The Mismapping of America Review

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(More customer reviews)Before you begin reading this book, beware...you will NOT be able to put it down. Also beware, put aside ALL of your preconceived notions regarding historical America's founding....and hold on to your hat.
Mr. Schwartz immediately takes us on a fascinating, fact-based journey into "THE BIG ONE"......the naming of America itself. He pieces together personalities, letters, and rare maps; and presents a clear, traceable historical path of what really happened. Truly a revelation!
This is not a book featuring large 9x12 color reproductions. All the maps are black and white, seldom 4x6. These colorized larger maps can be found in the references mentioned below. Rather, this book presents American history as we have never known with sufficient maps provided for clarity and direction.
Along with Schwartz' "The Mapping of America" and "Degrees of Latitude", Pritchard/Taliaferro, I consider "The Mismapping of America" essential to anyone interested in a significantly important, fact-based account of our real history.
As interest in American History rises (thank you C-Span) it is truly essential that we understand the basic fundamentals laid down by the earliest explorers and mapmakers..and the forces behind them. Schwartz presents this in an easy to read, factual masterpiece.


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The Mismapping of America presents and analyzes the significant cartographic errors that have shaped the history of the United States. Perhaps the most blatant error is the very name "America," that honors Amerigo Vespucci, who not only never set foot on North American soil, but also played no significant role in the discovery of South America. The appearance of the name "America" imprinted on a map ensured its permanence. Other significant errors explored in The Mismapping of America include Giovanni da Verrazzano's misinterpretation of Pamlico or Albermarle Sound for the Pacific Ocean, thereby suggesting the presence of an isthmus in the middle of the North American continent; the existence of a direct North West passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; the misconception that California was an island; and the insertion on Lake Superior of a fictitious island that is specifically referred to in defining the boundary of the United States. The inclusion of pertinent rare maps enhances this rich and revealing narrative of several intriguing episodes in the history of the geographic evolution of the United States.

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