Four Points of the Compass

Four Points of the Compass - Ediciones

3 ediciones

Four Points of the Compass

Editorial: Penguin

ISBN: 978-01-4199-956-2

ISBN sin guiones: 9780141999562

Tipo de cubierta: Softcover

Páginas: 208

Fecha de publicación: 2025-09-04

Idioma: inglés (Reino Unido)

Four Points of the Compass

Editorial: Penguin

ISBN: 978-01-4199-957-9

ISBN sin guiones: 9780141999579

Tipo de cubierta: Softcover

Páginas: 208

Fecha de publicación: 2024-09-05

Idioma: inglés (Reino Unido)

Four Points of the Compass

Editorial: allen_lane

ISBN: 978-02-4168-009-4

ISBN sin guiones: 9780241680094

Tipo de cubierta: Softcover

Páginas: 337

Fecha de publicación: 2024-09-05

Idioma: inglés (Reino Unido)

Disponible en otros idiomas

Four Points of the Compass

Jerry Brotton

Primera publicación: 2024-09-05

North, south, east and west: almost all societies use the four cardinal directions to orientate themselves, to understand who they are by projecting where they are. In Four Points of the Compass, Jerry Brotton takes the reader on a journey of directional discovery. He reveals why Hebrew culture privileges east; why Renaissance Europeans began drawing north at the top of their maps; why early Islam revered the south; why the Aztecs used five colour-coded cardinal directions; and why no societies, primitive or modern, have ever orientated themselves westwards. He ends by reflecting on our digital age in which we, the little blue dot on the screen, have become the most important compass point. Throughout, Brotton shows that the directions reflect a human desire to create order and that they only have meaning, literally and metaphorically, depending on where you stand.