On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks

by Simon Garfield

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592407804
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/05/2013
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	672,740
Product dimensions:	5.76(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.18(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

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.

Table of Contents

For the Love of Maps: Foreword Dava Sobel 11

Introduction: The Map That Wrote Itself 15

1 What Great Minds Knew 21

How the ancient Greeks-Eratosthenes and Ptolemy-first worked out the size and shape of the world and our place upon it.

2 The Men Who Sold the World 42

The day Britain's greatest cartographic treasure-the medieval Mappa Mundi-went to the auction houses to fix a leaky roof.

It's 1250, Do You Know Where You Are? 58

3 The World Takes Shape 63

The world centers on Jerusalem-and the Poles appear.

Here Be Dragons 72

4 Venice, China and a Trip to the Moon 75

How the Italians became the world's greatest mapmakers, and then the Germans, and then the Dutch. And how a Venetian friar discovered the secrets of the East and ended up on the moon.

5 The Mystery of Vinland 87

Did Norse sailors really reach and map America before Columbus?

Or is the world's most curious map fakery's finest hour?

6 Welcome to Amerigo 103

In which Ptolemy reappears in Europe and America gets named after the wrong man.

California as an Island 121

7 What's the Good of Mercator? 125

How the world looked in 1569-and today, even if the UN still favors the Postel Azimuthal Equidistant.

Keeping It Quiet: Drake's Silver Voyage 135

8 The World in a Book 140

In which the Atlas becomes a craze in seventeenth-century Holland, is adopted by The Times, and then turns to agitprop.

Lions, Eagles and Gerrymanders 160

9 Mapping a Cittee (without forder troble) 167

London gets the map bug, too, pioneers street mapping, and John Ogilby charts the course of every major road in Britannia.

10 Six Increasingly Coordinated Tales of the Ordnance Survey 181

Britain, spurred by Jacobite revolt, makes the Ordnance Survey, extending to India. But what is the symbol for a picnic site?

A Nineteenth-Century Murder Map 200

11 The Legendary Mountains of Kong 204

How an impassable mountain range spread and spread, until a French army officer found it wasn't there.

The Low-down Lying Case of Benjamin Morrell 220

12 The Opening of America and the Gridding of Manhattan 223

How Lewis and Clark filled out the American canvas, and how New York plotted its future.

13 Cholera and the Map that Stopped It 235

How mapping played its part in identifying the cause of the disease.

Across Australia with Burke and Wills 246

14 "X" Marks the Spot: Treasure Island 252

Treasure maps in literature and life.

J.M. Barrie Fails to Fold a Pocket Map 267

15 The Worst Journey in the World to the Last Place to Be Mapped 269

How explorers found the South Pole without a map, and named the region after their families, friends and enemies.

Charles Booth Thinks You're Vicious 288

16 Maps in All Our Hands: A Brief History of the Guidebook 293

The majestic foldout engravings of Murray and Baedeker give way to another cartographic dark age.

The Biggest Map of All: Beck's London Tube 307

17 Casablanca, Harry Potter and Where Jennifer Aniston Lives 313

In which the Muppets perfect travel by map and we stalk the stars.

A Hare-raising Masquerade 324

18 How to Make a Very Big Globe 327

From scratch ... when you used to run a bowling alley.

Churchill's Map Room 347

19 The Biggest Map Dealer, the Biggest Map Thief 352

How tempting are maps-and just what kind of dealers and thieves do they attract?

Women Can't Read Maps. Oh, Really? 366

20 Driving into Lakes: How GPS Put the World in a Box 372

How we learned to watch the dullest in-flight movie ever-and, with GPS, the Dutch once again took over the world's mapping.

The Canals of Mars 385

21 Pass Go and Proceed Directly to Skyrim 394

Maps as games, from jigsaw puzzles to Risk, and why computer games may be the future of cartography.

22 Mapping the Brain 410

What taxi drivers have to offer the world of the neuroscientist.

Epilogue: The Instant, Always-On, Me-Mapping of Everywhere 424

How the Internet changed everything.

Acknowledgments 444

Bibliography 446

Picture Credits 449

Index 450

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Mr. Garfield uses cartography as a springboard to similar explorations of how we have viewed not only the world around us, but ourselves." —New York Journal of Books

"His droll humor and infectious curiosity will keep readers engrossed as he uncovers surprising ways in which maps chart our imaginations as much as they do the ground underfoot." —Publishers Weekly

"A fine, fun presentation of the brand of cartography that continues to whet our imaginations." —Kirkus Reviews

“Mr. Garfield's book serves an immense need, connecting the latest geocacher with both the ancient art and modern science of the cartographer. Each may benefit from learning how the other approaches maps. Mr. Garfield uniquely provides that bridge.”
–Pittsburgh Post Gazette

“Deep research and descriptive intensity. [Garfield] regales us with tales of such wonders as Britain's medieval Mappa Mundi… On the Map offers a world of revelation.” –USA Today

“There is a great deal that is good and charming and fun about this book.” – Washington Post

“Delightfully meandering.” – NPR.org

“Garfield has a knack for creating high-spirited, erudite and user-friendly books on subjects that may seem crashingly dull to all but a few fanatics. . . . Garfield is a terrific guide. . . . “On the Map” is a treasure: exhilarating, witty, compulsively readable and just plain fun.” –The Seattle Times

“Engaging …full of little conversation pieces” –Janet Maslin, New York Times

“Garfield is a wonderful writer who deploys suspense to excellent effect, making each chapter read like a delightful short story or mini-mystery; what might appear a dusty subject sparkles under his clear-eyed and witty writing.” – Smithsonian Magazine

“engrossing, endlessly fascinating… enlightening and impossible to put down… The length and breadth of his scholarship are staggering, while the witty tone makes for the most convivial of literary guides...an irresistible invitation to see the world, and delivering on his promise of “the map as story, the map as life.” –Booklist Starred Review

“Vastly entertaining.” —Bookpage

Editorial Reviews

Praise for On the Map

“Simon Garfield is charming company. His passion for the graphic carries the reader along […] On the Map offers a world of revelation.”
–USA Today
 
“Mr. Garfield's book serves an immense need, connecting the latest geocacher with both the ancient art and modern science of the cartographer. Each may benefit from learning how the other approaches maps. Mr. Garfield uniquely provides that bridge.”
–Pittsburgh Post Gazette

“There is a great deal that is good and charming and fun about this book.”
–Simon Winchester, The Washington Post
 
“Garfield has a knack for creating high-spirited, erudite and user-friendly books on subjects that may seem crashingly dull to all but a few fanatics. […] On the Map is a treasure: exhilarating, witty, compulsively readable and just plain fun.”
–Seattle Times

“A collection of marvelous anecdotes that explore the role maps have played in shaping human culture since ancient times.”
–NPR.org
 
“Garfield’s new book details the evolution of cartography and why maps play such a vital role in our lives. […] his reverence for the form shines through vividly.”
–Penthouse
 
“Garfield’s interest in the human side of mapmaking— the personalities, anecdotes, curiosities—is what makes On the Map such an enjoyable read. […] vastly entertaining.”  
–BookPage

"Garfield is a wonderful writer who deploys suspense to excellent effect, making each chapter read like a delightful short story or mini-mystery; his book speaks of vast, hidden depths."
–Smithsonian Magazine

“A vivid foray into the romance of maps. [...] A fine, fun presentation of the brand of cartography that continues to whet our imaginations.”
–Kirkus

“Engaging …full of little conversation pieces”
–Janet Maslin, New York Times

"Enlightening and impossible to put down [. . .] The length and breadth of his scholarship are staggering, while the witty tone makes for the most convivial of literary guides."
–Booklist

"Readers will enjoy this romp through 16,000 years of mapmaking."
–Library Journal, starred review

"Delightful... If maps be the fuel of wanderlust, read on."
–From the foreword by Dava Sobel, author of Longitudes

“There couldn’t be anyone better to write about our love for maps than Simon Garfield, who is a master at unearthing strange facts and mixing them with a lively personal narrative...fascinating.”
–Giles Foden, Condé Nast Traveller (UK)

"Completely enthralling."
–Daily Mail (UK)

"Garfield has a genius for being sparked to life by esoteric enthusiasm and charming readers with his delight."

 –Times (UK)

"Simon Garfield’s new book is a rollicking sweep through map history, packed with curiosities and written with verve . . . On the Map will inspire you to take a trip to somewhere new, buy an antique globe to chart the rise and fall of empires, or just dig out a tatty orange Ordnance Survey Explorer map and let its filigree of contour lines evoke a long-forgotten walk in the rain . . . a great book."

–Independent on Sunday (UK)

“A pub quizzer’s dream . . . Rather than over-romanticise the experience of map-reading, Garfield allows his varied, expertly researched stories to speak for themselves, and in so doing helps us see that there are fewer things in life more useful, rewarding and beautiful than a map that does what it’s supposed to. Perhaps if Apple had read the book a few months ago, today’s iPhone users would have a much better idea of where they’re going.”
–Daily Telegraph (UK)

Praise for Just My Type:

“This is a smart, funny, accessible book that does for typography what Lynne Truss’s best-selling Eats, Shoots & Leaves did for punctuation: made it noticeable for people who had no idea they were interested in such things.”
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times  

"An engaging look at the world of fonts. […] Just My Type urges us to put on the brakes and take in the scenery as far as typography goes. Whether you're a graphic designer or a layperson with no background in this area, reading what Garfield has to say will change the way you perceive the written word forever."
—The Los Angeles Times  

“Reading Simon Garfield’s Just My Type can transform your daily life into an endless quest for knowledge of the typefaces in which signs, books, magazines, newspapers, etc. are set.”
—The Washington Post

“Highly entertaining … Garfield takes readers on a rollicking tour of the world of typography, from book jackets to road signs, TV shows to computers.”
—USA Today 

“A deliriously clever and entertaining book”
—The Boston Globe

“Informative, delightful — and essential reading for word geeks everywhere.”
—The Seattle Times 

“Lively […] intriguing […] a cheeky book about the human side and our reaction to fonts.”
—Seattle Post Intelligencer 

“This is a book for typography lovers who just can't get enough of their favorite fonts. In this well-researched book, Garfield takes a look back at the history of typefaces and how they've influenced consumers throughout the years. Using specific examples, Garfield shows just how powerful different fonts can be.”
—Philadelphia Intelligencer 

“For typomaniacs […] who can't rest until they've identified a font, Garfield's engaging history of letter design will be eye candy.”
—NPR.org 

"Irresistable."
—The Huffington Post 

“Garfield’s romping history (with multitype text) is zestfully informative.”
—Booklist 

“Garfield dances across 560 years of typographic history, sprinkled with fascinating anecdotes and vignettes, to infect you with his own inability to walk past a sign without identifying the typeface and some curious factoid about it. Funny and fascinating, irreverent and playful yet endlessly illuminating, the book is an absolute treat for the type-nerd, design history geek, and general lover of intelligent writing with humor.”
—The Atlantic 

“A thoroughly entertaining, well-informed tour of typefaces”
—Kirkus 

A “lively romp through the history of fonts. Garfield’s evocative prose entices us to see letters instead of just reading them.”
—Publishers Weekly 

“Whether you’re a hardcore typophile or a type-tyro, there’s something here for you: be it the eye-opening revelations of Eric Gill’s utter and complete perversity, or the creation of the typeface that helped Mr. Obama gain entrance to the White House.”
—Chip Kidd 

"Just My Type is an entertaining romp through the world of type design. Mr. Garfield explains the angst and the joy of typography; this is a great book for design geeks to press into the hands of the uninitiated in hopes of conversions, like missionaries with a religious tract."
—Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife 

“With wit, grace and intelligence, Simon Garfield tells the fascinating stories behind the letters that we encounter every day on our street corners, our bookstore shelves, and our computer screens. As someone who's worked with typography for over three decades, I kept finding lots of surprises.  So will anyone who cares about the culture of reading and writing and this most ubiquitous of design forms.”
—Michael Bierut, Partner, Pentagram Design, New York

"There is even a photograph of a quick brown fox literally jumping over a lazy dog. What a clever, clever book."
—Lynne Truss 

“Did I love this book? My daughter's middle name is Bodoni. Enough said.”
—Maira Kalman 

"Mapping out the historical intricacies of the ampersand and the short-lived interrobang, the serif and the sans serif, Simon Garfield reveals an invisible world behind the printed word. From Trajan's Column to the ubiquitous Helvetica to the latest typefaces, like Dirtyfax, the lives of the designers and the letters they've created have never been more clearly detailed with so much flair."
—Jessica Kerwin Jenkins, author of Encyclopedia of the Exquisite 

From the Publisher

Innumerable modes of seeing the world unfold in this exuberant history of maps. Garfield (Just My Type) loosely follows the development of cartography, taking in the precociously scientific geography of the ancient Greeks; medieval England’s Hereford Mappa Mundi, drenched in Christian allegory and teeming with mythical beasts; the Age of Exploration’s heroic maps of newly discovered, sketchily drawn, and wrongly designated landmasses (America got its name from a cartographer’s erroneous belief that Amerigo Vespucci discovered it); the 19th-century map that established cholera as a water-borne disease; modern GPS systems, and video game fantasy maps. Along the way he pursues diverting cartographical anecdotes and oddities, including the centuries-long consensus that California was an island, the lingering conceit that women can’t read maps, and the appearance and disappearance of canals on maps of Mars. Garfield’s coverage of this terrain, lavishly illustrated with reproductions of famous maps, is broad but paper-thin—more a meandering guided tour than a systematic survey. Still, his droll humor and infectious curiosity will keep readers engrossed as he uncovers surprising ways in which maps chart our imaginations as much as they do the ground underfoot. Photos, illus., maps. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Garfield's best-selling Just My Type (2011) was about typefaces. Now he's done the same for maps. The result is not deep history but it is pleasurable history nonetheless: readers will enjoy this romp through 16,000 years of mapmaking, beginning with a hunter's map found in a cave in northern Spain and proceeding all the way to today's GPS, Google Maps, video games, and Me Mapping. Aimed at educated lay readers who want both to nourish their mind and divert it, the book dispenses a good deal of information in the process: the problems the earth's curvature has posed in its representation, how maps reflect national and cultural biases, how maps have been used to solve problems like the spread of cholera in 1854 London, the technical progress made in mapping. "Maps are only human, after all," quips Garfield. VERDICT Readers of popular history will enjoy this entertaining and informative book. This is popular history but not "history light."[See Prepub Alert, 7/22/12.]—David Keymer, Modesto, CA

Library Journal

A vivid foray into the romance of maps. This is a roughly chronological survey of choice moments in cartography, with Garfield (Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, 2011, etc.) keeping his focus trained on maps that present not just the lay of the land, but that transport and move us--maps that have something to say about who we are at some particular historical point in time. Although he starts with Eratosthenes, Strabo and Ptolemy, the author digs into the mysterious allure of maps after the strange interruption in mapmaking that followed Ptolemy for more than 1,000 years. Longer chapters provide lively histories of great maps, cartographic phantoms like the Mountains of Kong in Africa or the detective work of Dr. Snow's London cholera map. Garfield is equally at ease with treasure maps, where the loot is guarded by dangerous reefs, angry birds and an army of land crabs, or when ruminating on the great blank spots in 19th-century maps of Africa, suggestive of empty territory for the imperial taking. The author punctuates these chapters with colorful cartographic squibs on, for example, Churchill's map room or how Kit Williams' jeweled hare was found (not by a close reading of Williams' book Masquerade). Always present is a concern for how maps touch us: "We may detect the emotional state of the amateur cartographer through the graphite and the nib of hand-drawn markings, and because we know we are witnessing history as it happens." Garfield also looks at maps in the movie Casablanca, which brought us to northwest Africa, how the game Monopoly made us familiar with Atlantic City and how GPS has such a hold on our everyday lives. A fine, fun presentation of the brand of cartography that continues to whet our imaginations.

Kirkus Reviews