Among the Library of Congress’ 5.5 million maps, he found several that played key roles in the D-Day invasion and the moon landing. Still, Jennings discovered a thriving community of map freaks-many “gifted spatially”-who spend much of their time around visual representations of places. schools, and few of even the best colleges now have a geography department. Most Americans remain ignorant of geography, he writes. Once deemed a pillar of a good education, the subject has vanished from most U.S. Determined to better understand his cartophilia, he offers a wide-ranging history of maps (which predate writing) and visits many present-day “mapheads” who make, use, collect, buy and sell or steal maps. “You see that first map, and your mind is rewired, probably forever,” he writes. Map geek and celebrated Jeopardy! winner Jennings ( Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days, 2008, etc.) tells the engaging story of maps and the people who love them.Īt age 7, while friends obsessed over He-Man and Knight Rider, the author succumbed to the names and shapes of remote places and began collecting atlases.
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