We were beside ourselves. My head reeled, as if I’d had too much to drink. I took the novels out of the suitcase one by one, opened them, studied the portraits of the authors, and passed them on to Luo. Brushing them with the tips of my fingers made me feel as if my pale hands were in touch with human lives.
- an extract from "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" by Dai Sijie (China, born 1954)
Peters’ Projection World Map (Laminated - EAN 9781869847029)
Five thousand years of human history have brought us to the threshold of a new age. It is an age typified by science and technology, by the end of colonial domination, by a growing awareness of the interdependence of all nations and all peoples.
Such a moment in history demands that we look critically at our understanding of the world. This understanding is based, to a significant degree, on the work of map-makers of the age when Europe dominated and exploited the world.
Surprisingly, maps still reflect that bygone era (eg. the Mercator projection, which has two-thirds of the map representing the Northern hemisphere, one-third the Southern hemisphere).
The new map, the work of German historian Arno Peters, provides a helpful corrective to the distortions of traditional maps … No less than our world view is at stake …
In this complex and interdependent world in which the nations now live, the peoples of the world deserve the most accurate possible portrayal of their world. The Peters Map is that map for our day.