FOUR POINTS OF THE COMPASS

With a compass to show the way, a professor of English and history undertakes an engaging journey of discovery.

Finding your way from where you are to where you want to go might seem like an easy concept in today’s digital world, but there many colorful stories about the history of direction and navigation. In his latest book, Brotton, author of A History of the World in 12 Maps and The Sultan and the Queen, unravels them. Even ancient societies had an organized sense of direction, linked to the rising and setting of the sun, and the constant North Star and its southern equivalent were some of the first astronomical features to be recognized. The result was a division of the world into four basic directions, with rare exceptions—e.g., the Aztecs had five color-coded cardinal directions. The next big step was the magnetic compass, which, when coupled with reliable methods of calculating latitude and longitude, led to transoceanic travel and the convention that North would be located at the top of maps. That idea has continued, but many terms, such as “Middle East,” have little to do with geography and more to do with political considerations—in that case, the outlook of the British Empire. Likewise, the value of the term “the West,” which usually means the European and English-speaking parts of the world, depends largely on where one is standing. The author worries that the new dominance of GPS and smartphones could disconnect us from a shared sense of place as well as a relationship with the natural world. Thus, he offers a piece of advice: On the next clear night, look for the North Star, and think about all the others who have done so.

Brotton keeps his complex story moving, knitting technical information and anecdotes into a vivid tapestry.