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A review by ruben_franz
Der goldene Atlas: Die abenteuerlichen Reisen der großen Seefahrer, Entdecker und Forscher by Edward Brooke-Hitching
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
Disclaimer: Reviewer is not a native speaker. Read in German translation (Lutz-W. Wolff).
Explorers, seafarers, explorers, wild stories, blank spots on maps.
What more could you want?
Having already enjoyed Brooke-Hitching's first collection of maps, "Atlas of Invented Places," the second follows directly. The text was fun because it was informative yet easy to read, the pictures and old maps were nice because they add color and imagination, and especially the little stories around the outside were great that give it some of the excitement of a real discovery.
There's a redundancy or two, which bodes rather poorly for an inevitable further book, and he also likes to quote himself quite a bit.
Women get a summarized chapter, which seems a bit odd, given all the verbosity with which other personalities are treated. Otherwise, my criticisms are limited, perhaps that Brooke-Hitching throws around names and dates a little more than is absolutely necessary.
A great recommendation for all those who enjoy geography, who can be infected by a love of discovery. For all those who revel in what hard times and unfortunate circumstances have befallen the various historical figures, while you yourself may not achieve world fame at the South Pole, but at least you keep all your toes (and more importantly, your life). For those who are interested in the discrepancy between what has really been discovered and confirmed (there are also exciting overviews on this) and what has additionally been made up at different times.
I for my part have clearly noticed that there are some unexpected shallows in my inner map regarding discoveries. Especially the sections about the North American hinterland and Australia towards the end of the book were for the most part completely unknown to me. Also some discoverer names have already come across me in other context, but just not with their actual achievement, so I am now in possession of the questionable information why now exactly the Bering Strait is called so and where Tasmania and Vancouver have gotten their names.
Big fan of the whole thing. Gladly more of it. The maps are the part with the highest re-read value, for me. There are still new corners and notes that you hadn't seen, even the third time flipping through. It must be noted here, however, that some of the maps are unfortunately much too small for an accurate view. Here I would have wished for an additional digital preparation. Because the rights had to be bought anyway. Then one would have seen the maps in higher resolution and with zoom and therefore surely some more details.
Explorers, seafarers, explorers, wild stories, blank spots on maps.
What more could you want?
Having already enjoyed Brooke-Hitching's first collection of maps, "Atlas of Invented Places," the second follows directly. The text was fun because it was informative yet easy to read, the pictures and old maps were nice because they add color and imagination, and especially the little stories around the outside were great that give it some of the excitement of a real discovery.
There's a redundancy or two, which bodes rather poorly for an inevitable further book, and he also likes to quote himself quite a bit.
Women get a summarized chapter, which seems a bit odd, given all the verbosity with which other personalities are treated. Otherwise, my criticisms are limited, perhaps that Brooke-Hitching throws around names and dates a little more than is absolutely necessary.
A great recommendation for all those who enjoy geography, who can be infected by a love of discovery. For all those who revel in what hard times and unfortunate circumstances have befallen the various historical figures, while you yourself may not achieve world fame at the South Pole, but at least you keep all your toes (and more importantly, your life). For those who are interested in the discrepancy between what has really been discovered and confirmed (there are also exciting overviews on this) and what has additionally been made up at different times.
I for my part have clearly noticed that there are some unexpected shallows in my inner map regarding discoveries. Especially the sections about the North American hinterland and Australia towards the end of the book were for the most part completely unknown to me. Also some discoverer names have already come across me in other context, but just not with their actual achievement, so I am now in possession of the questionable information why now exactly the Bering Strait is called so and where Tasmania and Vancouver have gotten their names.
Big fan of the whole thing. Gladly more of it. The maps are the part with the highest re-read value, for me. There are still new corners and notes that you hadn't seen, even the third time flipping through. It must be noted here, however, that some of the maps are unfortunately much too small for an accurate view. Here I would have wished for an additional digital preparation. Because the rights had to be bought anyway. Then one would have seen the maps in higher resolution and with zoom and therefore surely some more details.