A sparkling exploration of direction by the acclaimed author of A History of the World in 12
Maps North south east and west: almost all societies use the four cardinal directions to
orientate themselves to understand who they are by projecting where they are. For millennia
these four directions have been foundational to our travel navigation and exploration and are
central to the imaginative moral and political geography of virtually every culture in the
world. Yet they are far more subjective and various - sometimes contradictory - than we might
realize. The Four Points of the Compass takes the reader on a journey of directional
discovery. Jerry Brotton reveals why Hebrew culture privileges east why Renaissance Europeans
began drawing north at the top of their maps why the early Islam revered the south why the
Aztecs used five colour-coded cardinal directions and why no societies primitive or modern
have ever orientated themselves westwards. He ends by reflecting on our digital age in which we
the little blue dot on the screen have become the most important compass point. Throughout
Brotton shows that the directions reflect a human desire to create order and that they only
have meaning literally and metaphorically depending on where you stand.
