![]() Garfield writes, “if only to say so out loud.” “Gladly would I go from Grand-Bassam to Tabou along the coast of Côte d’Ivoire,” Mr. True map aficionados are smitten by their language, too. But maps vary so wildly in shape, spirit and subject matter that the desire to lay eyes on them is irresistible. Should readers be able to conjure maps out of thin air? The first cartographers had to do just that, relying on little information, much intuition and the tactical use of deductive tools like trigonometry. Garfield loves depend on evocative visual images that his book doesn’t provide. ![]() Some of the map depictions are also reduced in scale, which makes their copious text virtually illegible. But this book is diminished by the way it has been produced, with an alluringly tinted antique map of Africa on its cover and nothing but smudgy gray illustrations inside. (Neither did Ken Jennings, whose 2011 “Maphead” covered some of the same terrain.) His gift is for cherry-picking factoids, and his latest book, “On the Map,” is full of little conversation pieces. ![]() Garfield does not pretend to be a serious historian. He is most engaging on the most checkered parts of that history. ![]() Now he turns his attention to a somewhat mustier subject: the history of cartography. Simon Garfield’s past work includes a whole book about the color mauve and last year’s delightful “Just My Type,” an ebullient survey of facts about fonts and typography. ![]()
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