Mapping: Ways of Representing the World (Paperback)

~ (Author), David Fairbairn (Author)
Key Phrases: alternative atlases, human cartography, mapping box, United States of America, Pluto Press, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Presents historical and contemporary evidence of how the human urge to describe, understand and control the world is presented through the medium of maps, together with the individual and environmental constraints on the creator of the map. Paper.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (June 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582289726
• ISBN-13: 978-0582289727
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,132,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book on Maps with Meaning..., December 26, 2000

By	Paul F. Starrs "geography fan" (El Cerrito, CA, and Reno, NV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Finding this book in the geography section of one of my favorite bookstores was, well, "a find," and especially so because there is a lot masquerading as "geography" or "mapping" these days.

This, as it happens, is the real thing. The British authors have constructed a kind of dream volume for those who want to boost the visual or geographic literacy of their friends, children, neighbors, or students. 'Tisn't a book just for geographers, though those in that profession will love this item. It's at least as much for the many, many, many folks in the world who understand that they don't know what they should about how the world is expressed in maps, and who feel more than a passing need to remedy that inadequacy.

Who's this for? I'd say anyone who has read and learned from the work of Edward Tufte, and as much, for those who revel in the writings of Mark Monmonier, cartography's current gray eminence and a brilliant scholar to boot. But this is also for those who just love maps: The Thelin and Peak SLAR map of the lower 48 states, Erwin Raisz's work, or the luminous cartographer of such great as Eduard Imhof.

The sole drawback is the price -- that's a pocketful of change, and were the ducats sought a few less, this would be a five-star choice, hands down.

Read it, love it, and learn.