The Charting of the Oceans: Ten Centuries of Maritime Maps

By all accounts, this book should have received 5 stars. It's well written, richly illustrated and covers, albeit superficially, the history and problems the earliest mariners faced as they ventured beyond the sight of land into the trackless sea. Although the book lacks a certain depth (it's only 144 pages), Whitfiled uses an economy of prose to make a number of excellent bullet points as he walks us through the history of charting. It's also refreshing to see that while he may advise his readers that certain theories have been advocated about how the mariners of the past found thier way across the seas, he makes a point to say there is no conclusive proof to support a particular claim; he simply gives his readers the facts and correctly assumes we can use our own judgement to evaluate these theories.I must also say I found the index in the book lacking to some extent; it appeared to be too brief and did not refer the reader back to key elements in the book. But, overall, well done and very informative. It will be a nice addition to the library of anyone interested in the history of mapping.