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A review by ponch22
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings
4.0
[a:Ken Jennings|45003|Ken Jennings|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1201968928p2/45003.jpg] is not your average trivia nerd (see [b:Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days|1453128|Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac 8,888 Questions in 365 Days|Ken Jennings|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320434685s/1453128.jpg|1443880]) and Jeopardy! champion (see [b:Brainiac: Adventures In The Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World Of Trivia Buffs|79195|Brainiac Adventures In The Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World Of Trivia Buffs|Ken Jennings|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170964693s/79195.jpg|1153503]). If you follow @kenjennings on Twitter, you know he's actually quite funny (to wit, "My kids think a turtle's shell is called a "dammitdammitshit" now thank you very much Mario Kart"). So, while you may imagine a book about maps would be a boring and difficult read, Jennings sprinkles enough humor throughout to change your mind.
The book covers almost everything dealing with maps--human history of making them, present day collectors buying antique maps, fantasy authors creating fictional maps, the internet craze of geocaching, the future of maps thanks to Google Earth--but it is never boring. Jennings admits he was always into maps as a young child and explores what makes "Mapheads" tick. In a world where every smart phone comes with GPS software (right now I'm zoomed in and the GPS signal pins me within a 25' radius with the center of this dot mere feet away from my couch where I'm actually sitting!), maps are more in our lives than ever, but Jennings explores the fact that every few months there's another news report or Jaywalking segment featuring college students who don't know where Africa is on a map. A quick and fun read that covers wide swaths of topics, it's highly recommended for anyone who has wasted away hours looking at atlases or Google Earth, and still recommended for anyone curious about maps who enjoys well-written, self-deprecating humorous prose.
The book covers almost everything dealing with maps--human history of making them, present day collectors buying antique maps, fantasy authors creating fictional maps, the internet craze of geocaching, the future of maps thanks to Google Earth--but it is never boring. Jennings admits he was always into maps as a young child and explores what makes "Mapheads" tick. In a world where every smart phone comes with GPS software (right now I'm zoomed in and the GPS signal pins me within a 25' radius with the center of this dot mere feet away from my couch where I'm actually sitting!), maps are more in our lives than ever, but Jennings explores the fact that every few months there's another news report or Jaywalking segment featuring college students who don't know where Africa is on a map. A quick and fun read that covers wide swaths of topics, it's highly recommended for anyone who has wasted away hours looking at atlases or Google Earth, and still recommended for anyone curious about maps who enjoys well-written, self-deprecating humorous prose.