Product Description

Whether from military necessity or unbridled curiosity, mapmakers since early antiquity have attempted to represent the configuration of the land about them. In the modern era, techniques are still being invented by which man can portray the three-dimensional world on a flat surface. This work traces the artistic and scientific evolution of topographic representation from its origins to the present. Over 80 colour plates of some of the most significant maps ever made detail important advances in the portrayal of three dimensions in map form. The final section of the book contains 20 plates presenting a revolutionary cartographic technique that allows viewers wearing ordinary 3-D glasses to view planetary surfaces without distortion. This invention, developed by the authors with Dr Russell Ambroziak and named "Infinite Perspective Projection" is in use by NASA and the US Department of Defense. Included are maps of Mars, the Grand Canyon, and Mount McKinley, as well as two large fold-out maps. The necessary 3-D viewing glasses are also provided.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1466830 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 116 pages

The Seattle Times ARTS Sunday, December 12, 1999
"A couple of drop-dead gorgeous coffee-table books will appeal to those with an affinity for geography, exploration and art:" Infinite Perspectives: Two Thousand Years of Three-Dimensional Mapmaking, by Brian Ambroziak and Jeffrey Ambroziak (Princeton Architectural Press), is an impressive history of the art and science of "topographical representation." It includes some way-cool 3-D glasses for viewing the last 20 plates in the book, which take three-dimensional maps to a new level (including a you-are-there representation of a Mount St. Helen's map).

Thomas Fleming, author of Liberty! The American Revolution
"A rare combination of technology and a passion for making history come alive has produced a revolution in mapmaking. This is a book that anyone interested in history will read with fascination."

Discover Magazine, April 2000
The trajectory of techniques on display here is wonderful.