Valet Reader

Drawing the Line, Tales of Maps and Cartocontroversy by Mark Monmonier

I bet you didn’t know that “cartocontroversy” was even a word.

Remember way back (my first post) when I told you, my faithful readers, that I love mapsand that I am self proclaimed map-o-phile? Well… I am going to revisit that love here.

Nope, I did not think this book would be provocative at all when I first decided to read it. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised. Fortunately I have had the pleasure of studying maps and learning Geographic Information Systems which I’m pretty sure came in handy when reading this book. That’s not to say that you wouldn’t understand it (I have a lot of faith in anyone who actually spends their time reading what I write) and wouldn’t also enjoy it the way I did.

The fact of the matter and the basis for Monmonier’s book is that you can’t always judge a map just by looking at it. There are so many different things that can affect the way a map portrays information in order to bias viewers one way or another. The casual map observer may not know it but maps influence in more ways than imagined. Take for instance a world map, only this map, instead of being Euro centric is centered over me (ok, a bit broader, California). In a standard, Mercator projection map, Europe and all Northern Hemisphere landmass’ are typically larger than those of the Southern Hemisphere. Well… we all know that is not the case. Back to the map that is California Centric. In essence what this map would do is show California being excessively large and therefore promulgating the state as a super power. Don’t worry, I certainly won’t be offended if you’ve stopped reading or just don’t understand (this is kind of hard for me to explain). Regardless, this particular map would demonstrate to a casual reader just how big and important California is relative to the rest of the world. By centering the map, or projecting particular parts of the map to be larger than counterparts bias are formed.

Of course map projections and bias are only a single chapter in Monmonier’s book. He also discusses the use of racial slurs (one’s I won’t list for fear of offending my readers, except for “Squaw Tits” cause I think it’s funny) in maps and the process of making these maps “politically correct,” the vinland map which falsely identified the Norse as the first to visit N. America and outraged Italian Americans (what doesn’t though right?), and other political and environmental controversies that have arisen as a result of mapping.

This book is certainly not for everyone. That said if you are interested in obscure things such as maps and their likelihood to portray false leadings and beliefs you will most likely enjoy Monmonier’s witty prose, thoughtful descriptions and his innate sense of truth in and through communication.