A "fascinating" journey to little-known and contested lands around the globe, from Tibet to the Isle of Man to Elgaland-Vargaland (Geographical Magazine).
What is a country? Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton brings to life the origins and histories of fifty states that, lacking international recognition and United Nations membership, exist on the margins of legitimacy in the global order. From long-contested...

"If you want to know where you are or where you are going, you can look at a map. Throughout American history, our nation's leaders and citizens were able to use maps for direction and learning. Sometimes these maps were not very accurate, and we can learn about how Americans viewed their world just by looking at the maps they had available. What would our nation look like without the 11 Confederate states? How can we reach the Pacific if there are...

"Often romanticized in print and on the silver screen, real-life pirates were a brutal menace that plagued the high seas. In this book, Angus Konstam separates myth from reality, tracing the history of piracy through the centuries, from the pirates who plagued the Ancient Egyptians to the Viking raids and on to the era of privateers. He discusses the so-called "Golden Age of Piracy" and colorful characters such as Blackbeard and Captain Kidd, before...

What was the last state to join the Union? What does the state quarter for Alabama look like? What is the state bird of Texas? All the answers are contained in Fifty States: Every Question Answered! Whether you're a student or a history buff, this book is a great reference manual for each state's details of geography, factual details, and ecology. Beautiful color photos and maps fill the pages, providing a view of how the landscape has changed over...

In the nineteenth century, Americans began to use maps in radically new ways. For the first time, medical men mapped diseases to understand and prevent epidemics, natural scientists mapped climate and rainfall to uncover weather patterns, educators mapped the past to foster national loyalty among students, and Northerners mapped slavery to assess the power of the South. After the Civil War, federal agencies embraced statistical and thematic mapping...

Given in memory of Charles W. Smith (son of Guy & Gladys) by daughter Jeri Biedenkopf

"An innovative look back through time, Manhattan Maps follows the history of Manhattan Island from its natural formation to the bustling city today. It explores the ways in which nature and people are connected, tracking the people who lived on Manhattan from the Lenape Indians to Dutch settlers hunting for beaver pelts to early Americans and beyond, and how they've (literally) shaped the island (and vice versa). Jen Thermes highlights watershed moments...