The Story of Geographical Discovery: How the World Became Known

Joseph JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2

Word count: 287K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Story of Geographical Discovery: How the World Became Known by Joseph JacobsAuthor: Jacobs, Joseph, 1854-1916,Language: English, Class: G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation, Release Date: Dec 7, 2004

Editor's review

This is a popular history of geographical discovery by the British scholar Joseph Jacobs, in the Project Gutenberg English original. It breaks the large question of "how the world became known" into concrete people and journeys: from the legends of ancient voyagers, through the observations of medieval travelers, to modern exploration gradually filling in coastlines and continental outlines. The narrative stresses historical sequence and key turning points in plain language, making it a good introductory framework for the history of geography and exploration. Readers can use it to build a chronological map, to understand the human action behind maps, and to see how different ages imagined and misjudged the "unknown world." As a public-domain e-book, it lacks modern illustrations and scholarly notes, and some Eurocentric formulations require the reader's own critical judgment. On the whole it suits supplementary reading or course support rather than a strict geography textbook.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Middle-school and general readers interested in the history of geographical discovery and exploration
Teachers and students needing background material for geography or history courses
General readers who want to understand how maps and worldviews gradually took shape
Readers with intermediate English who prefer nonfiction narrative

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers needing the latest geographical knowledge and rigorous scholarly citation
Readers hoping for abundant modern maps, illustrations, and data charts
Beginners who struggle with English and need a fully annotated Chinese edition

Reading tips

Keep a world map at hand and locate each region as you read to build spatial impressions.
Take timeline notes chapter by chapter, recording key figures, dates, and regions discovered.
Stay critical of the book's Eurocentric formulations, checking against histories of other regions.
After each section, summarize in your own words the boundaries of geographical knowledge in that period.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a rigorous academic history of geography?

It is more a popular history, focused on telling the story of discovery and its people rather than systematic verification or scholarly debate. It is good for an overall framework; for research, supplement with modern scholarship and primary sources.

How difficult is the English?

The author wrote in an earlier era, with fairly long but generally plain sentences—upper-intermediate nonfiction English. Readers with college-level English can finish it with a dictionary; there are many place names, which takes patience.

Are there maps and illustrations?

Project Gutenberg public-domain electronic texts are usually text-centered and do not guarantee complete maps or illustrations. Keep a world map or online mapping tool at hand to locate places as you read.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Joseph Jacobs Author · British (Australian-born) · 1854–1916

Joseph Jacobs (1854–1916) was an Australia-born British folklorist, literary critic and historian, best known for collecting and editing English folk and fairy tales. His anthologies, including English Fairy Tales and Europa's Fairy Book, circulated widely in the English-speaking world; his editorial work sought to preserve the character of oral storytelling and influenced later folklore studies and children's literature. He also wrote The Story of Geographical Discovery: How the World Became Known, reflecting his interest in history and the spread of knowledge. Jacobs edited the folklore society's journal Folk-Lore and moved to the United States in 1900, where he took part in revising and editing the Jewish Encyclopedia.