A book review of Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World by Ian Wright
Stars: ***
Granta Books (2019)
Geography
208 pages
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.
Summary: A singular atlas of 100 infographic maps from thought-provoking to flat-out fun. And don’t miss the other books in the series, North American Maps for Curious Minds and Wild Maps for Curious Minds!
Which countries don’t have rivers? Which ones have North Korean embassies? Who drives on the “wrong” side of the road? How many national economies are bigger than California’s? And where can you still find lions in the wild? You’ll learn answers to these questions and many more in Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds. This one-of-a-kind atlas is packed with eye-opening analysis (Which nations have had female leaders?), whimsical insight (Where can’t you find a McDonald’s?), and surprising connections that illuminate the contours of culture, history, and politics. Each of these 100 maps will change the way you see the world―and your place in it.
Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds
This is no atlas. This book has interesting maps for things you wouldn’t normally see on a map. From more regular things such as “the astounding drop in fertility rates from 1970 to 2015” or “countries and overseas territories that each have smaller populations than Greater Tokyo” to really strange things such as “age of consent for heterosexual sex” to “how to write the date in different countries.”
I love the wide variety of map choices. The one thing that I didn’t like is that in some ways it shows the world but in other ways it’s very US specific. For example the “cats vs dogs” map is US only. I would have loved to see the world’s choices. “Homicide rates Europe vs the US” is not only US specific but I would have preferred North America vs Europe.
As a word nerd I really loved “longest place names” (the longest of which is 89 characters!!!)
I do love that the maps are in colour, that is a must for something like this. It’s a fun book I just wish it was less US specific and had more fun ones like the cats and dogs and less of the politics ones.
Buy Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds at amazon.com