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    Terra Incognita

    Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years

    Ian Goldin and Robert Muggah

     

    Map-making is an ancient impulse. From the moment homo sapiens learnt to communicate we have used them to make sense of our surroundings. But as Albert Einstein once said, ‘you can’t use old maps to explore a new world.’ And now, when the world is changing faster than ever before, our old maps are no longer fit for purpose.

     

    Welcome to Terra Incognita. Based on decades of research, and combining mesmerising, state-of-the-art satellite maps with enlightening and passionately argued analysis, authors Ian Goldin and Robert Muggah chart humanity’s impact on the planet, and the ways in which we can make a real impact to save it, and to thrive as a species.

     

    Learn about: fires in the arctic; the impact of sea level rise on cities around the world; the truth about immigration – and why fears in the West are a myth; the counter-intuitive future of population rise; the miracles of health and education that are waiting around the corner, and the reality about inequality, and how we end it. The book traces the paths of peoples, cities, wars, climates and technologies, all on a global scale. Full of facts that will confound you, inform you, and ultimately empower you, Terra Incognita guides readers to a new place of understanding, rather than to a physical location.

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    Praise for Terra Incognita

     

    Terra Incognita brilliantly makes our world today into a Terra Cognita, a place that becomes understandable through ingenious maps and visualizations.  Goldin and Muggah offer remarkable insights into our interconnected global society through both maps and text.  The book is filled with insights and delights that will cause the reader to exclaim, page after page, “I didn’t know that!” And now we do.  

    Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor at Columbia University and author of The Ages of Globalization (2020)

     

    ‘A gorgeous and uniquely informative account of the state of the world in the 21st Century.’ 

    Steven Pinker, Author of Enlightenment Now, Professor at Harvard University

     

    ‘Fascinating, beautiful, alarming and revelatory use of mapping and infographics’ 

    Stephen Fry, Actor 


    ‘Amidst an abundance of global crisis and unrest, it’s easy to feel as if there’s no prescription for the future. But Terra Incognita provides us with just that, through stunning maps and visual aids that illuminate the most pressing issues of our time.’ 

    Chris Anderson, New York Times Bestselling Author of TED Talks and Head of TED

     

    ‘Terra Incognita take us on an exhilarating journey of the mega-trends that are remaking our world. Using powerful maps and graphics, it provides much-needed guideposts to the incredible shifts and challenges going on all around us. Ian Goldin and Robert Muggah provide a necessary antidote to the paralyzing uncertainty and pessimistic fatalism that threatens to overwhelm us all. This book offers a bold new perspective not just on the challenges we face, but how, armed with the right data and information, we can go about fixing them’

    Richard Florida, University of Toronto professor and author of The Rise of the Creative Class

     

    ‘Amazing . . . it would be my desert island choice! This extraordinary book – with 100 fascinating maps, embedded in a richly informative text – offers a comprehensive perspective on global trends. It is amazing how much analysis the distinguished authors have distilled into a single volume. The book is especially welcome at a time when COVID-19 is disrupting our interconnected planet. It would be hard to imagine a better text to guide and enlighten us as we aim to ‘remake’ a better world. It deserves a very wide readership.’

    Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and author of On the Future

     

    ‘Terra Incognita draws readers into multiple worlds and provides the tools to navigate between them. Goldin and Muggah use powerfully-engaging maps to help understand and confront our biggest challenges – from climate change to inequality. By inviting readers to traverse a vast range of disciplines and ideas, their volume helps each of us better appreciate how our problems are interconnected. This is a must read for everyone striving to make a better world.’

    Saskia Sassen, Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, author of Expulsions and the Global City

     

    ‘Every young person must read this book. Full of mesmerizing maps and powerful story-telling, Terra Incognita is an indispensable guide to change our futures for the better.’

    Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol

    ‘The mapmakers of old wrote “Here Be Dragons” to designated unknown and uncharted areas. Terra Incognita simultaneously shows us how much of our world we can see and map and how many dark places still remain to be explored. Most important, it is a vital tool for teaching students, researchers, and analysts how to change our mental models — our imagined maps — of the worlds we think we inhabit. Our future depends on it.’ 

    Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO New America and Professor Princeton

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