Mercator: The man who mapped the planet

Gerhard Mercator was the famous sixteenth-century cartographer who created the so-called ‘Mercator projection’, a map which, in flattening out the globe, enabled the great age of exploration of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Mercator was more than simply a map-maker, however: he was at the very centre of the scientific and intellectual revolution of his time. Nicholas Crane, a man much used to relying on maps, will bring Mercator and his world to vivid life. Author: Nicholas Crane Category: Non-Fiction Publisher: UK: Weidenfeld; US: Holt; Dutch: Ambo|Anthos; German: Droemer Publication date: June 2002