This Earthly Globe: A Venetian Geographer and the Quest to Map the World

(Hardback, Main)

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Description

During the Age of Discovery a little-known public servant in the Venetian government, Giovambattista Ramusio, anonymously assembled and edited three volumes - over two million words - that revealed our world as never before. It was, to use a current expression, the biggest Wikileak of the Renaissance.

In an enthralling narrative, Andrea di Robilant brings to vivid life the man who used all his political skill, along with the help of conniving diplomats and spies, to ferret out a remarkable collection of journals, private letters and classified government reports, which, when taken together, showed how the world was much larger than anyone previously imagined.

Reviews

An extraordinary story that reads more like a thriller than a book about history. A dazzling tale, brilliantly told. * Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed *
What happens when the whole world-picture changes rapidly and decisively Who assembles the critical information needed to construct a radically new understanding of the way things are Thanks to the digital revolution, we have been living through such a disorienting transformation, but it is not the first time that received wisdom has been shattered and in urgent need of reassembling. The epochal voyages of the late 15th and early 16th century tore up the traditional European map of the globe and its inhabitants. Andrea di Robilant's wonderful book explores a succession of thrilling, often terrifying encounters with the other and reconstructs the career of the visionary collector who gave the public access to knowledge of how profoundly their world had changed. * Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern *
A saga that grips and enthrals from start to finish. * Sunday Times on Autumn in Venice *
Hemingway [is] an enduringly fascinating character, one whom di Robilant, with his easy-paced style, has sympathetically brought to life. -- Andrew Lycett * Literary Review on Autumn in Venice *
Effortlessly and expertly explores the secret desires, successes, and depressive obstacles that shrouded Ernest Hemingway's final productive years. * New York Journal of Books on Autumn in Venice *
A treasure trove of exciting tales and adventures, populated by a fascinating cast, that gives a thorough understanding of how Europeans discovered and mapped the other continents * Paul Strathern, author of The Medici *
Andrea di Robilant takes us on a remarkable voyage of discovery, sharing the story of Giovambattista Ramusio, whose monumental work revolutionised our understanding of the world. The story brims with secrecy and skulduggery, drawing in popes and pirates, and beautifully captures the excitement and tumult of the years when Europeans were filling in the blank spaces on their maps. A great read for history buffs and adventure-seekers alike. * Ross King, author of The Bookseller of Florence *

Author Bio

Andrea di Robilant was born in Italy and educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in international affairs. He is the author of A Venetian Affair, Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon, Irresistible North: From Venice To Greenland on the Trail of the Zen Brothers, Chasing the Rose and Autumn in Venice. He lives in Rome.