The Guang Yutu is an Atlas made by Luo Hongxian and was published in 1561. The Atlas is currently located in the National Central Library in China.

Bibliography

“Enlarged Terrestrial Atlas.” WDL RSS. World Digital Library, 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7093/>.

Yee, Cordell D.K. Traditional Chinese Cartography and the Myth of Westernization. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Chicago: U of Chicago, n.d. University of Chicago. University of Chicago. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V2_B2/HOC_VOLUME2_Book2_chapter7.pdf>.

Lowe, David, and David Shapiro. Charlie Rose Theme Song. PBS, n.d. MP3. 

I went to the library and used the search engine through the upper level computer (right near the top of the stairs) in order to find books about African history. I ended up choosing a book titled History of Africa by Kevin Shillington because of the brightly colored cover and use of pictures. The book covers many topics including Ancient Egypt, the Iron Age, Bantu migrations, the end of the slave trade in the nineteenth century, the creation of states such as Sierra Leone and Senegal, the Maji Maji Rebellion, and the Second World War in Africa.  The book also contains maps showing the spread of iron forging, land occupied by different states, and mass migrations like the Bantus. A History of Africa includes a lot of cultural aspects of African history, including the growth of Christianity and Islam in certain regions. Lastly, the book also discusses complex topics such as the economic impact of colonial rule. For example, in Kenya there was a system called “Kipande” where Kenyans were removed from most of the fertile land only to be allowed back if they worked as tenants.

Most of the books near History of Africa were modern African history. One book is very tiny and was titled A Brief History of Africa, which can be great as a quick and informative read about a large and very diverse continent with a long history.

Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa. New York: St. Martin’s, 1989. Print.

The Aztec World by Elizabeth Hill Boone is a history book that discusses different aspects of the Aztec Empire. The book tells the reader about Aztec culture, government, religion, and economy. The first chapter includes the historical events of Hernan Cortez’s, a Spanish explorer, arrival. The book also discusses the layout and size of capital city of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlan. The city rested on an island in a lake and had a population of 150,000 or more civilians. The total population surrounding the lake in addition to Tenochtitlan’s population amounts to about 1,000,000.  In perspective, the largest cities in Europe at the time were Paris and Constantinople, which had populations of about 300,000 people each (Boone 18).

I wanted to find a book dealing with the Aztec Empire. So, I typed in “Aztec Empire” in the search engine on the upper-level computer at Skillman Library and a bunch of results showed up. I picked The Aztec World by Elizabeth Hill Boone and used the ISP number to locate the book. Near The Aztec World I found some interesting books titled The Aztec Handbook and another book about the Mexican Revolution. When I opened The Aztec World the colorful pictures caught my eye and after flipping through the book I noticed each chapter opened up with an interesting story, which makes the book a page turner. A lot of times history books can seem bland, but this book was enjoyable to look through.

Works Cited:

Boone, Elizabeth Hill. The Aztec World. Montreal: St. Remy, 1994. Print.