The Sky Atlas unveils some of the most beautiful maps and charts ever created during humankind's quest to map the skies above us. This richly illustrated treasury showcases the finest examples of celestial cartography—a glorious art often overlooked by modern map books—as well as medieval manuscripts, masterpiece paintings, ancient star catalogs, antique instruments, and other curiosities.

This is the sky as it has never been presented before: the realm of stars and planets, but also of gods, devils, weather wizards, flying sailors, ancient aliens, mythological animals, and rampaging spirits.

• Packed with celestial maps, illustrations, and stories of places, people, and creatures that different cultures throughout history have observed or imagined in the heavens
• Readers are taken on a tour of star-obsessed cultures around the world, learning about Tibetan sky burials, star-covered Inuit dancing coats, Mongolian astral prophets and Sir William Herschel's 1781 discovery of Uranus, the first planet to be found since antiquity.
• A gorgeous book that delights stargazers and map lovers alike

With thrilling stories and gorgeous artwork, this remarkable atlas explores our fascination with the sky across time and cultures to form an extraordinary chronicle of cosmic imagination and discovery.

The Sky Atlas is a wonderful book for map lovers, history buffs, and stargazers, but also for those who are intrigued by the many wonderful and bizarre ways in which humans have sought to understand the cosmos and our place in it.

• A unique map book that expands beyond the terrestrial and into the celestial
• A wonderful gift for map lovers, obscure-history fans, mythology buffs, and astrology and astronomy lovers.

Edward Brooke-Hitching is a map collector, author, writer for the popular BBC television program QI and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He lives in a dusty heap of old maps and books in London, investigating the places where exploration and mythology meet.