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Mercator: The Man Who Mapped the Planet
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Mercator: The Man Who Mapped the Planet Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Thoroughly researched, almost painfully detailed
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Gerard Mercator was one of history's great cartographers, and some of the contributions he made, in particular the "Mercator projection" method of representing a 3-dimensional planet on a 2-dimensional map, have stood the test of time and are still in use today. He was also a very respectable human being, with an unrelenting work ethic and incredibly high standards for his work. His strong personal convictions allowed the son of a cobbler to become something of a celebrity throughout Europe.
In addition to being an extremely comprehensive biography of Gerard Mercator, Nicholas Crane's book proves equally interesting as a history lesson on 16th century Europe. The Reformation, and the efforts to quell it, influenced the work of Mercator and other scientists of the time, and were responsible for Mercator's uprooting and imprisonment and nearly saw him executed for heresy. The state of mapmaking is another intriguing subject, as it involved a surprising amount of guesswork and reliance on ancient sources.
Readers of Mercator will not fail to notice the tremendous amount of research that Crane put into his book. Considering that the events recorded occurred more than 400 years ago, the level of detail is sometimes astonishing. Not only can Crane tell the reader about secret Protestant meetings, he can tell you where they were held, who attended, and even the occupation of each of the attendees. Unfortunately, the minutiae can become overwhelming and often make Mercator a difficult book to read.
I would recommend this book primarily to those who have an interest in the history of cartography or who are generally interested in the history of Mercator's era. For more casual readers, myself included, the book is a challenge to read and the rewards are not quite commensurate with the effort. |
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