The most recommended books about maps

Who picked these books? Meet our 25 experts.

25 authors created a book list connected to maps, and here are their favorite map books.
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What type of map book?

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Book cover of Map: Exploring the World

Sandra Rendgen Author Of History of Information Graphics

From my list on inspirational books from the world of infographics.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer and editor with a background in art history, based in Berlin. My work has always been shaped by two complementary needs. First, I always felt a thirst for understanding and knowledge. Second, I was always on the hunt for brilliant design and beautiful visuals. Infographics were thus a natural terrain for me. Since 2012, I have published four comprehensive books in the field. This includes both surveys of contemporary work as well as studies in the history of the field.

Sandra's book list on inspirational books from the world of infographics

Sandra Rendgen Why did Sandra love this book?

Maps are the most ancient type of infographic we know, and that comes as no surprise. Spatial navigation is one of the most important evolutionary skills that both animals and humans have developed. Recording this knowledge in maps requires both a thorough scientific understanding and considerable artistic skills. This beautiful coffee table book is a mind-blowing and timeless trip through the field of cartography. It charts the development from pre-historic maps carved in stone all the way to recent brain scans from the Human Connectome Project. Give me this book and I’ll be lost browsing through its visual treasures for several days.

By Phaidon Press, John Hessler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Map as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves.

Map: Exploring the World brings together more than 300 fascinating maps from the birth of cartography to cutting-edge digital maps of the twenty-fist century. The book's unique arrangement, with the maps organized in complimentary or contrasting pairs, reveals how the history of our attempts to make flat representations of the world has been full of beauty, ingenuity and innovation.

Selected by an international panel of curators, academics and collectors, the maps reflect the many reasons people make…


Book cover of Map: Exploring the World

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