Mapping the Mountains

Mountain maps are amongst the most beautiful examples of cartography. Their beauty is intensified when you realise the herculean efforts that went into their making. To create an accurate map of a mountain region, surveyors would often have to haul heavy equipment in all kinds of weather to exposed positions on well-nigh inaccessible peaks in order to take measurements. These unsung heroes were perhaps the first true mountaineers. In Mapping the Mountains, writer, translator, geographer and map-lover, Andrew Davies, has put together a miscellany of stories from the history of mountain cartography, from Roman times to the present day. These tales of heroism and endeavour are accompanied by an extensive selection of maps, photographs and illustrations.