History of the World in Twelve Maps by Jerry Brotton

But far from being purely scientific objects, world maps are unavoidably ideological and subjective, intimately bound up with the systems of power and authority of particular times and places. Mapmakers do not simply represent the world, they construct it out of the ideas of their age. This book examines the significance of 12 maps - from the mystical representations of ancient history to the satellite-derived imagery of today.