In Four Points of the Compass, historian Jerry Brotton goes in search of their origins to find out what they can tell us about the Earth and its inhabitants. We take the directions for granted ...

So, even if you’re standing in the Southern Hemisphere, your compass needle will always point north. Beyond the outer edges of the magnetosphere, however, things get a little more complicated.

In “Four Points of the Compass,” Jerry Brotton explores the disorienting, dizzying history of our relationship to direction. By Ian Volner Ian Volner writes about architecture, design and ...