The Phantom Atlas
eBook - ePub

The Phantom Atlas

The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps

  1. 256 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Phantom Atlas

The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps

About this book

A STUNNINGLY ILLUSTRATED BOOK REVEALING THE GREATEST MYTHS, LIES AND BLUNDERS ON MAPS
'Highly recommended' - Andrew Marr
'A spectacular, enjoyable and eye-opening read' - Jonathan Ross The Phantom Atlas is an atlas of the world not as it ever existed, but as it was thought to be. These marvellous and mysterious phantoms - non-existent islands, invented mountain ranges, mythical civilisations and other fictitious geography - were all at various times presented as facts on maps and atlases. This book is a collection of striking antique maps that display the most erroneous cartography, with each illustration accompanied by the story behind it. Exploration, map-making and mythology are all brought together to create a colourful tapestry of monsters, heroes and volcanoes; swindlers, mirages and murderers. Sometimes the stories are almost impossible to believe, and remarkably, some of the errors were still on display in maps published in the 21st century. Throughout much of the 19th century more than 40 different mapmakers included the Mountains of Kong, a huge range of peaks stretching across the entire continent of Africa, in their maps - but it was only in 1889 when Louis Gustave Binger revealed the whole thing to be a fake. For centuries, explorers who headed to Patagonia returned with tales of the giants they had met who lived there, some nine feet tall. Then there was Gregor MacGregor, a Scottish explorer who returned to London to sell shares in a land he had discovered in South America. He had been appointed the Cazique of Poyais, and bestowed with many honours by the local king of this unspoiled paradise. Now he was offering others the chance to join him and make their fortune there, too - once they had paid him a bargain fee for their passage... The Phantom Atlas is a beautifully produced volume, packed with stunning maps and drawings of places and people that never existed. The remarkable stories behind them all are brilliantly told by Edward Brooke-Hitching in a book that will appeal to cartophiles everywhere.

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Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Introduction
  4. Chapter 1: Strait of Anian
  5. Chapter 2: Antillia
  6. Chapter 3: Atlantis
  7. Chapter 4: Aurora Islands
  8. Chapter 5: Australia’s Inland Sea
  9. Chapter 6: Bermeja
  10. Chapter 7: Bradley Land
  11. Chapter 8: Buss Island
  12. Chapter 9: City of the Caesars
  13. Chapter 10: Sea Monsters of the Carta Marina
  14. Chapter 11: Island of California
  15. Chapter 12: Cassiterides
  16. Chapter 13: Crocker Land
  17. Chapter 14: Croker’s Mountains
  18. Chapter 15: Davis Land
  19. Chapter 16: Isle of Demons
  20. Chapter 17: Dougherty Island
  21. Chapter 18: Earthly Paradise
  22. Chapter 19: El Dorado
  23. Chapter 20: Flat Earth
  24. Chapter 21: Fonseca
  25. Chapter 22: Formosa (of George Psalmanazar)
  26. Chapter 23: Fusang
  27. Chapter 24: Gamaland and Compagnies Land
  28. Chapter 25: Great Ireland
  29. Chapter 26: Great River of the West
  30. Chapter 27: Groclant
  31. Chapter 28: Hy Brasil
  32. Chapter 29: Java La Grande
  33. Chapter 30: Juan de Lisboa
  34. Chapter 31: Lost City of the Kalahari
  35. Chapter 32: Mountains of Kong
  36. Chapter 33: Korea as an Island
  37. Chapter 34: Lost Continents of Lemuria and Mu
  38. Chapter 35: Maria Theresa Reef
  39. Chapter 36: Mayda
  40. Chapter 37: Mountains of the Moon
  41. Chapter 38: Lands of Benjamin Morrell
  42. Chapter 39: Norumbega
  43. Chapter 40: Creatures of the Nuremberg Chronicle Map
  44. Chapter 41: Patagonian Giants
  45. Chapter 42: Pepys Island
  46. Chapter 43: Territory of Poyais
  47. Chapter 44: Kingdom of Prester John
  48. Chapter 45: Rhipaean Mountains
  49. Chapter 46: Rupes Nigra
  50. Chapter 47: St Brendan’s Island
  51. Chapter 48: Sandy Island, New Caledonia
  52. Chapter 49: Sannikov Land
  53. Chapter 50: Satanazes
  54. Chapter 51: Saxenburgh Island
  55. Chapter 52: Sea of the West
  56. Chapter 53: Taprobana
  57. Chapter 54: Terra Australis
  58. Chapter 55: Thule
  59. Chapter 56: Sunken City of Vineta
  60. Chapter 57: Wak-Wak
  61. Chapter 58: Phantom Lands of the Zeno Map
  62. Select Bibliography
  63. Index
  64. Acknowledgements and Credits
  65. Copyright

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