100 Maps: The Science, Art and Politics of Cartography Throughout History.(Brief Article)(Book Review)

100 Maps: The Science, Art and Politics of Cartography Throughout History EDITED BY JOHN O.E. CLARK, INTRO. BY JEREMY BLACK. Sterling, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 1-4027-2885-9

Cartographers have been actively representing the world as they know or imagine it since an ancient Sumerian estate owner drew the boundaries of his property. The recent controversy over the accuracy or political correctness of the Mercator map of the world demonstrates that cartography has hardly been a benign skill and occupies a domain somewhere between art, science and propaganda. The editor of this stunningly illustrated volume captures the challenges, successes and failures of making maps …