Most people who have traveled by car in the U.S. have learned to appreciate the modern road map. I have recently read some information that sheds new light on just how lucky we are to have such accurate maps at our disposal. In the past, these maps would have been treasured possessions of Kings and Emperors and Conquerors–the very keys to their Empires.
The December 30, 2007 Chicago Tribune has an article about a new book, Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, edited by James R. Akerman and Robert W. Karrow Jr. (University of Chicago Press). The article is by Patrick T. Reardon, and it can be viewed online here (Free registration may be required). The book is a compilation of eight essays and is a companion to an exhibit at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History that runs through January 27, 2008.
I have not yet seen the exhibit nor read the book, but the Tribune article has this excerpt from the book’s essay by James R. Ackerman:
The American road map: “We begin to understand, then, that the automobile road map so familiar to us is the product of, historically speaking, fairly unique circumstances. In the United States roads are mostly paved, well maintained, and well marked. Peaceful conditions prevail over a vast continent-sized space, and most Americans can both afford a car and [at press time!] the fuel required to power it. Our movement on land is not constrained by political or economic conditions like those that prevailed in ancient and medieval times or that prevail in many parts of the world today. When we travel by car today we have so many options and we can travel so far and so quickly that we truly need maps to grasp the territory into which we venture — and at a level of detail and comprehensiveness that perhaps only an Egyptian pharaoh or a Roman official could dream of in the past.”
As I said, I have not seen the Field Museum exhibit nor read this book, but I have to say that I intend to change that very soon!
Do you offer walking tours to or near the Field Museum?
Perhaps you could offer a walking tour to the Field Museum and make some bucks on the side.
If you would like such a tour, I would be happy to provide it! We could start at the corner of Jackson and Michigan, the original starting point of Route 66, and then head south. I have scads of info on many of the buildings and structures along the way. So by all means contact me if you are interested!