Concise Earth

In 'Concise Earth', the progress of our planet from the earliest geological time through to the present day can be followed. The current world landscape can be examined throughout the pages of outstanding topographic mapping created by cutting-edge cartography, comprehensive, clear, & authoritative text; & superb colour photographs.

REFERENCE

Since the dawn of the Space Age, small cohorts of humanity have broadcast signals towards other stars, fabricated "space-time capsules" to "speak for Earth" aboard interstellar probes, deposited collections of "space oddities" on other astronomical bodies, and permanently incised the memory of our species across the deep-time legacy of the Sol System. Many of these purposeful "messages" are the consequence of age-old behaviors, traditions, and material practices using modern aerospace technologies. Most attempt to preserve narratives of human experience in social exchange devices for imagined, exotic audiences. Looking back upon this accumulative history of "messaging from Earth", how do we begin to interpret such an eclectic portrait of Earth for ourselves? Surveying and cataloguing the variety of these artifacts through a series of interdisciplinary essays and visual documentation, this volume chronicles our changing relationships, customs, and assumptions made within this material culture for our own eyes. What do these autobiographical accounts tell us about Terrans and our minds, set against the backdrop of our planetary history?

Evaluative annotated bibliography of atlases including acquisition guidelines, sources for reviews of maps and atlases, and publishers.