Apollo's Eye: A Cartographic Genealogy of the Earth in the Western Imagination

by Denis E. Cosgrove

Winner of the Association of American Publishers Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award in Geography & Earth Sciences "Earthbound humans are unable to embrace more than a tiny part of the planetary surface. But in their imagination they can grasp the whole of the earth, as a surface or a solid body, to locate it within infinities of space and to communicate and share images of it."―from the Preface Long before we had the ability to photograph the earth from space―to see our planet as it would be seen by the Greek god Apollo―images of the earth as a globe had captured popular imagination. In Apollo's Eye, geographer Denis Cosgrove examines the historical implications for the West of conceiving and representing the earth as a a unified, spherical body. Cosgrove traces how ideas of globalism and globalization have shifted historically in relation to changing images of the earth, from antiquity to the Space Age. He connects the evolving image of a unified globe to politically powerful conceptions of human unity.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Andrew]

Good lord, I am one of the approximately 10 people who would actually find this interesting -- a rigorous study of the image of the planet from the classical era forwards. I could point out its academic flaws -- perhaps an over-reliance on phenomenology, a tendency to draw grand conclusions from aesthetic choices, etc. -- but that would be to miss the point. This is like listening rapt to a brilliant, dotty old professor who uses terms like "Apollonian" with a dead-serious tone, and somehow you're fucking transfixed. Academic value aside, this is a great piece of essayistic writing, and the feeling one gets is akin to watching a Jonathan Meades documentary.

[Barriesegall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very difficult read.

[Suzie Diver · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sure Cosgrove is a brilliant guy, but this book is painful to read. Avoid this one and find something that is written in clear prose.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels topical on occasion.