The Mapping Of America

Author : Seymour I. Schwartz
Publisher : Prometheus Books
ISBN 13 : 9781615921775
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (217 download)

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Download or read book Putting America on the Map written by Seymour I. Schwartz and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seymour Schwartz provides a richly textured and illustrated biography of one of the most important maps in history by deftly placing this unique work within its geographical and historical context and recounting the major controversies associated with its creation, interpretation, and preservation. I recommend it to the casual reader as well as the serious student of history.-RALPH E. EHRENBERG, Former Chief, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress; Author of Mapping the World: An Illustrated History of CartographyThe general reader should rejoice that Dr. Seymour Schwartz has happily combined a personal and genial account of his investigations into the earliest maps of America with the detailed story of how the amazing Waldseemüller map from 1507 was invented, printed, lost, rediscovered, and finally bought by the U. S. Library of Congress. Dr. Schwartz draws us into his tale with his infectious enthusiasm and well-informed connoisseurship.-H. C. ERIK MIDELFORT, C. Julian Bishko Professor of History, University of VirginiaSchwartz's superb research takes us back to the early sixteenth century with a riveting tale of the history of America's first map - a must read for map lovers and historians.-DAVID A. COBB, Curator, Harvard Map Collection; Co-editor of Mapping BostonIn 1507, a German cartographer created a world map that, for the first time, included the continental landmasses in the Western Hemisphere, discovered within the 15 previous years. He inserted the name America on the southern continent, honoring Amerigo Vespucci, who had erroneously been credited with setting foot on South American soil before Christopher Columbus. With the aid of the newly invented printing press, the name America became the accepted designation of land in the New World.In a colorful narrative that reads like a good mystery, Dr. Seymour I. Schwartz brings to life the amazing history of America's baptismal certificate. Since its creation the Waldseemüller World Map of 1507 has been surrounded by intrigues and controversies.Schwartz's compelling story, which includes many amazing twists and turns, also features cameo appearances by Alexander von Humboldt, Washington Irving, Frédéric Chopin, George Sand, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ogden Nash, J. Pierpont Morgan, Paul Mellon, and German Chancellors Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder.Seymour I Schwartz, MD (Pittsford, NY), a world-renowned surgeon, is the author of Gifted Hands: America's Most Significant Contributions to Surgery. He is equally renowned as a cartographic historian. He served on the board of directors of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, and on the board of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, and is the author of The Mismapping of America, The Mapping of America (with Ralph E. Ehrenberg), and This Land Is Your Land, among other books.