Map Addict - A Tale of Obsession, Fudge and the Ordnance Survey

Parker, Mike

ISBN 10: 0007351577 / ISBN 13: 9780007351572

Published by Collins, London, 2010

About this Item

330p story of an obsession with maps. and the Ordnance Survey. light reading wear only. See scans.

Seller Inventory # 008615

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Map Addict - A Tale of Obsession, Fudge and the Ordnance Survey
• Publisher: Collins, London
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007351577
• ISBN 13: 9780007351572
• Binding: Original Illustrated Card Cove
• Edition: 1st Paperback Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Geology
  • Maps & Cartography
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

'My name is Mike and I am a map addict. There, it's said...'

Mike Parker, presenter of Radio 4's On the Map, celebrates the richness of all things maps in this fantastic, critically-acclaimed read.

On an average day, we will consult some form of map approximately a dozen times, often without even noticing: they are a cipher for every area of human existence. At a stroke, they convey precise information about topography, layout, history, politics and power. They are the unsung heroes of life: Map Addict sings their song.

There are some fine, dry tomes out there about the history and development of cartography: this is not one of them. Mixing wry observation with hard fact and considerable research, Map Addict unearths the offbeat, the unusual and the downright pedantic in a celebration of all things maps. Combining history, travel, politics, memoir and oblique observation in a highly readable, and often very funny, style, Mike Parker confesses how his own impressive map collection was founded on a virulent teenage shoplifting habit, ponders how a good leftie can be so gung-ho about British cartographic imperialism and wages a one-man war against the moronic blandishments of the Sat Nav age.

This new edition of the beloved classic has been fully revised and updated, with a new chapter on digital maps: the good, the bad, the Google Street View.

About the Author

Mike Parker has had a varied career, which at one point saw him working as a stand-up comedian. He has been widely published and also presents various travel programmes for radio and television. His books to date include the Rough Guide to Wales as well as several other guide books. He writes freelance travel pieces for most of the UK papers, including the Independent, the Independent on Sunday, the Guardian, the Sunday Times and the Mirror.