About the Book

The history of geography is an account of the successive images that scholars have developed  concerning the arrangement of things on the face of the earth.

The book explores the recognition, perception, and evaluation of geography as a discipline, tracing its roots from ancient Greece through classical, medieval, and modern times. The book attempts to identify the major geographical traditions as they appeared in the early classical period and as they reappear again and again in somewhat different form throughout the course of history.

It serves as an essential reference for courses on the history of geography, offering a comprehensive overview of the subject's development. The text also provides a concise account of twentieth-century geography and notable geographers across various countries.

The book is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in geographical thought.

Contents

1              A Field of Study Called Geography

Part I: CLASSICAL

2              The Beginnings of Classical Geography

3              Geography in the Middle Ages

4             The Age of Exploration

5              The Impact of Discoveries

6             An End and a Beginning: Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Ritter

Part II: MODERN

7              What Was New?

8             The New Geography in Germany

9             The New Geography in France and Great Britain

10           The New Geography in the Soviet Union

11             Geography Around the World

12            The New Geography in the United States Before World War I

13            The New Geography in the United States—World War I to Midcentury

14            Applied Geography

Part III: CONTEMPORARY

15            The Concept of Occupied Space

16            New Methods of Observation and Analysis

17            Innovation and Tradition

About the Author / Editor

Preston E. James is Maxwell Emeritus Professor of Geography at Syracuse University. He was visiting professor at the Universities of Brazil, Edinburgh, and Puerto Rico. He has been councilor, secretary, president, and honorary president of the Association of American Geographers.