This Earthly Globe

In the autumn of 1550, a thick volume containing a wealth of new geographical information, with startling wood-cut maps of Africa, India and Indonesia, was published in Venice under the title Navigationi & Viaggi (Journeys & Navigations). The person who had edited this remarkable collection of travelogues, journals, and classified government reports was unknown. Two more volumes delivered the most accurate information on Asia and the "New" World that was available. The three volumes together constituted an unparalleled release of geographical data into the public domain. It was, Andrea di Robilant writes, the biggest Wikileak of the Renaissance.

In This Earthly Globe, di Robilant brings to life the palace intrigues, editorial wheedling, delicate alliances, and vibrant curiosity that resulted in this coup by the editor G. B. Ramusio. Learned and self-effacing, he gathered a diverse array of both popular and closely guarded narratives, from the journals of Marco Polo (he fact-checked them!) to detailed reports on Northern African cultures from Hasan ibn Mohammad al-Wazzan of Andalusia. Diverse voices spill out from these chapters as di Robilant recounts how Ramusio pursued the sources, and how he understood both the darker episodes of "exploration," which included colonial violence, and the accounts of people from African and Asian lands, who had a great deal to share about their cultures. The result is a far-flung and delightful homage to one of the founding fathers of book publishing.