many of these explorations would have made an interesting book in its own right. So, now the reader gets this great set of geography lessons while also enjoying the kinds of plot twists you might expect from a good novel. Great stuff!

Get this book for your tabletop, if you want something visually impressive for your visitors. Read this book, if you want a great read that leaves you with an impressive knowledge of the exploration of North America.

Great resource, fascinating reading for history fans.......2004-12-01

The early settlers, investors, missionaries, traders, and other explorers of the North American continent had rough hand-drawn maps or no maps at all to guide them. As a result many of them made their own maps as they traveled. The tremendous variety of these hand-drawn maps makes this collection of maps and historical information fascinating reading.

The book is loosely organized along historical lines although maps with a similar theme are placed together. For example, some of the chapters, and therefore map collections, include "Seeking Furs and Lost Souls, Finding the Mississippi, West from Carolina, Ascending the Missouri, Crossing the Mountains, Russian Alaska, The Emigrant Trails, and The Great Western Surveys.

These are high quality copies of the original maps and a treasure to anyone interested in history. It includes many well-written historical accounts of the explorers and other travelers to augment the maps. While it is an excellent choice for a library addition, America Discovered: A Historical Atlas of North American Exploration is a joy to read and belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in the history of the North America.

My highest recommendation - A great piece of work!.......2004-11-23

Derek Hayes' new book, "America Discovered: A Historical Atlas of North American Exploration," should appeal to the members of a number of literary categories, both ordinary and scholarly. First, for those who simply enjoy beautiful coffee-table books, this is one you can be proud to display as the artwork and colorful maps meet the highest standard. Second, if you are an American history buff, this book will enthrall you with its vivid recollections of early continental exploration and later discoveries and settlement across the Western frontier. Third, if you love maps or are into cartography, either as an avocation or as a profession, you will appreciate the numerous historical maps included in the work. Fortunately, I am a member of all three groups, so I especially appreciated Hayes' contribution to my personal library.

The author is a trained geographer and map researcher. He attended the University of Hull and the University of British Columbia and has spent many years traveling the world collecting and researching historical maps. This is the fifth historical atlas that Hayes has written and designed. I want to make a special point of "written and designed." There are many American history texts which cover the same period and topics which Hayes does in this book. But how many of them are "designed" to be aesthetically pleasing as well as meeting the highest levels of scholarship. I have some insight into that matter since I taught American history for a number of years. There are not very many books about American history that are both beautifully designed, worth spending time just to contemplate the illustrations, and still exhibit a text worth reading for its own sake.

The features and structure of "America Discovered: A Historical Atlas of North American Exploration" can be briefly stated. There are two hundred and eighty maps included in the book, covering a period of time from the fifteenth century to the twentieth century. This means that the reader can view maps created by cartographers at the "initial discovery" of America by European adventurers, based on the knowledge of the time, and follow the progression of map creation and design as more and more knowledge is gained about the American continent. It is interesting to note, for instance, that many of the early maps depict the present state of California as an island rather than attached to the American mainland (I didn't know that!). And for those who like geographic trivia, let it be known that this major inaccuracy about California continued even into the nineteenth century. Besides the many maps, there are a number of illustrations displaying persons and events of significance to American history. At the end of the book the author provides a map catalog with some facts about each map, a selected bibliography so readers can continue on with other resources, and a comprehensive index of topics. Lastly, the book is printed on acid-free paper which means it will virtually last forever.

Most of my book reviews are nine-hundred to a thousand words in length. This one is not. Why not? Simply because I can find nothing negative at all to say about this superb piece of writing and craftmanship. (Maybe there is a typo somewhere in the text, but if so, I couldn't spot it.) I highly recommend this book to everyone, regardless of whether or not you fit into one of the categories I named in the first paragraph. If you are a true bibliophile, like I am, you will appreciate this addition to your personal library. But a warning or two might be prudent. Older children and teenagers may find the maps in this book so captivating that the book might suffer the damage of overuse. In that case, it might be advisable to purchase two copies: one to use and one to cherish. Moreover, if you decide to purchase one as a gift for a relative or friend, be aware. Once you actually see the quality of this publication, you won't want to part with it. In that case, it might be advisable to purchase two copies: one as a gift and one for you to cherish. I think at this point, I've said enough. Any more said would merely be redundant.

Average customer rating:

Historical Atlas of the Arctic
Derek Hayes
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0295983582

Book Description

The vast empty spaces of the Poles were the last frontier to be assailed by explorers intent on achieving a geographical goal--the North Pole was finally reached in 1909. But long before that men sailed the seas searching for an easier and shorter path to the riches of the orient, and the mapmakers of the day translated sparse information, turning it into often stunningly beautiful maps. The fact that most of the information required to make such a map was missing or erroneous mattered little; the maps live on as testimony to hopes and dreams.

The idea that the Arctic Ocean was an open sea, unable to freeze due to movement and size, drove early mariners to attempt to sail across the top of the world to reach the spices of the east. In so doing, maps were made showing the routes men thought they could take, and the routes they actually took, which were usually vastly different.

Book Description

From the sponsorship of early explorers by rival European powers to the creation of a new world empire in the Americas, Historical Atlas of Exploration chronicles what is still seen as the biggest land grab in history. Developed in association with the National Maritime Museum, the book is an exciting, comprehensive guide to the Great Age of Exploration, when humankind's new-found ambition and quest for knowledge created an age of adventure and discovery across uncharted territories. Organized chronologically and working within an atlas format, the book covers: biographies of the famous navigators of the day, the voyages they undertook, and the ships they sailed; full-color maps that chart the gradual discovery of new lands; and a continuous timeline of dates and events. Among the explorers and topics covered are: Africa in the 15th century and the landings of Gonalo Cabral and Bartolomeo Dias; navigation in the 16th century, Christopher Columbus, the Pinzn Brothers, and Pnfilo de Narvez; Vasco de Gama, Pedro Cabral, and sea routes to the Indies; and John Cabot, Ponce de Len, Giovanni da Verrazzano, and the exploration of North America.

Customer Reviews:

useful book with minor flaws.......2002-09-12

As a Social Studies teacher I found this book useful and informative. I like the charts and maps and the information is well organized. I was surprised at information left out that would create a clearer picture of who these explorers were. For example, we learn that a crew member on Columbus's ship spotted land first but not that Columbus took the credit and the reward.We learn that La Navidad is destroyed and the settlers killed but not that the settlers were cutting off the hands of the Indians who didn't bring gold.

Informative, exceptionally well presented, timeline history........2000-09-06

This survey of the history of exploration provides an excellent chronological coverage which pairs biographies of the sailors involved with details of the voyages they undertook and the ships they used. Maps, color illustrations and charts provide a fine timeline of events and dates.

National Geographic Expeditions Atlas (National Geographic)

Average customer rating:

Hundreds of historic and modern photos and over sixty maps
A Timeless Atlas!

National Geographic Expeditions Atlas (National Geographic)
National Geographic Society
Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792276167
Release Date: 2000-06-01

Amazon.com

No matter where you go, someone had to be there first. The National Geographic Expeditions Atlas looks at more than 100 years of National Geographic Society-funded or -chronicled explorations to the poles, undersea, skyward, and into our past. Though it contains plenty of maps from many eras covering small and large scales, the book is more a beautifully illustrated travelogue of adventure than an atlas proper; few will complain, however. The photography is transcendent, skimming the very best of National Geographic's deservedly respected work to reveal the depths of ice caves, the heights of Everest, never-before-recorded ruins, and hundreds of exhausted explorers. Even the most thoroughgoing stay-at-homes will find themselves pining for the fjords as they read the exploits of the daredevils and scientists who roam the frontiers or create new ones. The writing is subdued, but it pays careful attention to details, humanizing the men and women involved and bringing their day-to-day struggles to vibrant life. Jacques Cousteau, Theodore Roosevelt, Louis and Mary Leakey, Amelia Earhart, Jane Goodall, and John Glenn are some of the famous names on the roster of National Geographic explorers--and the introductory timeline highlights an encouraging trend toward more and more adventurers and expeditions as the years advance. The more you read, the more tempted you'll be to join them yourself. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Founded more than 112 years ago "for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge," the National Geographic Society has chronicled the exploits of some of the most famous explorers of the 20th century, and often helped fund those efforts. Roald Amundsen and Robert Byrd. Hiram Bingham and Howard Carter. Charles Lindbergh and Alan Shepard. Jacques Cousteau. Edmund Hillary. Will Steger. Bob Ballard. John Glenn.

In addition, the Society has reported on a different sort of explorer: anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, for example, primatologists Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, and archaeologists such as Matthew Stirling and Kent Weeks.

National Geographic Expeditions Atlas, illustrated with hundreds of historic and contemporary photographs and more than 60 maps (both vintage and new), celebrates the achievements of Society luminaries. Some, like mountaineer Barry Bishop and diver Luis Marden, have been staff members. Many have contributed to the Society's official journal, National Geographic magazine: Amazonian explorer Loren McIntyre, for example; divers Sylvia Earle and David Doubilet; adventurer-scientists Joseph Rock and Roy Chapman Andrews; cartographer Bradford Washburn; mariners Amos Burg and Robin Lee Graham. Also part of Geographic's family: winners of the Hubbard and Grosvenor Medals, and recipients of the nearly 7,000 grants awarded by the Society over the past century to support scientific and geographic explorations.

National Geographic Expeditions Atlas is dedicated not only to all Geographic explorers past and present, but also to the enduring spirit that makes such expeditions possible: an insatiable thirst for knowledge about our planet and everything in it.

Customer Reviews:

Hundreds of historic and modern photos and over sixty maps .......2006-08-18

The National Geographic Society was founded over a hundred years ago to foster geographic knowledge, and its latest EXPEDITIONS ATLAS reports on some of the most famous explorers of the 20th century who furthered knowledge of world geography - including scientists and researchers. Hundreds of historic and modern photos and over sixty maps pack EXPEDITIONS ATLAS to trace the achievements, motivations and experiences of such famous explorers as diver Sylvia Earle and cartographer Bradford Washburn. These are adventurers who deserve every bit as much recommendation as the more famous Hillary, Lindbergh and Cousteau - all names also included here - and who deserve and receive the recognition. EXPEDITIONS ATLAS thus fosters a far greater set of insights into world exploration and discovery than the usual focus on adventurers alone.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

A Timeless Atlas!.......2000-06-21

This is a great addition to your adventure books library! People have been seeking adventure since the beginning of time and there is still much to be discovered. This book is a great sampling of those adventurers both past and present who dared to venture beyond traditional boundaries and who have brought us a better understanding of this phenomenal world we live in. I plan on giving this book as gifts to my adventure-seeking friends!

Historical Atlas of Expeditions (Historical Atlas)

Average customer rating:

Not an atlas, but useful just the same
Follows the journeys of adventurers around the world

Historical Atlas of Expeditions (Historical Atlas)
Karen Farrington
Manufacturer: Checkmark Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0816044325

Customer Reviews:

Not an atlas, but useful just the same.......2001-10-19

This book is really mis-titled, as the maps are only a minor part of it. It does have great pictures and graphics and good basic information about many explorers. I would recommend it as a reference, but not as an atlas!

Follows the journeys of adventurers around the world.......2001-02-06

Karen Farrington's Historical Atlas of Expeditions follows the journeys of adventurers around the world, using the atlas format to provide a set of maps on famous explorers, their expeditions, and their encounters. From the machines they used to the concepts they based their travels on, this provides timelines, maps and plenty of easy at-a-glance details.

Atlas of the Lewis & Clark Expedition (The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Vol. 1)

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Atlas of the Lewis & Clark Expedition (The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Vol. 1)
Meriwether Lewis , and William Clark
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0803228619

Book Description

When the Corps of Discovery left the vicinity of St. Louis in 1804 to explore the American West, they had only sketchy knowledge of the terrain that they were to cross—existing maps often contained large blank spaces and wild inaccuracies. William Clark painstakingly mapped every mile of the journey, drawing from both direct observation and from the reports of Indians and a few fur traders. On their return Lewis and Clark directed the execution of new maps detailing with remarkable accuracy the features of the country that they had traversed.

Average customer rating:

Extraordinary Atlas of the Lost Missouri of Lewis & Clark
Destined to be a classic in its field
Big Book a Dispointment

Atlas of Lewis & Clark in Missouri
James D. Harlan , and James M. Denny
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0826214738

Book Description

The Atlas of Lewis and Clark in Missouri is a splendid re-creation of the natural landscape in the days when a vast western frontier was about to be explored. The Corps of Discovery's expedition began in territorial Missouri, and this book of impecable computer-generated maps opens an extraordinary window onto the rivers, land, and settlement patterns of the period. This book is an intensive examination of the Missouri portion of the expedition through a series of twenty-seven maps developed by combining early-nineteenth-century U.S. General Land Office (GLO) survey documents with narratives of the trip derived from expedition journals.

"For years to come the Atlas of Lewis and Clark in Missouri will serve scholars and Lewis and Clark aficionados alike as the standard geographic reference work on the great expedition's Missouri chapters. The combined maps and text convey a sense of time and place that will enable armchair explorers to experience vicariously the Corps of Discovery's laborious trek across Missouri."-William E. Foley

Customer Reviews:

Extraordinary Atlas of the Lost Missouri of Lewis & Clark.......2004-01-06

In the spring of 2001, National Geographic Magazine editor Bill Allen was shown a map of the historic Missouri River of Lewis & Clark created by University of Missouri geographer and cartographer James D. Harlan. It was immediately recognized it as a one-of-a-kind historical gem. In the April 2002 issue of National Geographic, the magazine featured Harlan's extraordinary maps recreating the natural landscape along the Missouri River as seen by the Corps of Discovery on their outward and home bound journeys in 1804 and 1806.

It was my priviledge to write the NGM article. I've watched Harlan and historian James Denny at work in the field and cannot underscore enough the enormity and significance of what they have accomplished with their monumental work-- Atlas of Lewis and Clark in Missouri. It includes 27 detailed computer-generated maps developed from early 19th-century survey documents that digitally replace today's Missouri River with the historic river as it was when the explorers passed through territorial Missouri.

The maps depict the course of the Corps of Discovery, precisely locating their campsites and stopping points, as well as landscape features noted by the explorers in their journals. Profound changes in the Missouri River's course over the past 200 years due to flooding, earthquakes, meandering and alterations by the Corps of Engineers to improve navigation have rendered it impossible until now to accurately match the descriptions in the explorers' journals with locations along today's river.

Harlan and Denny's atlas with its richly researched and beautifully written accompanying 70,000 word essay provides readers with an extraordinary window on a landscape thought until now to be lost. Little has been written about the work of surveyors who mapped the Missouri between 1815-1819 between St. Louis and Kansas City, a decade after the return of the Corps of Discovery. Using 21st century computer technology, Harlan has brought their detailed landscape observations collected in handwritten field notebooks alive again. The result is a collection of beautifully presented and historically accurate maps that match up precisely with Lewis & Clark's journal entries.

Authors Harlan and Denny know the landscapes they present in their atlas firsthand. Lewis and Clark scholars and affectionados across the country have sung their praises from the moment the maps and atlas were released. Both are in high demand across the state and beyond its borders. This is an atlas to be read, savored, and revisited by Missourians and anyone else in love with exploration. This labor of love and talent is as close as one could hope to ever get to experiencing the Missouri River as the Corps of Discovery did 200 years ago. Bravo Harlan and Denny for giving us back the lost Missouri River of Lewis and Clark!

Destined to be a classic in its field.......2003-12-30

This monumental book by James D. Harlan and James M. Denny is a remarkable feat of cartographic reproduction of the journey of Lewis and Clark up the Mississippi from the mouth of the Ohio River to the mouth of the Missouri River and then up the Missouri River to the Nebraska/Iowa border in 1803 and 1804, followed by a commentary on the return journey through Missouri in 1806 in addition to four map plates illustrating the historical land cover of the Missouri River valley in what is now the State of Missouri. The creation of these maps by James D. Harlan represents a painstakingly detailed analysis of original survey maps of the river cross referenced to Lewis and Clark journal entries to create as close a representation of the Missouri River as it passes through what is now the State of Missouri in the time of Lewis and Clark as is likely to ever be achieved. The beautifully reproduced map plates are accompanied by a thorougly researched and spledidly written text providing a highly readable, clear and coherent description of the journey through Missouri by James M. Denny. In my estimation this book will be the book all past as well as future attempts to describe and cartographically render any portions of the Lewis and Clark journey will be measured by. The authors, as well as the University of Missouri Press are to be commended for this amazing book.

Big Book a Dispointment.......2003-12-27

This book didn't arrive until December after I ordered it prior to the publisher's announced October release date (no fault of Amazon).This should have been a clue that something was wrong with it. I am sorry to say I'm very disapointed with the "Atlas". I thought it would be a scholarly book with quality maps and images. Instead it is a bloated, oversized coffee table book printed on glossy paper that will probably end up on the remainder table. The plates are decent enough except that they cover only a small part of the huge pages. The maps probably have detail in them somewhere but they too have such small print that one needs a magnifying glass to read them. It gets one star for the map pockets on the inside front and back covers. Too bad they only hold more glossy too large/too small maps. I would advise anyone to forego this book and instead spend the $60 they'll save on one the Moulton U of Nebraska editions.

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