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The Library of Lost Maps
An Archive of a World In Progress
The Library of Lost Maps
An Archive of a World In Progress
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Description
From renowned geographer James Cheshire, a four-color tour through a forgotten collection of maps that shaped over 200 years of Western history.
Tucked just beyond a clutter of offices and a lecture hall in the heart of London, there lies a turquoise door. Years ago, James Cheshire stepped through and was astonished by what he found: thousands of maps and atlases, bulging from wooden drawers and glass cabinets. It was a map library-an Aladdin's cave of cartographic treasures.
In The Library of Lost Maps, Cheshire transports us to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when the maps before him were wielded for war and used to negotiate during peace; when the charts housed in the library traced, for the first time, the icy peaks of the Himalayas and the deepest depths of the ocean. Maps have played a vital role in shaping our scientific knowledge of the world, inspiring the theory of plate tectonics and showing the impacts of climate change. They have also guided politicians, encouraging both beneficial reforms and horrific conquests, the consequences of which we continue to live with today.
Brimming with surprising discoveries and stunning four-color map reproductions, The Library of Lost Maps unveils the power of maps to remind us of our past and inspire us toward a better future.
Product details
| Published | Oct 14 2025 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 384 |
| ISBN | 9781639734283 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Illustrations | Four color illustrations throughout |
| Dimensions | 9 x 7 inches |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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[An] exquisite volume . . . Cheshire not only shares his joy at digging through the archives, but also astutely charts how maps offer a new angle on historical events . . . It amounts to an enlightening and lovingly presented tribute to the necessity and wonder of libraries and archives.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
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Digging into the dusty archives of an old map library at UCL, James Cheshire unearths stories of explorers and imagined landscapes, WWII intrigue, geopolitics and social change-in this astonishingly fresh and insightful perspective into history and geography. A triumph.
Alice Roberts, author of THE COMPLETE HUMAN BODY and EVOLUTION
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A magnificent book that sings of the romance and mystery that only old maps possess. Wandering The Library of Lost Maps, I didn't want to find my way back.
Edward Brooke-Hitching, author of THE PHANTOM ATLAS and THE MADMAN'S LIBRARY
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Fantastic . . . a magical combo of art and graphic gut-punch.
Dave Eggers on ATLAS OF THE INVISIBLE
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Spectacular and truly Humboldtian.
Andrea Wulf on ATLAS OF THE INVISIBLE
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An enthralling volume, downright gorgeous in its illustrations and text.
NPR on WHERE THE ANIMALS GO
























