About book On The Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration Of The Way The World Looks (2012)
My Secret Santa at work gave me this, and it is fantastic! I have land surveyors in my family, but I am absolutely terrible with maps- so this was very much appreciated! I enjoyed that Garfield covered actual maps, GPS, the brain, literature, cinema, etc. The only drawback I would say that he does hop around quite a bit. However, this is a fun read, and I would recommend this to most people; it has something for everyone! There's a certain irony in the idea that a book about maps should lack direction, but there's no other way to describe Garfield's work. Focusing on a series of maps or (sometimes loosely) map-related subjects, each chapter tells a different story, often in a different way. Some, like the Vinland map which potentially dispels the Columbus myth, are fascinating, others like the chapter on the Churchill globe come across as little more than publicity for a friend's business. Still others, like the exploration of maps in virtual worlds, feel like padding. Along the way we learn about how maps are sometimes sadly neglected, other times stolen or ruthlessly traded; how men and women see the world differently and how Google is tirelessly striving to rob us even of the privacy of our own homes. What we don't learn is much to justify the book's surtitle about why the world looks like it does.That said, it's an interesting book in parts and I suspect most readers will take something from it. Just don't be afraid to skip any chapters which don't grab you.
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Popular history of cartography? Yes, please!
—joana
