Mr. Selden's Map of China: Decoding the Secrets of a Vanished Cartographer Hardcover – October 22, 2013

I admit that I am only halfway through, and as yet I don't know what the book is pointing at, I do agree that the book is fascinating on many levels. Brook excels in his storytelling, weaving together many different lives, professions, the Dutch East Indies Company, the English trying to establish themselves in the East Indies, Japan, and especially China. Wow. It is hard to put down.

Fairly interesting subject from somebody who really knows his stuff. For somebody like me who only has a superficial interest in ancient maps, the book was too lengthy.

This book takes us on a far ranging historical and territorial journey. Unravelling the mystery of the map is sometimes technical and at other times acquaints us with obscure documents. All in all a very good read.

A very nice book in good condition and fine package. Fast shipment and quick delivery. The book itself is quite interesting and worthy reading.

Maybe a book isn't the best format for this information, but if you're going to do that, use a map with decent resolution, one where the details described are clearly visible.

Somewhat tedious and boring, but informative. Not the greatest book I have ever read. However, if you are really into learning more about how things were done way back then, worth while .. (I am a history buff)

like reading a text book , a lot of English history , but well written

This map changes the standard view of ancient China as focused only on itself. With all the work & money that went into drawing this chart, China was sending out ships to its neighbors and farther.

Timothy Brook writes an absorbing account of a little-known forbidden map of the South China Sea that has much to tell. In the early 17th century, John Selden and Grotius were "the brightest people in the room" and together, through a collision of objectives, came to write the founding international laws of the sea. Britain had seen enclosures of the land: the new trade with China would shape the world and help legitimise the enclosures of the sea craved by Charles I in his rivalry with the Dutch in the eary days of the British Empire.

Was a present to a teacher relative who was highly pleased.

The subject of the book is a map uncovered in the Bodleian library, but Brooks weaves a complex tale around the map and how it came to be (potentially), while at the same time diving into many different people around the story and the world in which it was written, moved around, and used. Instead of a simple tale, this is quite a complex journey we take, uncovering quite a few obscure (to me, at least) people along the way, learning about trading practices in the era, and investigating the differences between China and European mapmakers and sailors. It's an interesting story, to be sure, which Brook uses to build into a set of theories about the map and its meaning.My issue with the book is not the story, which is interesting, but the dry reading it brings about. This isn't a page-turner: it's an academic treatise modified for more readability by the non-academic. There's lots of good stuff here, but despite being a short book it took a long time for me to wade through it, simply because of the writing style. Will you learn something from this book? Absolutely! Will you enjoy the process? That depends on you. I am glad I read this, and I did find the way in which Brook ties all these threads together quite fascinating.

I thought I would thoroughly enjoy this book from the reviews I read before buying it. However, i found it got bogged down in too much detail and about half-way through I put the book down and decided to leave it. This is only for avid readers of detailed background information.

A great book, from a person who is persona non grata in Beijing.