• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Geographical

Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

  • Home
  • Briefing
  • Science & Environment
  • Climate
    • Climatewatch
  • Wildlife
  • Culture
  • Geopolitics
    • Geopolitical hotspots
  • Study Geography
    • University directory
    • Masters courses
    • Course guides
      • Climate change
      • Environmental science
      • Human geography
      • Physical geography
    • University pages
      • University of Aberdeen
      • Aberystwyth University
      • Cardiff University
      • University of Chester
      • Edge Hill University
      • The University of Edinburgh
      • Oxford Brookes University
      • Queen Mary University of London
    • Geography careers
      • Charity/non-profit
      • Education & research
      • Environment
      • Finance & consulting
      • Government and Local Government
    • Applications and advice
  • Quizzes
  • Magazine
    • Issue previews
    • Subscribe
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Special Editions
    • Podcasts
    • Geographical Archive
    • Book reviews
    • Crosswords
    • Advertise with us
  • Subscribe

Review: Four Points of the Compass by Jerry Brotton

1 December 2024
2 minutes

Four points of the compass book design

Jerry Brotton’s new book uncovers the ways in which seemingly simple coordinates shape the way we perceive our world, cultures and politics


By Graeme Gourlay

The original iconic photograph of the Earth taken from Apollo 17 in 1972 had Antarctica at the top. That NASA decided to flip the image is one of the many remarkable facts that you discover in this marvellous examination of how we orientate ourselves and how that affects how we see the world.

As Jeremy Brotton so elegantly explains, north, south, east and west are far more than points on a map, or a direction of travel. They embody our complex and often contradictory understanding of the world, with profound cultural, political and social implications.

The original Blue Marble image taken from Apollo 17 in 1972. On the left is how the image was actually taken – NASA flipped it on release to put North on top

Our use of these arbitrary terms and the meanings we give them reflect how we see the world and our place within it. Why does the term Global South carry a pejorative colonial slight? Why do we describe people who live in Europe and North America as Westerners?


Enjoying this article? Check out our related reads:

  • Review: Humanitarianism 2.0 by Hugo Slim
  • Review: Climate Anxiety And The Kid Question by Jade Sasser
  • Review: Why We Travel
  • Review: Mars on Earth by Mark Johanson
  • Review: Battle for the Museum by Rachel Spence

How come we now survey planets millions of miles away and organise the resulting maps with north as the prime cardinal direction?

This short volume (160 pages of text followed by extensive notes) takes you through the history of direction from the rising of the sun and common winds being the primary definers in ancient civilisations, to the arrival of the magnetic compass and the spread of global trade, leading to European-dominated imperialism. It finishes with today’s digital world and us as a blue dot becoming the central focus of our understanding of our place on the planet.

It’s a fascinating and revealing journey showing the many twists and turns of how we have used these key concepts of direction and place.

Implicit in their use are often some deep and disturbing prejudices. At other times, rather mundane practical reasons come to the fore, such as early vellum maps used the shape of the calf skins to place the Mediterranean on an west/east axis. It’s fairly obvious why NASA decided to place North America on top.


Buy your copy here via Amazon

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: Books

Protected by Copyscape

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Geographical Magazine from just £4.99

Geographical subscriptions

Sign up to our newsletter and get the best of Geographical direct to your inbox

Popular Now

We need a Global Climate Club – and we need it now

We need a Global Climate Club – and we need it now

Cedar Breaks International Dark Sky Park

Darkness falls, stars rise in Utah’s national parks

Guadalupe River New Braunfels, Texas

Geo explainer: The Guadalupe River

Morey-Saint-Denis, France - July 05th, 2024: The Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates, in the yellow jersey, rides during the time trial of stage 7 of the Tour de France 2024.

Tour de France: How are its environmental impacts mitigated?

Concept art of the earth plugged into digital wiring and techonology

The innovative solutions tackling climate change

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Geographical print magazine cover

Published in the UK since 1935, Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

Informative, authoritative and educational, this site’s content covers a wide range of subject areas, including geography, culture, wildlife and exploration, illustrated with superb photography.

Click Here for SUBSCRIPTION details

Want to access Geographical on your tablet or smartphone? Press the Apple, Android or PC/Mac image below to download the app for your device

Footer Apple Footer Android Footer Mac-PC

More from Geographical

  • Subscriptions
  • Get our Newsletter
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2025 · Site by Syon Media