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<p> The Earth is spherical: to represent it accurately on a flat surface, e.g., a piece of paper, is not mathematically possible. Approximations via projections are, however, legion. Klinghoffer provides readers with a global survey of cartographic practice established over several centuries, revealing that choice of markers is arbitrary. Parallels of latitude, meridians of longitude, location of the prime meridian, the fact that mapmakers now place north to the top of the map--all owe to cultural choice. All maps are made for a reason. Maps of politicians, salespeople, warmongers, and peacemakers are invariably designed for a cause--buyer, beware! Yet the aphorism one map is worth ten thousand words has so often proved true. Klinghoffer provides innumerable examples of an interdisciplinary nature in this book, revealing the way in which maps and their projections both reflect and determine human destinies. Endnotes and index are especially helpful adjuncts to an interesting book that will hold appeal for an extended readership. Recommended. All levels/libraries. - <p>Choice

Professor Klinghoffer's entertaining book punctures the 'myth of cartographic objectivity' and challenges us to rethink our vision of the world. Arresting examples from the history of international relations, including the use of maps in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the definition of the Western Hemisphere in relation to the Monroe Doctrine and U.S. entry into World War II, show how maps have been used (and misused) as the partisan tools of policy-makers. -Evelyn Edson Professor of History, Piedmont Virginia Community College author of Mapping Time and Space: How Medieval Mapmakers Viewed Their World co-author of Medieval Views of the Cosmos: Picturing the Universe in the Christian and Islamic Middle Ages

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Arthur Jay Klinghoffer is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey. He is the author of numerous books on a variety of subjects, among them, human rights, genocide, Soviet Communism, South African apartheid, and the politics of oil and gold.

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