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Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities Paperback – October 29, 2009
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91 of 92 people found the following review helpful
By
Randall L. Bytwerk
on October 31, 2009
Format: Paperback
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Like the author, I like maps, but unlike me, he got bored with the standard variety. He began a web site with the most unusual maps he could find -- from which web site came this book.
It is a remarkable collection. There are maps showing California as an island, of what Africa might have looked like if Germany had won its wars, of countries that never were, of countries that wanted to be bigger than they were, of a proposed reorganization of the U.S. into 38 states, and many more. Some are scary, some funny, some puzzling, some enlightening. Each map has enough background to make it comprehensible.
In the process of enjoying the maps, one learns things. There are islands of Germany surrounded by Belgium. Before the introduction of standard time zones, railroad timetables were much more complicated than they are today. And did you ever wonder why part of Delaware's border is a curve?
This is one of those books that is a pleasure to browse through. One can read it bit by bit, learning something every time.
If you like maps, you'll love this book.
It is a remarkable collection. There are maps showing California as an island, of what Africa might have looked like if Germany had won its wars, of countries that never were, of countries that wanted to be bigger than they were, of a proposed reorganization of the U.S. into 38 states, and many more. Some are scary, some funny, some puzzling, some enlightening. Each map has enough background to make it comprehensible.
In the process of enjoying the maps, one learns things. There are islands of Germany surrounded by Belgium. Before the introduction of standard time zones, railroad timetables were much more complicated than they are today. And did you ever wonder why part of Delaware's border is a curve?
This is one of those books that is a pleasure to browse through. One can read it bit by bit, learning something every time.
If you like maps, you'll love this book.
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52 of 52 people found the following review helpful
By
N. Khazanov
on December 1, 2009
Format: Paperback
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If you regularly read the Strange Maps blog and want to support Frank Jacobs with a few bucks, then this is the way to go. The book compiles the blog entries with nice large photos and un-cluttered text. However, if you're like I am, and like to look things up on the internet as you read about them, the experience of reading one of Frank's stories on the web is vastly different than reading it in a book. The book doesn't add anything to the content already on the web, and you miss out on the links to original sources and cross-references to other Strange Maps stories. If you or someone you know likes well-researched and engaging anecdotes about maps combined with the experience of reading such things in a book, then this one's for you. But if you just want to see some cartographic curiosities and pick up a factoid or two along the way, then perhaps the Strange Maps blog should be your first destination. Then you can decide whether it's worth is to shell out some money to have print copies of all the wonderful maps Frank has collected.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By
Rhiannon
on October 30, 2009
Format: Paperback
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The maps are both historical, fantasy based and several "what if" maps.
Ther is a map of the Land of Oz which is pretty cool. Several early American and colonial era maps have their conversation points. The photographs of some maps are small, and reading the details can be tedious at times. My favourite map is one showing what Europe would like like had Nazi Germany won WWII. Scary, yet very intriguing.
The future is also shown. There are two maps showing the moon walks of Apollo 11 and 12. A fold out map of Mars's moon Deimos reminds us that we are now mapping extra terrestrial locations. A map of Titan's (as of yet) unnamed liquid methane lake is just beyond amazing.
Daniel Padovano
Ther is a map of the Land of Oz which is pretty cool. Several early American and colonial era maps have their conversation points. The photographs of some maps are small, and reading the details can be tedious at times. My favourite map is one showing what Europe would like like had Nazi Germany won WWII. Scary, yet very intriguing.
The future is also shown. There are two maps showing the moon walks of Apollo 11 and 12. A fold out map of Mars's moon Deimos reminds us that we are now mapping extra terrestrial locations. A map of Titan's (as of yet) unnamed liquid methane lake is just beyond amazing.
Daniel Padovano
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
J. Bright
on December 29, 2010
Format: Paperback
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I bought Strange Maps for a gift for my dad who LOVES maps. Since it is a larger format book, the images are large enough to view easily enough. While my dad is not the "reading type" and this book has a lot of text to go along with the maps, he couldn't wait to get started on reading it.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
Wulfstan
TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on June 10, 2013
Format: Paperback
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This is a fun and fact filled book about weird maps. Some are historical, some fantastic, some artistic, some political, some...well just weird.
Personally, I enjoyed the historical maps myself. But there's something for everyone here. Now, yes, this book is so eclectic that's it's unlikely you will like everything. "Skip on a bit, brother."
You will get a chuckle or two and maybe even learn something.
Personally, I enjoyed the historical maps myself. But there's something for everyone here. Now, yes, this book is so eclectic that's it's unlikely you will like everything. "Skip on a bit, brother."
You will get a chuckle or two and maybe even learn something.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By
Lee Hattabaugh
on January 16, 2012
Format: Paperback
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I was thrilled to receive Frank Jacobs' book, Strange Maps, for Christmas. I've followed his blog on and off for several years, and am always intrigued by its content. The book provides a little more background on the maps and some great pictures, but I wish a few of them were interactive... a little hard for these old eyes to see without a zoom lens. Regardless, the book was very enjoyable and I hope to be able to reference it now and again when a bit of trivia or a conversation starter is needed.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By
mjmulgrew
on January 2, 2012
Format: Paperback
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Many of these maps are beautiful. Some are fanciful and some are actually informative. Who knew that map making could be so creative. This book has inspired me to make some maps of my own.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By
BR
on October 1, 2011
Format: Paperback
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Book is fantastic, a quirky look at history and how it was -or wasn't -mapped along the way. Highly enjoyable!
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