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 America is named for Amerigo Vespuscci. Yet how did a little-known explorer earn such a distinction? He didn't he never even set foot on the North American continent and played no significant part in the discovery of South America. The reason for his fame: a simple error made by an early sixteenth-century cartographer, who misinterpreted earlier records. Other such 'mismapping' errors include the description of California as an island; the existence of an apocryphal 'Isle Philippeaux' in Lake Superior; Giovanni da Verranzano's mistaking either the Parnlico or Albemarle Sound for the Pacific Ocean; and the belief in a North-West passage. This book examines these five major mistakes made in mapping America, and the effects that they had, in some cases so profound that they became ingrained over time.  262 pages - 6" x 9" - (4/03)
ZW1298 Mismapping of America $39.95
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