NEW WORLDS

Take a journey into the past, to a world where exotic beasts and even stranger locals stalk cartographic voids, where sea monsters and floating islands lurk beyond uncertain shores, where the borders between myth and reality are blurred. Here, gathered from five centuries of exploration, are over 200 maps of oceans and continents, mountains and forests, cities and shires. Presented in chronological order, these maps record the adventures and discoveries - not to mention fantasies and outright lies - of explorers, merchants and travelers. Taken together, they chart our discovery of the world as science, legend, politics and art are blended together by the cartographer''s craft. Presenting an illustrated history of the Age of Discovery, New Worlds displays our finest maps and tells the stories of the explorers, rulers, scientists, artists and charlatans who created them.