TITLE:
On the edge : mapping North America's coasts / Roger M. McCoy.
By:
Publication Date:
2012
Publication Information:
New York : Oxford University Press,
Physical Description:
ix, 251 p. : ill., maps.
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:
Roger McCoy recounts the 400-year effort to map North America's coasts. Much of the book is based on the narratives of mariners who sought a passage through the continent to Asia and produced maps as a by-product of their journeys. These explorers had to rely on rudimentary mapping tools and to contend with unimaginably harsh conditions. Telling the story from the explorers' perspective, the book shows how maps of their voyages were made and why they were so full of errors, as well as how they gradually acquired greater accuracy, especially after the longitude problem was solved.
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780199744046
