On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks (ALA Notable Books for Adults) - Softcover

Garfield, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1592407803 ISBN 13: 9781592407804

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2013

Synopsis

Cartography enthusiasts rejoice: the bestselling author of the Just My Type reveals the fascinating relationship between man and map.
Simon Garfield's Just My Type illuminated the world of fonts and made everyone take a stand on Comic Sans and care about kerning. Now Garfield takes on a subject even dearer to our fanatical human hearts: maps.

Imagine a world without maps. How would we travel? Could we own land? What would men and women argue about in cars? Scientists have even suggested that mapping--not language--is what elevated our prehistoric ancestors from ape-dom. Follow the history of maps from the early explorers' maps and the awe-inspiring medieval Mappa Mundi to Google Maps and the satellite renderings on our smartphones, Garfield explores the unique way that maps relate and realign our history--and reflect the best and worst of what makes us human.

Featuring a foreword by Dava Sobel and packed with fascinating tales of cartographic intrigue, outsize personalities, and amusing "pocket maps" on an array of subjects from how to fold a map to the strangest maps on the Internet, On the Map is a rich historical tapestry infused with Garfield's signature narrative flair. Map-obsessives and everyone who loved Just My Type will be lining up to join Garfield on his audacious journey through time and around the globe.

About this title

About the Author

Simon Garfield is the author of fourteen acclaimed books of nonfiction including Just My Type. He lives in London and St. Ives, Cornwall.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1592407803
• ISBN 13: 9781592407804
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 466