Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1473942 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.

Customer Reviews

A good history of map making processes
If you are looking for a general history of map making you may enjoy this book. The tile of the book may make it seem like it is specificaly about stereoscopic map making but only the last third of the book cover this topic in depth (no pun intended!). The book begins with a general review of map making techniques and then progresses through the concepts of contours and other depth related concepts and finialy into the true stereoscopic maps using anaglyph and stereo arial photography. Being a both a history fan and a stereoscopic photographer I found this book to be very interesting. There are a number of stereoscopic images toward the end of the book but it is not filled front to back with them. If you are interested in only stereoscopic maps you may find that the last part of the book is the best. Anyone interested in the historic aspects of map making should find this book very good. Overall, I would recommend it to everyone interested in either map making or stereoscopic maps because the overall quality of the information is quite good.

Left Me Wanting More...
There is no doubt that this book will make a lovely addition to the coffe table library. Beautifully illustarted and informative I was pleased overall. I have to grant only 3 stars, however, because of the mildly disappointing number of 3D images, several of which are repeated more than once. Still.. a keeper.

Infinite, indeed
This fascinating volume must be considered a compulsory read for anyone with an "affinity for geography, exploration, and art." The Ambroziaks beautifully and comprehensively chronicle humankind's efforts throught the centuries to graphically represent and make sense of our physical surroundings. I've been an avid "map junkie" for decades, but discovered that I had much to learn- particularly with respect to the state of the art. I am certainly much impressed by the Ambroziak Projection and eagerly await further development of this innovative technique.

"Infinite Perspectives" is, as others have suggested, a wonderful coffee-table book, but it is much, much more. Worth checking out!