A collection of over two hundred maps, including pages from "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" and the human genome map, which provides information on the history of cartography as well as background information about the cultural, social, and economic conditions of the time in which the maps were drawn.

Maps on lining papers. Ill. on frontispiece.

Introduction : Theater of the world --Prologue -- [pt. 1]. The Mediterranean world -- The Babylonians -- The Egyptians -- The Greeks -- The Etruscans -- The Romans -- The Islamic world -- The Hold land -- The Mediterranean Sea -- [pt. 2]. The three-part world -- Asia -- Africa -- Europe -- [pt. 3]. The fourth part : The Americas -- Latin America -- Anglo America -- [pt. 4]. The fifth part : Oceania and Antarctica -- Oceania -- Antarctica -- Epilogue : The unseen cultural world -- Afterword -- Acknowledgments -- Cartobibliography -- Index.