The Nuremberg Chronicle, more correctly known as the Weltchronik, or Chronicle of the World, was an extraordinary Renaissance achievement, and one of the most important works ever published. It is an illustrated encyclopedia of the world as it was known in Germany near the end of the fifteenth century. Most of its knowledge is drawn from the Bible, but it also records contemporary events, including the falling of a meteorite on the Alsace, and some history of medicine. It includes maps of important cities, and a map of the world — just too early to include Columbus's new findings. Compiled by Hartmann Schedel in Nuremberg, the book was illustrated by renowned artists and engravers including Albrecht Dürer, who went on to become Germany's best-known Renaissance painter. Taschen has now published a luxurious fascimile of the massive chronicle (£40, $60, 60 euros), with extensive commentary in several languages.