The Mapmaker's Wife: A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon

by Robert Whitaker

Book Overview

In the early years of the 18th century, a band of French scientists set off on a daring, decade-long expedition to South America in a race to measure the precise shape of the earth. Like Lewis and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385337205
• ISBN13: 9780385337205
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Delta
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Mapmaker's Wife...

could also have been called THE SOUTH AMERICAN EXPEDITION or some other such title, as it is much more about history, scientific study, (including some botany, astronomy, physics, and other scientific ideas pre- and in, the Age of Enlightenment), the pre-expedition conquest of S America, and many other bits of information; there are indeed, many topics touched upon within these pages. However, the mapmaker's wife is a topic that is also only touched upon in the first two-thirds of the text, as the many other things dominate, and in the last third of the book does the author finally get to this harrowing story, and what a journey this woman had! As an avid reader, I enjoy most everything I read and I enjoyed this book too, overall. It was a book I had to push through, though, as I found it alternately enthralling, then tedious in some of the detail offered; in other places, jumping from topic to topic somewhat disjointedly. I'm glad I pushed through and finished it though, for I feel I have gained a new experience for having done so.

Fresh Perspective on History

When my friend passed this book on to me, I was expecting a historical novel with dialogue and romance. However, I was pleasantly surprised by a nonfiction story woven from documents, letters, and research. I have always loved maps and been intrigued with how early naturalists figured out details about nature, so this book was a page-turner for me. I couldn't put it down. It was amazing what this team endured to collect data for information that we learn in elementary school today. It also gives insight and context to some of modern day political and social issues.