Map Exploring the world

Review by Choice Review

This beautifully produced book presents pairs of maps that complement or are in contrast with each other in sometimes surprising ways; for example, the lava flow at Mt. Vesuvius and the flooding patterns of Hurricane Katrina. A map of the human brain, an image of tweeting activity in real time, and a table of "asterisms" of Hindu astrology join maps and landscape views that are more conventional. The contributors boldly leap across time, including art works, maps from non-Western cultures, and children's maps, demonstrating the various ways of considering and representing space. There is also a generous selection of thematic maps that display data (weather, population, food preferences) on a geographical plan. Each map is identified and accompanied by a brief set of comments. The book contains a time line of map history, short biographies of some cartographers, a glossary of map terms, and a bibliography of general works in the field. Readers will have to dig on their own for information on some of the more obscure items. The publisher says the book is designed for "browsing and discussion." Map enthusiasts will certainly find it stimulating. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels and libraries. --Evelyn Edson, Piedmont Virginia Community College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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Review by Library Journal Review

After a short introduction that discusses, among other things, the difficulty of describing what a map is, let alone its why, how, when, or who, John Hessler's (Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress) introduction to this gorgeous title describes its unusual arrangement. Rather than offering maps arranged chronologically, by region, or some other expected way, the book pairs maps "to highlight interesting comparisons and contrasts." Thus readers will find among the fine, colorful reproductions a "Map of Jerusalem as the Centre of the World" dating back to 1200 paired with a 1773 rendering of the city and an 1889 "Descriptive Map of London Poverty" opposite a depiction of world poverty in 2006; a map showing the connections between the world's 500 million Facebook friends as of 2010 and one of the brain by the Human Connectome Project; the London and New York underground/subway systems juxtaposed; and numerous world maps from across time. Most spreads feature one map per page with succinct descriptive text underneath illustrating the map's creation and meaning. VERDICT A sumptuous meal for carto-philes.-Henrietta Verma, Library Journal © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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