From Ptolemy's projection of the world--still the basic map after 13 centuries--to Tolkien's cartography of Middle Earth (the most printed guide to a non-existent place ever), each of these maps has its own fascinating story to tell.

Escape maps, military maps, cartographic breakthroughs, and follies and forgeries: these 100 maps, organized chronologically, are the most important, dramatic, and breathtakingly beautiful ever created. They show not only the art and science of the form, but also its power. Some had devastating consequences, such the 1885 map of Africa that carved up the continent to Europeans desires. But others are simply exquisite to look at or mysterious, like the Aborginal "Dreamtime" painting and the Siberian rock maps. And some maps capture places that exist only in the imagination. Finding out about each one is an adventure all its own, whether it be with Lewis and Clark across America or the British as they uncovered India.