Power Lines: Maps That Shaped the Way We See the World with Peter Keating

Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Book talk with author Peter Keating at 7 p.m., followed by book signing. 

All maps show us where we are, from the map of Western civilization on Achilles’ shield to our smart phone apps today. Some maps also try to tell us what to think—and that’s where things get really interesting... 

Join award-winning journalist Peter Keating as he presents a collection of maps that have defined borders, influenced social policy, and enacted political change. Together, we will travel to ancient Greece to define existence; to the age of Exploration to express borders, identities, and ambitions; to antebellum America to track the ideas that paved the path to the Civil War; and to the 1884 Berlin Conference to see Western leaders carve up Africa. We will see the map of Adolf Hitler’s speaking engagements in 1933 that looks like a rock concert tour poster, and explore maps of gerrymandering, of redlining, of military targets, and of peace treaties. And you will examine the polarizing red-and-blue election results maps that Americans are confronted with every two years. You will never look at maps the same way again. 

“a stunning volume of maps that serve, intentionally or unintentionally, as propaganda for political beliefs…a gorgeous must-have for map lovers.”–Publishers Weekly 

Presented in partnership with Watchung Booksellers. 

Tickets available in advance and at the door.