I enjoyed this book, but I think that it would have a pretty limited appeal. The parts about globes in general would be of more interest, but the memoir sections weren't as interesting.

What a beautiful and interesting book! The photography here was mesmerizing and the history of making globes was so unique. A beautiful coffee table book!

The Globemakers is a layman accessible and fascinating monograph on the art and craft of globemaking by Peter Bellerby. Released 17th Oct 2023 by Bloomsbury, it's 240 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a fascinating book, full of background information (ancient and current) on globemaking. It's also a personal story with lots of the author's recollections on setting himself the task to learn (seemingly on a whim) how to make a globe which morphed into a demand for high end artisanal globes giving rise to his workshop in London (and soon expanding to NYC).

This could've been a dry-as-dust recitation, but it's anything but, being infused by the author's warmth and gentle self-deprecating humor. There are anecdotes and history from ancient times to relatively recent modern times. The book is also lavishly illustrated in color with photographs of the Bellerby studio and the artists working there to facsimile documents and drawings from ancient maps and books.

Four and a half stars. Engaging and gorgeously illustrated, this would be a very good choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or for gift giving purposes.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is such a beautiful book, the cover really doesn't do justice to some of the images inside. It delves into the craft of globe-making from the perspective of one company, and the journey that they went on to build these beautiful spheres.

This book proved super interesting! I had no idea what a niche market globemaking can be, nor how it touches on so many topics--art, science, history, politics, religion, math, cartography, and more. (Reminds me of why I was a European Studies major in college--I craved that topical variety!)

I loved the pictures and artwork, and spent an inordinate amount of time studying the shades of blue used in the oceans--not to mention the skyline drawings! (Hello, London, my old friend.) And Bellerby's story itself proved fascinating; his hunt for a birthday present for his father began it all. I could certainly relate to that! (Hiiiii, hard-to-shop-for-but-dearly-loved Dad. :D) Although I'm not going to start a globemaking company to meet that need. Maybe I'll customize a deck of pinochle cards? Hehe!

But I digress. Back to the book.

The author and I may not agree on certain scientific matters, but I can't say I was surprised, heh. That thankfully barely detracted from the read; I had expected it somewhat, so checked it off and moved on. And there was so much to enjoy and appreciate about the read, this one thing I was unsurprised by proved nothing more than a checkmark blip--happy day. Truly a very pleasant reading experience, and one that prompted #allthegooglesearches on myriad minutiae throughout.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A fascinating beautifully illustrated book about the globe makers.Told In first person involving us in his work his craft.a very special book that I learned so much from.#netgalley #bloomsburybooks

A gorgeously photographed and well-written history of globemaking.

This is such a weird, niche interest that I was surprised in the best way to see a book fully devoted to the art of making a globe as well as the history of doing so.

The quality of photography stands out more than anything else here. The images are gorgeous and a terrific companion to the text.

I’m probably more interest in the history of globemaking than the practical instructions on how one might do so now, but I’m glad the author included both. A must-read for any cartography enthusiast.

Map making is fascinating and the history of it is even better. One learns about the way people in time thought of themselves and their place in the world. This is evident in this book and I highly recommend this.

This book is very stunning. The pictures add such an artistry to this well designed novel. The story combines a hearty amount of historical background with personal anecdotes about the beguiling quality of globes. It is successful as both a discussion of the craft and a journey towards the achieve ent of a lifelong dream to be a globe maker. Captivating and enchanting, this book was a whimsical journey that I did not want to end.

This is not for kindle. Nope. I simply adore maps. They are everywhere in my life. This past March I left everything just to escape. Escape I did.
Damn. I wish I'd have taken my maps.

I loved this book. The highlights are the autobiographical content, the vivid descriptions on how to make globes, the beautiful photos, and the clear conversational writing. It was more like having coffee with Bellerby than reading a book. A lot of the content is about Bellerby’s company but it does not come across as promotional, in part because Bellerby can be self-effacing and discusses his successes and failures. Bellerby also readily gives credit where credit is due to the people around him. This is one of those books where I will miss the author and his staff. Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance reader copy.

An outstanding read! Every part of this book is so fascinating! I requested this ARC because I like to learn new random things and this is probably my favorite random thing I’ve read and learned. There’s so many little details that you’d think might not be important but they are and the craft is just so interesting. Also the book itself is beautifully designed, the illustrations and photos are gorgeous, I will definitely be buying a copy of this for my personal collection and requesting it be purchased at my library, we must own this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully illustrated and very informative book! Written in first person, you feel like the author is personally telling you the story of their fascination with globes.