OpenStreetMap: Using and Enhancing the Free Map of the World by Frederik Ramm, Jochen Topf and Steve Chilton UIT Cambridge, 2010. Paperback, 352 pp. ISBN 978-1-906860-11-0 Last year saw the publication in English of two books about OpenStreetMap. This one,…
Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas by Rebecca Solnit University of California Press, 2010. Hardcover and paperback, 164 pp. ISBN 978-0-520-26249-2 (hardcover); 978-0-520-26250-8 (paperback) Not every city has a soul: some are decidedly soulless. But while I’ve never been to…
In Maps & Legends is a digital comic book series about a fantasy mapmaker who finds herself drawn into a mysterious world she’s been mapping. Kaitlin is a newly single freelance artist who is stuck in the rut of…
National Geographic Atlas of the World, Ninth Edition National Geographic, 2010. Hardcover with slipcase, 424 pp. ISBN 978-1-4262-0634-4. National Geographic’s world atlases go in a different direction than other world atlases on the market. Instead of a relief map palette…
From Here to There: A Curious Collection from the Hand Drawn Map Association by Kris Harzinski Princeton Architectural Press, 2010. Paperback, 224 pp. ISBN 978-1-56898-882-5 The Hand Drawn Map Association has come a long way since I first encountered it…
The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization’s Rough Landscape by Harm de Blij Oxford University Press, 2008. Hardcover, 294 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-536770-6 “The future is already here. It’s just not very evenly distributed,” the science-fiction writer William Gibson has…
The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name by Toby Lester Free Press, 2009. Hardcover, 480 pp. ISBN 978-1-4165-3531-7 We’ve heard a…
Paris Underground: The Maps, Stations, and Design of the Métro by Mark Ovenden Penguin, 2009. Softcover, 176 pp. ISBN 978-0-14-311639-4 It’s possible that I know the Paris Métro better than any other subway system in the world. In the summer…
Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge and the Ordnance Survey by Mike Parker Collins, 2009. Hardcover, 330 pp. ISBN 978-0-00-730084-6 It’s very easy for me to like Map Addict — and not just because its author, travel writer Mike…
Sky and Telescope’s Pocket Sky Atlas by Roger W. Sinnott Sky Publishing, 2006. Coilbound, 124 pp. ISBN 1-931559-31-7 The Cambridge Star Atlas, Third Edition by Wil Tirion Cambridge University Press, 2001. Hardcover, 96 pp. ISBN 0-521-800846 Rod Mollise’s recent look…
Cartography Design Annual #1 Nick Springer, editor Springer Cartographics, 2008. Softcover, 78 pp. ISBN-13 978-0-6152-2116-8 Based on submissions from the Cartotalk community, this ambitious first iteration of the Cartographic Design Annual, edited by Nick Springer, is intended as a showcase…
Rhumb Lines and Map Wars: A Social History of the Mercator Projection by Mark Monmonier University of Chicago Press, 2004. Hardcover, 238 pp. ISBN 0-226-53431-6 Rhumb Lines and Map Wars is Mark Monmonier’s response to the controversy over the Mercator…
Lost States: Real Quests for American Statehood by Michael J. Trinklein CreateSpace, 2008. Softcover, 95 pp. ISBN-13 978-1438215334 Lost States: Real Quests for American Statehood chronicles 42 proposals for U.S. statehood that never went anywhere (though some very nearly did)….
Transit Maps of the World by Mark Ovenden Penguin, 2007. Paperback, 144 pp. ISBN-13 978-0-14-311265-5 Billed on its cover as “the world’s first collection of every urban train map on Earth,” this is, in fact, the second revised edition of…
Canada Back Road Atlas MapArt, 2007. Paperback, 702 pp. ISBN-13 978-1-55368-614-9 MapArt is easily the largest publisher of road maps in Canada, publishing not only maps of cities and metropolitan areas (both as folded maps and as coil-bound and saddle-stitched…
Longitude by Dava Sobel Walker and Company, 1995, 2007. Paperback, xiv + 184 pp. ISBN-13 978-0-8027-1529-6 Latitude and longitude are basics of accurate map-making and navigation. In an age of pervasive GPS signals, it’s easy to forget that determining your…
Our Dumb World: Atlas of the Planet Earth by The Onion Little, Brown, 2007. Hardcover, 245 pp. ISBN-13 978-0-316-08142-5 As I mentioned before, Our Dumb World is The Onion’s take on the sort of atlas exemplified by the old National…
The Geist Atlas of Canada: Meat Maps and Other Strange Cartographies by Melissa Edwards Arsenal Pulp Press, 2006. Softcover, 128 pp. ISBN 1-55152-216-0 Early on in The Map Room’s existence, we learned about a quirky feature emanating from Geist, a…
From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow: How Maps Name, Claim and Inflame by Mark Monmonier University of Chicago Press, 2006. Hardcover, 229 pp. ISBN 0-226-53465-0 When I was living in Edmonton, I heard the story of Chinaman’s Peak. In 1886,…
Seeing Through Maps by Denis Wood, Ward L. Kaiser and Bob Abramms ODT, 2006. Softcover, 160 pp. ISBN 1-931057-20-6 It’s really not a difficult concept: there are no “right” and “wrong” cartographic projections. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages,…
How to Lie with Maps (Second Edition) by Mark Monmonier University of Chicago Press, 1996. Softcover, 220 pp. ISBN 0-226-53421-9 While reading this modern classic by Syracuse University geography professor Mark Monmonier (see previous entry), I was struck by how…
Walking with Your Ancestors: A Genealogist’s Guide to Using Maps and Geography by Melinda Kashuba Family Tree Books, 2005. Softcover, 226 pp. ISBN 1-55870-730-1 I do other things besides this web site; one of these is to volunteer at the…
Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS by John Krygier and Denis Wood Guilford Press, 2005. Softcover, 303 pp. ISBN 1-59385-200-2 I love this book. It’s just so neat. Although Making Maps is aimed at a GIS…
GPS Mapping: Make Your Own Maps by Rich Owings Ten Mile Press, 2005. Softcover, 382 pp. ISBN 0-9760926-3-8 This is a book for people who want to get their hands dirty with mapping software and GPS units and generate maps…
