City-block style maps (sometimes referred to as “European-style”) are characterized by their use of negative space. Shapes – in the form of city blocks – define the positive space, whereas the road areas are negative space. While Ortelius excels at designing modern style road maps, with connectable tracks and built-in symbols, it also has great tools for creating city-block style maps. Here’s how… Read more »
It is with much gratitude we offer our congratulations to Richard Brummett, Mapdiva’s very first customer, for the publication of Search and Destroy by Keith W. Nolan and published by Zenith Press. Upon the author’s untimely death, Richard Brummett (Keith’s friend and associate) saw the book through to completion. A large part of that effort included making the four maps, three charts of military vehicle silhouettes, and a page of crests and patches that illustrate the book, which were created with Ortelius cartography software for Mac OS X.
In fact, Richard purchased his license of Ortelius slightly before the official public release in order to work with the demo without the watermark. He worked with the patience of a saint as we flushed out pre-release bugs and continued the final stages of development. Richard’s input was invaluable toward the documentation of Ortelius as he asked questions about (at that time) undocumented features, offered encouragement, and inspired us to keep plowing forward. It is a perfect demonstration of how Ortelius’ development is truly a partnership with our customers.
About “Search and Destroy: The Story of an Armored Cavalry Squadron in Việt Nam: 1-1 Cav, 1967-1968” [Hardcover]
The 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, of the 1st Armored Division deployed to Việt Nam from Fort Hood, Texas in August 1967. Search and Destroy covers the 1-1 Cav’s harrowing first year and a half of combat in the war’s toughest area of operations: I Corps. The book takes readers into the savage action at infamous places like Tam Kỳ, the Quế Sơn Valley, the Pineapple Forest, Hill 34, and Cigar Island, chronicling General Westmoreland’s search-and-destroy war of attrition against the Việt Cộng and North Vietnamese Army. Exploring the gray areas of guerrilla war, military historian Keith Nolan details moments of great compassion toward the Vietnamese, but also eruptions of Mỹ Laị-like violence, the grimmer aspects of the 1-1 Cav’s successes. Search and Destroy is a rare account of an exemplary fighting force in action, a dramatic close-up look at the Việt Nam War.
About the Author
Keith W. Nolan studied the Việt Nam War for twenty-five years and has published articles on the subject in Leatherneck, the Marine Corps Gazette, Proceedings, and Vietnam magazine. He is also the author of eleven Việt Nam War combat histories, all of which have been Military Book Club selections. Keith died in February 2009 at age 44 and this will be his twelfth and final book on the Việt Nam War.
Keith leaves behind a nine-year-old daughter, Anna Britt.
Maps are tremendous genealogical tools to help build a more comprehensive understanding of what life was like for your ancestors, looking at locations, migration routes, political boundaries, and more. Custom maps let you personalize the historical geography and highlight features relevant to family reports, documents, and photographs.
Here is an example of a family history map made with Ortelius showing the northeast Italian region of Udine (c. 1910). Click here to view a PDF export of the finished map in all its glory. Read more »
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