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

Reviewed by Kristin

You know those online “articles” which promise to show you “40+ Unusual and Fascinating (fill in the blank here)” and tease you with some interesting image at the very top that you have to scroll through or click through way more than 40 entries and you end up forgetting why you wanted to read the article in the first place….?

Yeah, I’m a sucker for those.

Inevitably, the online article goes to some ad, or the browser crashes, or I finally decide I shouldn’t be giving these shady websites the clicks they desire. I really try to resist clicking them, because I don’t actually want to waste my time reading something that was compiled by someone who barely knows the difference between “there”, “they’re” and “their”. So, I was extremely happy to find this book in the Young Adult section.

Bonus: no ads!

I am a map person. I like seeing how the world is laid out. Even when I was a kid I loved reading my social studies textbook to see which countries produced what kinds of grain, who had nuclear weapons, and who had the largest gross domestic products (GDP) of any number of things. I am still fascinated by the fact that the standard Mercator projection map does not realistically portray the size of the areas anywhere other than very near the equator.

Oh yes, back to the book at hand.

This book includes nine chapters titled: People and Populations; Politics, Power, and Religion; Culture and Customs; Friends and Enemies; Geography; History; National Identity; Crime and Punishment; and Nature.

Do you want to know the average person’s height in a specific country? Which countries have preferences for cats or dogs? Which type of electrical outlet can you expect to find when you are traveling to a foreign country? Which countries have no rivers? Which countries have no McDonalds? Which 22 counties has the United Kingdom not invaded? How many heavy metal bands per 100,000 of population? All the sharks killed by humans vs all the humans killed by sharks (in 2017)? Which countries have economies larger than California? (Spoiler alert, only a few.)

This is the kind of information that I like to have tumbling around in my brain. I might have very few instances in which I need this information, but it is pleasant background noise as I go about my everyday life. And, pages 108-109 do a decent job of showing the actual relative sizes of countries vs. how they are shown on a Mercator projection map.

Intrigued? Find this book (with no ads) at YA 912 WRI.

Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It by Michael J. Trinklein

Reviewed by Kristin

Did you ever stop to think what the United States may have looked like if certain fringe (or not-so-fringe) groups had their way?  Many readers are old enough to remember the days before Alaska and Hawaii were granted statehood in 1959.  Without those two latecomers, we would have a very different map.  Most people living in the Tri-Cities are familiar with the failed state of Franklin just to our south.  If the people of Franklin had not been so high minded and tried to run their rogue state without levying any taxes, they might have been able to raise a militia and maintain a strong presence.  Lost States recounts many similar proposals for divvying up the land in the United States.  In many cases, the people living on the land simply wanted to be self-governing.  In other cases, sometimes there was just a bit of land leftover that no one claimed.  For every proposed state featured here, the author writes a short history laced with humor and backed by research.

As recently as 2005, Maine was thinking of splitting itself into two parts.  The proposed northern “Acadia” encompassed the more rough-and-tumble forested mountains.  The southern, coastal area tends to cater more to summertime tourists.  So which is the “main” Maine?  Who knows, but a future split is always possible.

Big cities have little in common with the rural parts of the states they share.  Several cities have proposed sovereignty in order to protect tax monies, or to make a bid for more representation in Congress.  In 1919, Massachusetts State Representative James H. Brennan argued that Boston should be a separate state, on the basis that the city was pouring $600,000 into the education system that would benefit the more rural schools.

Look at oddly shaped Maryland on the map.  The narrowest part of the western section is only two miles wide, and the eastern side is divided by almost more water than there is land: Chesapeake Bay.  Tax arguments abound between western and eastern Maryland.  Another proposal is to create a state from the Delmarva peninsula--land shared by Delaware, Maryland and two disconnected counties in Virginia.  With all that prime oceanfront property, each state seems determined to hold onto every inch of land.

In 1925, after a huge population boom, Chicago politicians were not too happy to have the bulk of the legislature controlled by the farmers downstate.  But similar to Boston, the division discussion died down pretty quickly.  The author suggests that perhaps the Chicago Mafia got lost in the corn fields as they went to Springfield to show the farmers who was boss.

In 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, Cuba had the possibility of becoming a state as it was relinquished by Spain.  Instead, Cuba was given independence, which might have been a big mistake.  If Cuba had been an American state, Fidel Castro would not have gained power and caused the worldwide stress of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Several proposals were made to divide the Dakota Territory.  After slicing off Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, moving on to what has become North and South Dakota, we could have had states named (one big) Dakota; West Dakota and East Dakota; Dakota and South Dakota; or even Pembina and Dakota.  (Whew, I’m confused even while looking at the map!)  A small patch that was leftover far away from the remaining Dakotas became Lost Dakota.  Eventually, Lost Dakota was attached to Montana, but is still undeveloped forestland today.

The North Slope of Alaska, South Jersey, Transylvania, South Texas, West Florida, Yazoo, Montezuma, even Sicily--yes, the Italian Sicily!—all of these are areas which might have or might still become states.  If all proposed border changes had been approved over the course of our nation’s history, schoolchildren would be learning the capitals of well over 100 states.  If this sounds interesting, take a jaunt into what might have been with Lost States.

Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird, World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings

Reviewed by Kristin

I admit it:  I’m a maphead too.  I have always loved maps, and would even wallpaper my room with them if I could.  I loved looking at the United States and Canada road atlas when I was a kid travelling with my family.  Even now, there is a very tattered road atlas under the seat of my car, just in case the GPS fails me.  I am reminded of when my husband’s grandfather first saw a younger family member’s GPS.  He said, “I had one of those telling me directions for years.  Her name was Charlotte.”  Yes, Charlotte was his wife.  Sometimes, GPS just can’t take the place of a good map or a good companion.

Many people can identify with a topic that Jennings touches upon—the “need” to make a checklist of places they have been.  How many states?  How many countries?  How many national parks?  How many McDonald’s restaurants?  Jennings tells the tale of Peter Holden, who has visited and eaten at more than twelve thousand different McDonald’s.

Writing about more than just maps and the history of cartography, Jennings delves into how geography helps to explain the natural, social and political history of the world.  I found this fascinating, as I always find myself aware of how the lay of the land shapes the development of human settlements.  Try walking or driving across some of the diagonally running mountains around here; you’ll quickly understand why the major roads were built where they are.  Map lines have been drawn and redrawn across the world as nations fight over disputed territories containing natural resources or culturally significant locations. Extensive footnotes throughout the book are fascinating for those of us who like seeing the sources behind (and additional tidbits about) what we are reading. 

Jennings also writes about fictional maps.  I love seeing maps in novels, whether on the endpapers or within the book itself.  For those who like seeing things laid out spatially, it’s nice to imagine the characters moving about in the story along those paths.  Jennings also discusses the difficulty in drawing those fictional maps, such as creating an irregular coastline that looks real.  Author Gelett Burgess said over a century ago that the best way to create a realistic looking coastline was to spill water on paper, pound it, and trace the outline left by the splashed water.  This makes me want to go splash some water, or study cracks in ceilings, or look for rust stains in strange places.  Then, maybe I can draw an imaginary land.

Jennings explores the history of geocaching, which uses clues and GPS technology to seek out a tiny “treasure” capsule stashed in a hidden place.

Jennings’ sense of humor shines through in his writing.  He tells of his fascination with the shapes of places, as well as their intriguing names.  He notes similarities such as how much Lake Michigan looks like Sweden, and California looks like a leaner version of British Columbia.  I always just thought that Indiana and Louisiana looked like a mismatched pair of boots.  Jennings realized that the reason he knew all the Australian state capitals was that his second grade desk was right next to that section of the world map.  I enjoyed looking at worldwide geography through someone else’s eyes.

(Note:  For those of you wondering why the name “Ken Jennings” sounds familiar, he’s best known for his long run as“Jeopardy!” champion where he became as memorable for his wit and charm as for his knowledge.  He’s written three other books besides Maphead:  Brainiac, which looks at world of trivia buffs; Ken Jennings’s Trivia Almanac; and his latest,  Because I Said So: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, & Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids.)