The Story of Geographical Discovery: How the World Became Known
This book was first published in 1897. It's a short work, but it encompasses a vast subject—nothing less than determining the detailed geographical plan of our entire world! In the process, Jacobs feeds us dates and names and events and places and maps in a dense stream. It's a bit like drinking from a fire hose, but see it through, and the reader (or listener) will acquire a surprisingly complete overview of world history as well as geography. It's well worth absorbing, even by those not so geographically inclined, if only as a source for winning endless bar bets.
Beginning in ancient times, the author identifies three main forces that have contributed to our present understanding: wars of conquest, competition for trade, and (eventually) pure scientific curiosity. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, early Greeks, Babylonians, and many other Mediterranean peoples contributed, often unwillingly, the streams of knowledge that Ptolemy of Alexandria summed up in the great Ptolemaei Orbis (ca.150 AD), the first “real” map of the whole known world. The evolution of world maps to incorporate (and sometime conceal) new discoveries is a key theme of this fascinating work. (Summary by Steven Seitel)
Genre(s): Travel & Geography
Language: English
Section | Chapter | Reader | Time |
---|---|---|---|
Play 00 | Preface and Introduction | Steven Seitel |
00:10:31 |
Play 01 | Ch. 1 The World as Known to the Ancients | Steven Seitel |
00:26:16 |
Play 02 | Ch. 2 The Spread of conquest in the Ancient World | Steven Seitel |
00:17:49 |
Play 03 | Ch 3. Geography in the Dark Ages | Steven Seitel |
00:28:22 |
Play 04 | Ch. 4 Medieval Travels | Steven Seitel |
00:20:41 |
Play 05 | Ch. 5 Roads and Commerce | Steven Seitel |
00:18:44 |
Play 06 | Ch. 6 To the Indies Eastward | Steven Seitel |
00:23:22 |
Play 07 | Ch. 7 To the Indies Westward | Steven Seitel |
00:31:14 |
Play 08 | Ch. 8 To the Indies Northward | Steven Seitel |
00:15:55 |
Play 09 | Ch. 9 Partition of America | Steven Seitel |
00:21:59 |
Play 10 | Ch. 10 Australia and the South Seas | Steven Seitel |
00:22:35 |
Play 11 | Ch. 11 Exploration and Partition of Africa | Steven Seitel |
00:26:54 |
Play 12 | Ch. 12 The Poles | Steven Seitel |
00:26:45 |