The Map Makers

Ok, so if you don’t like history or documentaries, then you won’t like this. And you won’t understand why I’m raving about a documentary about people who made maps!

But if you do like learning about history, if dusty old facts turn you on then this is for you.

The Map Makers covers 3 major periods in map-making history, starting off with the Waldssmuller amp in 1507. This is the map that literally put America on the map. Back before 1507 you’d have been considered a nutcase if you suggested that there were more than 4 continents. But then some dude called Amerigo Vespucci, looking for a quicker route to the far East bumped into an unknown continent, and America was born.

The second period looks at the Mercator Atlas, created in a time when map makers and spies worked hand in hand, and the person with the best maps had the most power. Treachery and espionage ruled the map making world, and great fortunes could be made.
New ideas and ways to draw maps in the tumulus 16th century still have an effect on how maps are drawn today!

And finally, and the one that was my real reason for getting this DVD, is the D-Day Invasion Maps. The amount of detail and the lengths gone to get information for the biggest invasion in military history is nothing short of amazing.
From aerial photography, to Special Forces and miniature submarines to the French resistance, many people put their lives on the line to help create these maps.
And without these maps, the invasion and liberation of Europe could have gone belly up!

Ok, I know what you’re saying, it doesn’t sound very interesting, but as I said, you have to like history to get into this DVD.

So go on, educate yourself!