All over the Map

Thirty-three maps of the United States feature town names that share a comon theme, including musical terms, animals, plants, minerals, planets, weather, and numbers

Jouris, whose maps are in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress, has created an unusual thematic atlas consisting of 33 black-and-white maps that identify towns and cities of the continental United States by topic name rather than by geographical location. Prefaced by brief explanations of how some of the towns were named, maps ranging from animal names (Lions, La.) to Christmas themes (Santa Claus, Ind.) portray a unique view of American geography, Since state names are not written on individual maps, a map of the United States is provided at the front of the book. The atlas has no index, which limits its use for researchers, but it is an interesting book to pore over and one that will appeal to a wide audience of readers. Recommended for public libraries.
Lucille Corbo, MLS, Scranton, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Joy, Illinois, plus the Joys of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas are just several of the towns extolled in this cartographic nomenclature of the United States. Whether they evoke ecstasy, whimsy, serendipity, Indians, French, or saints, place-names hide stories all their own, and Jouris obviously had a guffawingly good time asking the residents of, say, Peculiar, Missouri, if they are and how they got that way. About five civic etymologies precede each of his 35 line-drawn maps, dotted with thematically similar towns such as Clio and Mercury for mythical city fathers; on the Professional Map, the founders of Vendor, Arkansas, couldn't be more specific about its economy, but the name points to humorless obscurity, as well. Ding Dong, Texas, on the other hand, in a stroke of euphonious self-promotion was named after successful local merchantsthe Bell brothers. If you're a lost browser, here are places to find, because, as this mapmaking philosopher reminds us, without geography, you're nowhere. Gilbert Taylor