On the Map, by Simon Garfield

14 Mar 2013 ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ Buy the book

On the Map is a book about the organization of the world. Humans use maps to know where they are, to know where they're going, and to know where there is to go. On the Map is about the history of those activities.

It is very similar in format to Just My Type, but is not quite as interesting—or maybe I'm just not as fascinated by maps as I am by fonts. For one thing, it's much easier to show typography in a book (it's impossible to show maps in a small, black-and-white book as impressively as they appear in real life). For me, the book has a very slow start, but gets more interesting as it moves through time to discuss modern maps and their usages, including GPS and Google maps.

Good for: History buffs, people interested in the map and tracking technology of modern life, geography nerds.