Books for Review

Book Reviewers

To request to review a book, please send an email to Reviews Editor Mark Denil (cp_book_reviews@hotmail.com). This email should include the title of the book you want to review, and a USPS-deliverable address, if you are requesting a book to be sent to you for the review. Due to the expense, we are currently unable to send books outside of North America.

Publishers

If you are interested in providing a review copy to Cartographic Perspectives, please contact Reviews Editor Mark Denil (cp_book_reviews@hotmail.com). Please contact him to get a mailing address for the book.

	Earth Shapers: How We Mapped and Mastered the World, from the Panama Canal to the Baltic Way by Maxim Samson 2025 \| University of Chicago Press Geography is far less set in stone than we might believe, and, as Maxim Samson’s Earth Shapers contends, in our relatively short time on this planet, humans have become experts at fundamentally reshaping our surroundings. Advertised as an immense work of cultural geography touching on ecology, sociology, history, and politics, Earth Shapers argues that, far from being constrained by geography, we are instead its creators.
	A Sense of Space: A Local’s Guide to a Flat Earth, the Edge of the Cosmos, and Other Curious Places by John Edward Huth 2025 \| University of Chicago Press John Edward Huth uses two kinds of navigation—centered on, or independent of, people—to help readers chart a path through evolving spatial models. In doing so, he offers an astonishing exploration of how changing scientific models of space alter our social perceptions, and vice versa. With accessible introductions to topics including mental maps, astrology, astronomy, particle physics, and Einstein’s relativity, Huth makes clear that, although our minds have evolved to comprehend space in terrestrial distances, we routinely extend this understanding to realms far removed from our everyday experiences, from cosmological to subatomic scales.
	Anti-Atlas: Critical Area Studies from the East of the West edited by Tim Beasley-Murray, Wendy Bracewell, and Michał Murawskil 2025 \| UCL Press (distributed by University of Chicago Press) More about social geography than cartography, per-se; Anti-Atlas plays with the politics of the conventional atlas, with its assumptions about knowledge and power, its hierarchies of value, and its simplifications. It presents a collection of essays about Eastern Europe that engage with the question of how an approach to area can be ‘critical’—and each entry demonstrates different aspects of criticality. Note that this book is available as EITHER hard-copy or PDF.
	Modern Web Cartography: Open Source Map Solutions with OpenStreetMap, Overpass, Nominatim, Leaflet and Folium by Patrick Marie 2026 \| Apress (distributed by Springer Nature) Modern Web Cartography is a guide to practical web maps using open source tools, with a particular focus on OpenStreetMap (OSM) and its rich ecosystem. This book is structured to build knowledge progressively, using tools such as Overpass (for data extraction), Nominatim (for geocoding), Leaflet (for browser-based map rendering), and Folium (for map creation in Python). REVIEW TEXT AVILABLE AS PDF or EPUB ONLY (no hard copy). Code base available for download.
	Security First: Geospatial Workflows for a Safe and Equitable World By Darren Martin Ruddell, Diana Ter-Ghazaryan, Ronda Schrenk (foreword) 2025 \| Esri Press Security First: Geospatial Workflows for a Safe and Equitable World guides readers through specific exercises and examples to show how GIS can be used to address significant world issues while building the technical skills required to work in the field of human security and geospatial intelligence. Through twenty geospatial workflows, Security First covers a breadth of topics found in geospatial security.
	Secret Maps: Maps You Were Never Meant to See, from the Middle Ages to Today by Tom Harper, Nick Dykes, and Magdalena Peszko 2025 \| The University of Chicago Press An illustrated story of the relationship between mapping and secrecy, charting the role maps played in concealing and revealing knowledge across centuries. The maps span widely in their scope and cover issues of broad interest, from old-fashioned spying to contemporary concerns about technology and privacy. Secret Maps unearths the once-hidden routes, landscapes, and locations that have covertly shaped our world.
	The 1960s \| Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See a Turbulent Decade by Gordon Kerr, Illustrated by Claire Rollet 2025 \| The Experiment An illustrated romp in 100 maps that bring the decade’s riveting history to life—in signature Curious Minds style, brimming with I-never-would-have-thought-of-that maps and illustrations
	Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World by Mike Higgins, Manuel Bortoletti, Christopher Gary Packham (Foreword) 2022 \| The Experiment The natural world has never been wilder—with 100 fiercely fun, curiously captivating, and amazingly adventurous maps. This infographic atlas of nature’s most impressive wonders and eye-popping oddities is bursting with discovery, whimsical insight, and startling revelations that will change the way you see the natural world—and that celebrate our planet and the plants and animals with whom we share it.
	North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan, Victor Cizek, Jack Dunnington 2021 \| The Experiment No matter how well you think you know North America, the 100 infographic maps in this singular atlas uncover a trove of fresh wonders that make the continent seem like the center of the universe. This book highlights the unexpected contours of geography, history, nature, politics, and culture, revealing new ways to see North America—and the hundreds of millions who call it home.
	Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World by Ian Wright, Infographic.ly 2019 \| The Experiment A singular atlas of 100 infographic maps from thought-provoking to flat-out fun. Each of these 100 maps will change the way you see the world—and your place in it.
	The Queen's Atlas: Saxton’s Elizabethan Masterpiece By David Fletcher 2026 \| Bodleian Library Publishing This book traces the story of Saxton’s life and legacy by reconstructing his extraordinary mapmaking project alongside the crucial nature of the support and encouragement he received from Queen Elizabeth I and her court. This lavishly illustrated book reproduces all of Saxton’s county maps together with many other drawings revealing the forebears and successors of this groundbreaking work.
	This Way Up: When Maps Go Wrong (And Why It Matters) By Mark Cooper-Jones and Jay Foreman (Map Men) 2025 \| Hanover Square Press The debut book from the YouTube sensation and all-round cartographical nerds, The Map Men! Because the worst maps are the best maps.
	Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map Edited by Kären Wigen 2025 \| The University of Chicago Press Fresh offerings on world mapping beyond Western conventions: ten essays spanning disciplines from political science to art history, to contribute perspectives and case studies covering three main themes: mapping before the nation-state, rethinking and critiquing mapping practices, and robust traditions of counter-cartography.

	Earth Shapers: How We Mapped and Mastered the World, from the Panama Canal to the Baltic Way by Maxim Samson 2025 \| University of Chicago Press Geography is far less set in stone than we might believe, and, as Maxim Samson’s Earth Shapers contends, in our relatively short time on this planet, humans have become experts at fundamentally reshaping our surroundings. Advertised as an immense work of cultural geography touching on ecology, sociology, history, and politics, Earth Shapers argues that, far from being constrained by geography, we are instead its creators.
	A Sense of Space: A Local’s Guide to a Flat Earth, the Edge of the Cosmos, and Other Curious Places by John Edward Huth 2025 \| University of Chicago Press John Edward Huth uses two kinds of navigation—centered on, or independent of, people—to help readers chart a path through evolving spatial models. In doing so, he offers an astonishing exploration of how changing scientific models of space alter our social perceptions, and vice versa. With accessible introductions to topics including mental maps, astrology, astronomy, particle physics, and Einstein’s relativity, Huth makes clear that, although our minds have evolved to comprehend space in terrestrial distances, we routinely extend this understanding to realms far removed from our everyday experiences, from cosmological to subatomic scales.
	Anti-Atlas: Critical Area Studies from the East of the West edited by Tim Beasley-Murray, Wendy Bracewell, and Michał Murawskil 2025 \| UCL Press (distributed by University of Chicago Press) More about social geography than cartography, per-se; Anti-Atlas plays with the politics of the conventional atlas, with its assumptions about knowledge and power, its hierarchies of value, and its simplifications. It presents a collection of essays about Eastern Europe that engage with the question of how an approach to area can be ‘critical’—and each entry demonstrates different aspects of criticality. Note that this book is available as EITHER hard-copy or PDF.
	Modern Web Cartography: Open Source Map Solutions with OpenStreetMap, Overpass, Nominatim, Leaflet and Folium by Patrick Marie 2026 \| Apress (distributed by Springer Nature) Modern Web Cartography is a guide to practical web maps using open source tools, with a particular focus on OpenStreetMap (OSM) and its rich ecosystem. This book is structured to build knowledge progressively, using tools such as Overpass (for data extraction), Nominatim (for geocoding), Leaflet (for browser-based map rendering), and Folium (for map creation in Python). REVIEW TEXT AVILABLE AS PDF or EPUB ONLY (no hard copy). Code base available for download.
	Security First: Geospatial Workflows for a Safe and Equitable World By Darren Martin Ruddell, Diana Ter-Ghazaryan, Ronda Schrenk (foreword) 2025 \| Esri Press Security First: Geospatial Workflows for a Safe and Equitable World guides readers through specific exercises and examples to show how GIS can be used to address significant world issues while building the technical skills required to work in the field of human security and geospatial intelligence. Through twenty geospatial workflows, Security First covers a breadth of topics found in geospatial security.
	Secret Maps: Maps You Were Never Meant to See, from the Middle Ages to Today by Tom Harper, Nick Dykes, and Magdalena Peszko 2025 \| The University of Chicago Press An illustrated story of the relationship between mapping and secrecy, charting the role maps played in concealing and revealing knowledge across centuries. The maps span widely in their scope and cover issues of broad interest, from old-fashioned spying to contemporary concerns about technology and privacy. Secret Maps unearths the once-hidden routes, landscapes, and locations that have covertly shaped our world.
	The 1960s \| Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See a Turbulent Decade by Gordon Kerr, Illustrated by Claire Rollet 2025 \| The Experiment An illustrated romp in 100 maps that bring the decade’s riveting history to life—in signature Curious Minds style, brimming with I-never-would-have-thought-of-that maps and illustrations
	Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World by Mike Higgins, Manuel Bortoletti, Christopher Gary Packham (Foreword) 2022 \| The Experiment The natural world has never been wilder—with 100 fiercely fun, curiously captivating, and amazingly adventurous maps. This infographic atlas of nature’s most impressive wonders and eye-popping oddities is bursting with discovery, whimsical insight, and startling revelations that will change the way you see the natural world—and that celebrate our planet and the plants and animals with whom we share it.
	North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan, Victor Cizek, Jack Dunnington 2021 \| The Experiment No matter how well you think you know North America, the 100 infographic maps in this singular atlas uncover a trove of fresh wonders that make the continent seem like the center of the universe. This book highlights the unexpected contours of geography, history, nature, politics, and culture, revealing new ways to see North America—and the hundreds of millions who call it home.
	Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World by Ian Wright, Infographic.ly 2019 \| The Experiment A singular atlas of 100 infographic maps from thought-provoking to flat-out fun. Each of these 100 maps will change the way you see the world—and your place in it.
	The Queen's Atlas: Saxton’s Elizabethan Masterpiece By David Fletcher 2026 \| Bodleian Library Publishing This book traces the story of Saxton’s life and legacy by reconstructing his extraordinary mapmaking project alongside the crucial nature of the support and encouragement he received from Queen Elizabeth I and her court. This lavishly illustrated book reproduces all of Saxton’s county maps together with many other drawings revealing the forebears and successors of this groundbreaking work.
	This Way Up: When Maps Go Wrong (And Why It Matters) By Mark Cooper-Jones and Jay Foreman (Map Men) 2025 \| Hanover Square Press The debut book from the YouTube sensation and all-round cartographical nerds, The Map Men! Because the worst maps are the best maps.
	Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map Edited by Kären Wigen 2025 \| The University of Chicago Press Fresh offerings on world mapping beyond Western conventions: ten essays spanning disciplines from political science to art history, to contribute perspectives and case studies covering three main themes: mapping before the nation-state, rethinking and critiquing mapping practices, and robust traditions of counter-cartography.

Books for Review

Earth Shapers: How We Mapped and Mastered the World, from the Panama Canal to the Baltic Way

A Sense of Space: A Local’s Guide to a Flat Earth, the Edge of the Cosmos, and Other Curious Places

Anti-Atlas: Critical Area Studies from the East of the West

Modern Web Cartography: Open Source Map Solutions with OpenStreetMap, Overpass, Nominatim, Leaflet and Folium

Security First: Geospatial Workflows for a Safe and Equitable World

Secret Maps: Maps You Were Never Meant to See, from the Middle Ages to Today

The 1960s | Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See a Turbulent Decade

Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World

North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent

Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World

The Queen's Atlas: Saxton’s Elizabethan Masterpiece

This Way Up: When Maps Go Wrong (And Why It Matters)

Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map

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