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Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Travel & Outdoors (2011)Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks is Ken's followup to his 2005 best-seller Brainiac. Much as Brainiac offered a behind-the-scenes look at the little-known demimonde of competitive trivia buffs, Maphead finally gives equal time to that other downtrodden underclass: America's map nerds.
In a world where geography only makes the headlines when college students are (endlessly) discovered to be bad at it, these hardy souls somehow thrive. Some crisscross the map working an endless geographic checklist: visiting all 3,143 U.S. counties, for example, or all 936 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Some pore over million-dollar collections of the rarest maps of the past; others embrace the future by hunting real-world cartographic treasures like "geocaches" or "degree confluences" with GPS device in hand. Some even draw thousands of their own imaginary maps, lovingly detailing worlds that never were.
Ken Jennings was a map nerd from a young age himself, you will not be surprised to learn, even sleeping with a bulky Hammond atlas at the side of his pillow, in lieu of the traditional Teddy bear. As he travels the nation meeting others of his tribe--map librarians, publishers, "roadgeeks," pint-sized National Geographic Bee prodigies, the computer geniuses behind Google Maps and other geo-technologies--he comes to admire these geographic obsessives. Now that technology and geographic illiteracy are increasingly insulating us from the lay of the land around us, we are going to be needing these people more than ever. Mapheads are the ones who always know exactly where they are--and where everything else is as well.
In a world where geography only makes the headlines when college students are (endlessly) discovered to be bad at it, these hardy souls somehow thrive. Some crisscross the map working an endless geographic checklist: visiting all 3,143 U.S. counties, for example, or all 936 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Some pore over million-dollar collections of the rarest maps of the past; others embrace the future by hunting real-world cartographic treasures like "geocaches" or "degree confluences" with GPS device in hand. Some even draw thousands of their own imaginary maps, lovingly detailing worlds that never were.
Ken Jennings was a map nerd from a young age himself, you will not be surprised to learn, even sleeping with a bulky Hammond atlas at the side of his pillow, in lieu of the traditional Teddy bear. As he travels the nation meeting others of his tribe--map librarians, publishers, "roadgeeks," pint-sized National Geographic Bee prodigies, the computer geniuses behind Google Maps and other geo-technologies--he comes to admire these geographic obsessives. Now that technology and geographic illiteracy are increasingly insulating us from the lay of the land around us, we are going to be needing these people more than ever. Mapheads are the ones who always know exactly where they are--and where everything else is as well.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
554 people are currently reading
14k people want to read
About the author
Ken Jennings
28Ìýbooks515ÌýfollowersKenneth Wayne Jennings III holds the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! Jennings won 74 games before he was defeated by challenger Nancy Zerg on his 75th appearance. His total earnings on Jeopardy! are US$3,022,700 ($2,520,700 in winnings, a $2,000 consolation prize on his 75th appearance, and $500,000 in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions). Jennings held the record for most winnings on any game show ever played until the end of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions (first aired on May 25, 2005), when he was displaced by Brad Rutter, who defeated Jennings in that tournament.
After winning, he began working on a book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, which explored American trivia history and culture. Ken also appeared as a member of the mob sitting in podium #13 from the new game show 1 vs. 100 in 2006, and in 2007 Jennings was the champion of the first season of the US version of Grand Slam.
Jennings was selected to co-host Jeopardy after the death of Alex Trebek.
After winning, he began working on a book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, which explored American trivia history and culture. Ken also appeared as a member of the mob sitting in podium #13 from the new game show 1 vs. 100 in 2006, and in 2007 Jennings was the champion of the first season of the US version of Grand Slam.
Jennings was selected to co-host Jeopardy after the death of Alex Trebek.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,175 reviews
January 29, 2012
Stealing a thought line from the author, Ken Jennings, Jeopardy superstar, if you the type of person who walks into a room with a map hanging on the wall and you immediately head to the map...you must read this book. I love maps, all kinds and found this book to be utterly fascinating. So, if blue was favorite category in Trivial Pursuit and you often find yourself exploring the world via Google Earth and its maps, then you, Ken Jennings and I have something in common and this book, while it doesn't tell us why, it does fill a niche of knowledge about the passion we share. Some may wonder if it's really possible to have an entire book "about" maps. YES it is...thank goodness.
October 12, 2011
True story: my husband and I met because of a geography bee. I was the seventh grade Geography Bee champion at our middle school; he was the eighth grade champion. We went head to head for several rounds, but ultimately he bested me -- he knew that quinine was used to treat malaria, and I did not. I got my revenge, though, in a way -- he did not qualify for the state geography bee, but the following year, when I became the school champion, I DID. (And believe me -- some twenty years later, I still remind him of this quite frequently!) I went on to the Connecticut bee, with ninety-nine of the other top scorers, but I was eliminated before reaching the finals. It's true what they say -- you always remember the question that you didn't know the answer to. (In case it ever comes up for you: the South American desert known for being the driest in the world is the Atacama. You're welcome.)
You don't get to the state geography bee without being a map nerd -- so I don't need to tell you that I practically jumped up and down with excitement when I first heard about this book. A book about my people! Jennings, known for his 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, hooked me right in the very first chapter, with his tales of his childhood atlas (for me, it was a huge collection, courtesy of my grandfather, of National Geographic maps, plus a box set of "Close-Up USA" maps), wooden map puzzles, and realization that, for those of us who were in our peak geography-nerd phases before the end of the Cold War, our knowledge of world capitals and European country names is stuck in 1987.
Jennings goes on to trace the weird world of the "maphead" in chapters dealing the history of maps, map collecting, maps of fictional places, geocaching, and more. He shares my feeling that a book which includes maps must be good (bonus points if there's also an appendix!) and discusses the role that maps play in adult geek culture, noting that "Hogwarts and the starship Enterprise have been mapped in more detail than much of Africa." And, of course, there is a chapter on the National Geographic Bee which, as a former participant myself, I took special interest in. (And having read more about it, both here and elsewhere, I can look back and say, unequivocally, that despite my performance on the written test that qualified me for the state finals there is NO way I was prepared for that, nevermind the national finals. These kids are HARDCORE.)
As you would expect from a book written by a trivia champion and, dare I say, professional geek, the book is full of interesting facts and, yes, trivial sidenotes. Jennings has clearly done his homework; I'm nerdy enough to be totally jealous of the research he got to do for the book, especially visiting the map room at the Library of Congress. Jennings is a gifted, humorous writer, and the book is fast-paced and lighthearted -- if one were hoping for a serious academic treatment of maps and mapheads, this isn't the right book. (The book also boasts the rarest of all literary beasts, a funny appendix. The entries for "Jennings, Ken" and his wife made me giggle.)
All in all, Maphead is a fun read, and perfect for those who like a solid dose of chuckles with their facts. (And if descriptions of maps are going to make you go dig out your favorites so you can relive them all over again, then this is DEFINITELY for you.)
You don't get to the state geography bee without being a map nerd -- so I don't need to tell you that I practically jumped up and down with excitement when I first heard about this book. A book about my people! Jennings, known for his 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, hooked me right in the very first chapter, with his tales of his childhood atlas (for me, it was a huge collection, courtesy of my grandfather, of National Geographic maps, plus a box set of "Close-Up USA" maps), wooden map puzzles, and realization that, for those of us who were in our peak geography-nerd phases before the end of the Cold War, our knowledge of world capitals and European country names is stuck in 1987.
Jennings goes on to trace the weird world of the "maphead" in chapters dealing the history of maps, map collecting, maps of fictional places, geocaching, and more. He shares my feeling that a book which includes maps must be good (bonus points if there's also an appendix!) and discusses the role that maps play in adult geek culture, noting that "Hogwarts and the starship Enterprise have been mapped in more detail than much of Africa." And, of course, there is a chapter on the National Geographic Bee which, as a former participant myself, I took special interest in. (And having read more about it, both here and elsewhere, I can look back and say, unequivocally, that despite my performance on the written test that qualified me for the state finals there is NO way I was prepared for that, nevermind the national finals. These kids are HARDCORE.)
As you would expect from a book written by a trivia champion and, dare I say, professional geek, the book is full of interesting facts and, yes, trivial sidenotes. Jennings has clearly done his homework; I'm nerdy enough to be totally jealous of the research he got to do for the book, especially visiting the map room at the Library of Congress. Jennings is a gifted, humorous writer, and the book is fast-paced and lighthearted -- if one were hoping for a serious academic treatment of maps and mapheads, this isn't the right book. (The book also boasts the rarest of all literary beasts, a funny appendix. The entries for "Jennings, Ken" and his wife made me giggle.)
All in all, Maphead is a fun read, and perfect for those who like a solid dose of chuckles with their facts. (And if descriptions of maps are going to make you go dig out your favorites so you can relive them all over again, then this is DEFINITELY for you.)
July 6, 2013
This is a fun, if light, book. Ken Jennings is an engaging narrator, guiding you through chapter-separated geography wonks, from the collectors of ancient maps to Geography Bee competitors to geocachers. Jennings also will explode pretty much any stereotype you might have about Mormons - the humor was surprisingly risqué for what I associated with Mormons before. This isn't a deep book, but it's still a lot of fun.
January 13, 2024
As can be seen from the mix of reviews, this book apparently isn’t for everyone. But for that specific group of serious geographic nerdballs � of which I am most definitely a member � this is a darn near perfect read, (despite it’s oft-mentioned slow start).
I really doubted that anyone could write an entire book on “maps are fun!� without getting repetitive if not downright boring, but Jennings does a yeoman’s job covering a far wider range of topics than I would have thought possible. I also realize that by describing them (as I try below), they DO all sound ridiculously boring � but trust me, they are not; Jennings (along with his liberal doses of humor) actually makes the whole thing fascinating and in fact fun…if, again, only for us nerdballs.
The first chapter, ECCENTRICITY (and yeah, all the chapters have map/geo-related names that only peripherally tie in to what’s being discussed, but A for effort), pretty much deals with the overall joy of maps � lines! shapes! colors! obscure foreign names printed in 3 pt. type! what's not to love? - before moving on to BEARING, which explains why some people are good at map reading and others not, and argues that “spatial thinking� should be right up there with literacy (reading) and numeracy (math) as the third most critical mental ability.
BENCHMARKS covers the Library of Congress� unmatched map collection (6 million and counting), along with a general history of mapmaking and the establishment of borders in general, whether invisible lines crossing the desert or stone walls in a farmer’s field.
FAULT describes the sad (i.e, nearly non-existent) state of geographic knowledge in America today, and convincingly describes how geographic understanding plays such a key role in all of the “big three� crises currently facing the U.S. (and elsewhere) � Islamic terrorism, the rise of China, and climate change.
From there, things generally lighten up: LEGEND goes into the whole history of invented lands and maps, from Middle Earth to Westeros to Neverland, (with an amusing digression into how hard it is to create “random� coastlines, and how authors therefore often resorted to tracing liquid spills, strange woodgrain patterns, etc).
MEANDER explores the uniquely 20th Century phenomenon of systematic travelers who try to visit every country, or attain the highest point in every state, or eat at every McDonalds, as made possible with the invention of train and then plane travel (let's try to move it along, Phil)…RECKONING spends time with a group of lovably nerdy (and variably Aspergian) kids as they participate in the “National Geographic GeoBee,� (sadly discontinued in 2021)…ELEVATION covers the exotic and surprisingly cutthroat world of map collecting, (along with its related side industries of forgery and theft)...TRANSIT goes into the history of the American “road trip� and those once-omnipresent gas station maps that from 1913-1986 represented “the biggest promotional giveaway of the 20th Century,� (and I well remember the “map drawer� in our tiny living room's 1950-style drum table, where my Dad kept his assortment of SUNOCO maps that covered every exotic location along the U.S. East Coast, from Massachusetts all the way to Maryland!).
The last few chapters cover the development of Google Maps and GPS, along with a delightful section on the “sport� of geocaching and its affiliated oddballs, (although I’m no one to talk). And then...that's pretty much it :)
Anyway…whole thing was just a joy � for me, at least � and I can think of a good dozen GR friends who would probably enjoy it just as much (although I won’t shame them by naming them here - will just say they're probably the same people who enjoyed the wondeful ). And despite other reviewers griping about Jennings� bad puns and dad humor, I found him an amiable if somewhat dorky companion here, to the point where I might even start watching Jeopardy again.
THAT SAID…I do have to call him out for mispronouncing two place names in his otherwise-fine audio narration � the planet Uranus (pronounced the way Bart Simpson probably would), and the Vietnamese city of Hue (which should be “hway,� not “hew�). Not a big deal � but then I had zero confidence in him when he later came to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
I really doubted that anyone could write an entire book on “maps are fun!� without getting repetitive if not downright boring, but Jennings does a yeoman’s job covering a far wider range of topics than I would have thought possible. I also realize that by describing them (as I try below), they DO all sound ridiculously boring � but trust me, they are not; Jennings (along with his liberal doses of humor) actually makes the whole thing fascinating and in fact fun…if, again, only for us nerdballs.
The first chapter, ECCENTRICITY (and yeah, all the chapters have map/geo-related names that only peripherally tie in to what’s being discussed, but A for effort), pretty much deals with the overall joy of maps � lines! shapes! colors! obscure foreign names printed in 3 pt. type! what's not to love? - before moving on to BEARING, which explains why some people are good at map reading and others not, and argues that “spatial thinking� should be right up there with literacy (reading) and numeracy (math) as the third most critical mental ability.
BENCHMARKS covers the Library of Congress� unmatched map collection (6 million and counting), along with a general history of mapmaking and the establishment of borders in general, whether invisible lines crossing the desert or stone walls in a farmer’s field.
FAULT describes the sad (i.e, nearly non-existent) state of geographic knowledge in America today, and convincingly describes how geographic understanding plays such a key role in all of the “big three� crises currently facing the U.S. (and elsewhere) � Islamic terrorism, the rise of China, and climate change.
From there, things generally lighten up: LEGEND goes into the whole history of invented lands and maps, from Middle Earth to Westeros to Neverland, (with an amusing digression into how hard it is to create “random� coastlines, and how authors therefore often resorted to tracing liquid spills, strange woodgrain patterns, etc).
MEANDER explores the uniquely 20th Century phenomenon of systematic travelers who try to visit every country, or attain the highest point in every state, or eat at every McDonalds, as made possible with the invention of train and then plane travel (let's try to move it along, Phil)…RECKONING spends time with a group of lovably nerdy (and variably Aspergian) kids as they participate in the “National Geographic GeoBee,� (sadly discontinued in 2021)…ELEVATION covers the exotic and surprisingly cutthroat world of map collecting, (along with its related side industries of forgery and theft)...TRANSIT goes into the history of the American “road trip� and those once-omnipresent gas station maps that from 1913-1986 represented “the biggest promotional giveaway of the 20th Century,� (and I well remember the “map drawer� in our tiny living room's 1950-style drum table, where my Dad kept his assortment of SUNOCO maps that covered every exotic location along the U.S. East Coast, from Massachusetts all the way to Maryland!).
The last few chapters cover the development of Google Maps and GPS, along with a delightful section on the “sport� of geocaching and its affiliated oddballs, (although I’m no one to talk). And then...that's pretty much it :)
Anyway…whole thing was just a joy � for me, at least � and I can think of a good dozen GR friends who would probably enjoy it just as much (although I won’t shame them by naming them here - will just say they're probably the same people who enjoyed the wondeful ). And despite other reviewers griping about Jennings� bad puns and dad humor, I found him an amiable if somewhat dorky companion here, to the point where I might even start watching Jeopardy again.
THAT SAID…I do have to call him out for mispronouncing two place names in his otherwise-fine audio narration � the planet Uranus (pronounced the way Bart Simpson probably would), and the Vietnamese city of Hue (which should be “hway,� not “hew�). Not a big deal � but then I had zero confidence in him when he later came to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
May 7, 2013
It at least got me to look up some stuff on some maps that I am embarrassed to admit I had no clue about.
October 2, 2021
Maphead is a wonderful work revelling in nerdery of the geography-kind. All of those like myself who spent hours as a child poring over atlases, lose afternoons on Google maps or Google Earth and own a globe that is not of the Earth should adore this book.
It celebrates a certain type of nerdery that a lot of us share but hardly ever discuss. I'm not the only one who can go on a mini holiday with a map and my imagination. I'm not the only one to dream of psuedo real places that stay with me for years.
Ken is essentially saying "You're not alone. It's normal and fun. Look at this cool shit that we do!".
It's not all frippery though. There is serious discussion on geographic education, the history of mapping and the future of maps in the digital age.
I adored this book and recommend it for any self-confessed nerd. Chances are you grew up thumbing through an atlas also.
It celebrates a certain type of nerdery that a lot of us share but hardly ever discuss. I'm not the only one who can go on a mini holiday with a map and my imagination. I'm not the only one to dream of psuedo real places that stay with me for years.
Ken is essentially saying "You're not alone. It's normal and fun. Look at this cool shit that we do!".
It's not all frippery though. There is serious discussion on geographic education, the history of mapping and the future of maps in the digital age.
I adored this book and recommend it for any self-confessed nerd. Chances are you grew up thumbing through an atlas also.
November 21, 2011
3.5 stars
A quick read, similar in format and informality to Ken's inaugural book. All twelve chapter titles included a cartographic definition together with a quote. For example, the first chapter entitled 'Eccentricity' with the definition 'the deformation of an elliptical map projection' and the Pat Conroy quote 'My wound is geography.'
My favorite chapter falls in the center, halfway from nowhere to somewhere, Chapter 6 'Legend' with a definition of 'an explanatory list of the symbols on a map' and the quote 'Most of us, I suppose, have a secret country, but for most of us it is only an imaginary country.' I did a double-take when I read on p. 113 that and Ken Jennings were college roommates. I heartily agree with Brandon's assertion that 'The hallmark of epic fantasy is immersion' and that's why he always includes maps in his books. Brandon goes on to relate to Ken that he 'started to look and make sure a book had a map. That was one of the measures of whether it was going to be a good book or not." When Brandon first read he thought, 'Oho, he [Tolkien] knows what he's doing. A map and an appendix!' Ken states a few paragraphs later that 'Fantasy readers like that abrupt drop into the deep end and the learning curve it takes to keep up' further affirmed by Brandon's confirmation that 'By the end of a big epic fantasy novel, you'll have to become an expert in this world that doesn't exist. It's challenging.'
I felt affirmed and validated for years of pouring over maps of fictional non-existent realms. I once thought to recreate the map of Middle Earth as a tapestry to hang proudly in my living room or library. One of the first prints I purchased from a newly favorite epic fantasy author, , was a large format (40x30 inches) , solely because I wanted to be able to trace (without squinting or resorting to a magnifying glass and the loss of the center of the map to the no man's land in the binding of the books) the routes of Arithon, Elaira, Dakar, Lysaer and other characters intrinsic to her Wars of Light and Shadow epic fantasy series. The first thing I did upon receiving the next Wheel of Time novel was to skim through for any new maps interspersed in the chapters and sections. Back in the mid80s, I purchased both the and the by so I could pour over even more imaginary maps while waiting for the next Pern or Thomas Covenant novel to be published. But I digress, tangentially, from the book at hand.
In Chapter 9 'Transit' (definition: 'a piece of surveying equipment used by mapmakers: a theodolite with a reversible telescope'), Ken sparked my interest in road rallies (something I always wanted to do when my husband was a member of the local ). I always excelled at those trick-question instruction test in school, so I might just try Jim Sinclair's annual St. Valentine's Day Massacre (a contest by mail where you travel a circuitous course across American from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Statue of Liberty entirely by maps) next year. That is if I can find a way to sign up; an Internet search came up oddly sparse.
Ken introduced me to 'geocaching' in Chapter 10 'Overedge' (definition: 'the portion of the map that lies outside the neatline border'), which so intrigued me that I grabbed my Nook Color and signed up at , even though I don't even own a GPS unit (outside of the one in my dumbphone which doesn't have any 'free' software associated with it to assist in finding or placing geocaches).
Overall, I enjoyed the few hours I spent geeking over cartography and geography with Ken Jennings as my tour guide. I learned a few things and I laughed out loud a couple of times. I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend, especially if cold November rain greets you on the other side of the door.
A quick read, similar in format and informality to Ken's inaugural book. All twelve chapter titles included a cartographic definition together with a quote. For example, the first chapter entitled 'Eccentricity' with the definition 'the deformation of an elliptical map projection' and the Pat Conroy quote 'My wound is geography.'
My favorite chapter falls in the center, halfway from nowhere to somewhere, Chapter 6 'Legend' with a definition of 'an explanatory list of the symbols on a map' and the quote 'Most of us, I suppose, have a secret country, but for most of us it is only an imaginary country.' I did a double-take when I read on p. 113 that and Ken Jennings were college roommates. I heartily agree with Brandon's assertion that 'The hallmark of epic fantasy is immersion' and that's why he always includes maps in his books. Brandon goes on to relate to Ken that he 'started to look and make sure a book had a map. That was one of the measures of whether it was going to be a good book or not." When Brandon first read he thought, 'Oho, he [Tolkien] knows what he's doing. A map and an appendix!' Ken states a few paragraphs later that 'Fantasy readers like that abrupt drop into the deep end and the learning curve it takes to keep up' further affirmed by Brandon's confirmation that 'By the end of a big epic fantasy novel, you'll have to become an expert in this world that doesn't exist. It's challenging.'
I felt affirmed and validated for years of pouring over maps of fictional non-existent realms. I once thought to recreate the map of Middle Earth as a tapestry to hang proudly in my living room or library. One of the first prints I purchased from a newly favorite epic fantasy author, , was a large format (40x30 inches) , solely because I wanted to be able to trace (without squinting or resorting to a magnifying glass and the loss of the center of the map to the no man's land in the binding of the books) the routes of Arithon, Elaira, Dakar, Lysaer and other characters intrinsic to her Wars of Light and Shadow epic fantasy series. The first thing I did upon receiving the next Wheel of Time novel was to skim through for any new maps interspersed in the chapters and sections. Back in the mid80s, I purchased both the and the by so I could pour over even more imaginary maps while waiting for the next Pern or Thomas Covenant novel to be published. But I digress, tangentially, from the book at hand.
In Chapter 9 'Transit' (definition: 'a piece of surveying equipment used by mapmakers: a theodolite with a reversible telescope'), Ken sparked my interest in road rallies (something I always wanted to do when my husband was a member of the local ). I always excelled at those trick-question instruction test in school, so I might just try Jim Sinclair's annual St. Valentine's Day Massacre (a contest by mail where you travel a circuitous course across American from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Statue of Liberty entirely by maps) next year. That is if I can find a way to sign up; an Internet search came up oddly sparse.
Ken introduced me to 'geocaching' in Chapter 10 'Overedge' (definition: 'the portion of the map that lies outside the neatline border'), which so intrigued me that I grabbed my Nook Color and signed up at , even though I don't even own a GPS unit (outside of the one in my dumbphone which doesn't have any 'free' software associated with it to assist in finding or placing geocaches).
Overall, I enjoyed the few hours I spent geeking over cartography and geography with Ken Jennings as my tour guide. I learned a few things and I laughed out loud a couple of times. I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend, especially if cold November rain greets you on the other side of the door.
October 22, 2011
Ken Jennings (of Jeopardy fame) delivers a fantastic sampling of the geo-geekdom. From map lovers (where it starts) to geography bees to road geeks, to obsessive travel, to geo cachers to Google Earth's transformation of the paper to cyber world of finding where you are and devoting a great deal of energy to it. Jennings is entertaining, literate (if not annoying in his constant referrals to pop culture as well as history.) but most of all he, like me, LOVES maps. And if you LOVE maps, this is a four, if not five star, book, just to find those fellow oddballs who find order in the universe looking at a map. Honey, I won't ask for directions because I get to follow the map. Why would I? His arguments for the spatial development of the brain as a product of map love are interesting but not as interesting as the stories about the people who've been to the highest point in all 50 states. And that's the revelation about this book: people are still in love with finding things. The earth is their treasure hunt. And that's fun!
November 18, 2023
Maps are such a big part of our lives, I'm surprised I haven't read into the topic before now. I'm old enough to remember planning a journey with a road atlas or referring to handwritten directions, but I look at maps far more often now with GPS and Google Maps than I ever did before. In Maphead - Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks, Ken Jennings is the ultimate tour guide.
Early on, he starts with some basics about different kinds of maps, like this one:
"Hypsometric maps are those ones that represent terrain with vivid colours: greens for low elevations, browns and purples for high ones. I preferred the clean political maps that Hammond and National Geographic published, where cities and towns stood out neatly on lightly shaded territory and borders were delineated in crisp pastels. In fact, I dislike hypsometric maps to this day." Page 6
I wasn't a fan of hypsometric maps when I was standing in the bush with a compass in my hand, but I do love an informative choropleth map, especially during elections:
"'Choropleth' maps - those in which areas are colored differently to represent different values on some scale, like the red-and-blue maps on election night - date back only to 1826." Page 8
Jennings is the knowledgeable navigator in the passenger seat on this journey, and as you drive through the pages and chapters, he readily provides all manner of info about geonerds and their love of maps. If you enjoy learning quirky facts in quick succession, this is for you. Example, did you know that 'cartacacoethes' is the uncontrollable compulsion to see maps everywhere?
The puddle that looks like a perfect map of Australia immediately springs to mind, as does my remark last night that the protein (pork schnitzel) looked like the shape of Africa.
When the allies were planning the 1944 invasion at Normandy, there were extraordinary contributions made my mapmakers who had stolen across the English Channel by night for many months to map the coastline. Furthermore:
"In 1942, the BBC asked its listeners to send in prewar postcards and holiday snaps from the beaches of Europe. Seven million poured in, showing coastlines from Norway to the Pyrenees, and they were used to select Normandy as the site of the initial landing." Page 59
Despite a reasonable knowledge of military history, this was completely new to me. It seems unheard of, until you remember a similar call out by more recent governments: 'if you see something say something' and the images submitted post 9/11.
I was happy to see Humpty Doo (Northern Territory) get a mention in the section about place names and toponymists, as the author tells us he's been an enthusisastic toponymist - a student of place-names - for as long as he's loved maps. We then move on to the market for collectors of ancient maps and globes for display purposes that stretches as far back as the Renaissance:
"This was a watershed moment in the history of cartophilia. For thousands of years, people had drawn maps because they had to: to get from one place to another, or locate taxpayers, or mark the boundaries of fields and pastures. If not for those maps, lives or property would be lost, governments might fall. But here, for the first time, we have evidence of people keeping maps just because they liked looking at them." Page 99
Here Jennings mentions several figures from history - like John Dee, Samuel Pepys - who loved collecting and viewing maps, including Vermeer who reproduced maps in the backgrounds of more than a quarter of his paintings.
For readers who would rather leave history in the past, the section on maps in fantasy fiction was illuminating. C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, David Eddings are mentioned, but it was the detail about Brandon Sanderson's maps that held my attention the longest. The author and Sanderson were college roommates, so he offers quite an insight.
"The hallmark of epic fantasy is immersion," says the best-selling genre writer Brandon Sanderson. "That's why I've always included maps in my books. I believe the map prepares your mind to experience the wonder, to say, 'I am going to a new place.'" Page 113
Jennings weighs in on the 'map gap' between the genders, and he made some convincing arguments:
"Tests on gender and navigation have found that women tend to navigate via landmarks ("I turn left when I get to the gas station") whereas men use dead reckoning ("I still need to be north and maybe a little west of here"), which ties in nicely with the evolutionary perspective: early men went out on hunting expeditions in all directions and always needed to be good at finding their way back to the cave, developing their "kinesic memory," while women foraged for edibles closer to home, developing "object location memory." Simply put, men got better at finding places, while women got better at finding things." Page 139-140
I'm also guilty of setting my map preference to 'forward is up', while my husband prefers the 'north is up' orientation which totally messes with my mind when I'm forced to use it.
The section on systematic travel was fascinating, and the first person who came to mind was Matt Harding, whose Where the Hell is Matt? series went viral in the 2000s. Some systematic travellers aim to visit every country in the world, perhaps every capital city, every state in the USA, the most northern/southern/eastern/western tip of a landmass. But how about ticking off the junction of state borders, or the highest mountains on every continent? The sky is the limit, and while I think I'd find the concept stressful, ticking off locations is high on the list for systematic travellers.
Just like twitchers and trainspotters, roadgeeks are the highway scholars of mapheads, and take photos of road signs to clock their routes.
"They can tell the difference between a Westinghouse streetlight and a GE one and are the only ones who notice when the lettering on interstate signage is switched over from Highway Gothic to the new Clearview font." Page 167
I don't know why, but I find this incredibly reassuring and even comforting. Perhaps knowing there are people in the world who pursue these particular interests gives me a sense that in every field, no matter how specialised, there is an expert; someone who lives and breathes everything there is to know about that topic.
The chapter on geocaching had me checking for geocache locations near me and - just like the author - I was surprised to find one less than 500m from my front door! It only required a photograph to complete the find, so I wasn't tempted to sign up and start checking caches on the weekend, but I'll certainly look twice next time I see someone taking a selfie at that location. They could be a geocacher!
Maphead by Ken Jennings is endlessly fascinating, and while I've been lucky enough to experience the thrill of watching the numbers tick over on the GPS when crossing the equator, did you know that confluence hunting is a thing?
"The Degree Confluence Project was started in 1996 by a Massachusetts Web programmer named Alex Jarrett, a new GPS owner who noticed that his commute happened to take him across the nearby seventy-second meridian twice a day." Page 237
Jennings tells us that no spot on Earth is more than 49 miles from one of these points of 'cartographic perfection' and there are 16,340 confluence points worldwide. Can you imagine? Maybe you've been lucky enough to visit a location (US has a few) where you can stand right at the spot where 3 or 4 states come together. Perhaps you just give a hoot when you cross from NSW to VIC in your car, but for a confluence hunter this is small fry.
I can see this review is getting long, and I haven't even begun to touch on all of the Google Earth and street view stuff! In reading Maphead and learning why so many people are cartographically cloddish, I'm convinced Geography needs to re-enter the curriculum of the day.
If you suspect you'll need to look up images of maps while reading this, you're spot on, so have your device at the ready. Maphead - Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings is an absolutely fascinating read and I'll be sorry to return it to the library.
Highly recommended!
Early on, he starts with some basics about different kinds of maps, like this one:
"Hypsometric maps are those ones that represent terrain with vivid colours: greens for low elevations, browns and purples for high ones. I preferred the clean political maps that Hammond and National Geographic published, where cities and towns stood out neatly on lightly shaded territory and borders were delineated in crisp pastels. In fact, I dislike hypsometric maps to this day." Page 6
I wasn't a fan of hypsometric maps when I was standing in the bush with a compass in my hand, but I do love an informative choropleth map, especially during elections:
"'Choropleth' maps - those in which areas are colored differently to represent different values on some scale, like the red-and-blue maps on election night - date back only to 1826." Page 8
Jennings is the knowledgeable navigator in the passenger seat on this journey, and as you drive through the pages and chapters, he readily provides all manner of info about geonerds and their love of maps. If you enjoy learning quirky facts in quick succession, this is for you. Example, did you know that 'cartacacoethes' is the uncontrollable compulsion to see maps everywhere?
The puddle that looks like a perfect map of Australia immediately springs to mind, as does my remark last night that the protein (pork schnitzel) looked like the shape of Africa.
When the allies were planning the 1944 invasion at Normandy, there were extraordinary contributions made my mapmakers who had stolen across the English Channel by night for many months to map the coastline. Furthermore:
"In 1942, the BBC asked its listeners to send in prewar postcards and holiday snaps from the beaches of Europe. Seven million poured in, showing coastlines from Norway to the Pyrenees, and they were used to select Normandy as the site of the initial landing." Page 59
Despite a reasonable knowledge of military history, this was completely new to me. It seems unheard of, until you remember a similar call out by more recent governments: 'if you see something say something' and the images submitted post 9/11.
I was happy to see Humpty Doo (Northern Territory) get a mention in the section about place names and toponymists, as the author tells us he's been an enthusisastic toponymist - a student of place-names - for as long as he's loved maps. We then move on to the market for collectors of ancient maps and globes for display purposes that stretches as far back as the Renaissance:
"This was a watershed moment in the history of cartophilia. For thousands of years, people had drawn maps because they had to: to get from one place to another, or locate taxpayers, or mark the boundaries of fields and pastures. If not for those maps, lives or property would be lost, governments might fall. But here, for the first time, we have evidence of people keeping maps just because they liked looking at them." Page 99
Here Jennings mentions several figures from history - like John Dee, Samuel Pepys - who loved collecting and viewing maps, including Vermeer who reproduced maps in the backgrounds of more than a quarter of his paintings.
For readers who would rather leave history in the past, the section on maps in fantasy fiction was illuminating. C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, David Eddings are mentioned, but it was the detail about Brandon Sanderson's maps that held my attention the longest. The author and Sanderson were college roommates, so he offers quite an insight.
"The hallmark of epic fantasy is immersion," says the best-selling genre writer Brandon Sanderson. "That's why I've always included maps in my books. I believe the map prepares your mind to experience the wonder, to say, 'I am going to a new place.'" Page 113
Jennings weighs in on the 'map gap' between the genders, and he made some convincing arguments:
"Tests on gender and navigation have found that women tend to navigate via landmarks ("I turn left when I get to the gas station") whereas men use dead reckoning ("I still need to be north and maybe a little west of here"), which ties in nicely with the evolutionary perspective: early men went out on hunting expeditions in all directions and always needed to be good at finding their way back to the cave, developing their "kinesic memory," while women foraged for edibles closer to home, developing "object location memory." Simply put, men got better at finding places, while women got better at finding things." Page 139-140
I'm also guilty of setting my map preference to 'forward is up', while my husband prefers the 'north is up' orientation which totally messes with my mind when I'm forced to use it.
The section on systematic travel was fascinating, and the first person who came to mind was Matt Harding, whose Where the Hell is Matt? series went viral in the 2000s. Some systematic travellers aim to visit every country in the world, perhaps every capital city, every state in the USA, the most northern/southern/eastern/western tip of a landmass. But how about ticking off the junction of state borders, or the highest mountains on every continent? The sky is the limit, and while I think I'd find the concept stressful, ticking off locations is high on the list for systematic travellers.
Just like twitchers and trainspotters, roadgeeks are the highway scholars of mapheads, and take photos of road signs to clock their routes.
"They can tell the difference between a Westinghouse streetlight and a GE one and are the only ones who notice when the lettering on interstate signage is switched over from Highway Gothic to the new Clearview font." Page 167
I don't know why, but I find this incredibly reassuring and even comforting. Perhaps knowing there are people in the world who pursue these particular interests gives me a sense that in every field, no matter how specialised, there is an expert; someone who lives and breathes everything there is to know about that topic.
The chapter on geocaching had me checking for geocache locations near me and - just like the author - I was surprised to find one less than 500m from my front door! It only required a photograph to complete the find, so I wasn't tempted to sign up and start checking caches on the weekend, but I'll certainly look twice next time I see someone taking a selfie at that location. They could be a geocacher!
Maphead by Ken Jennings is endlessly fascinating, and while I've been lucky enough to experience the thrill of watching the numbers tick over on the GPS when crossing the equator, did you know that confluence hunting is a thing?
"The Degree Confluence Project was started in 1996 by a Massachusetts Web programmer named Alex Jarrett, a new GPS owner who noticed that his commute happened to take him across the nearby seventy-second meridian twice a day." Page 237
Jennings tells us that no spot on Earth is more than 49 miles from one of these points of 'cartographic perfection' and there are 16,340 confluence points worldwide. Can you imagine? Maybe you've been lucky enough to visit a location (US has a few) where you can stand right at the spot where 3 or 4 states come together. Perhaps you just give a hoot when you cross from NSW to VIC in your car, but for a confluence hunter this is small fry.
I can see this review is getting long, and I haven't even begun to touch on all of the Google Earth and street view stuff! In reading Maphead and learning why so many people are cartographically cloddish, I'm convinced Geography needs to re-enter the curriculum of the day.
If you suspect you'll need to look up images of maps while reading this, you're spot on, so have your device at the ready. Maphead - Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings is an absolutely fascinating read and I'll be sorry to return it to the library.
Highly recommended!
January 10, 2019
I do not mean to dis Ken Jennings for his easy to read Maphead; I am just not sure who might care. Many people may remember Mr. Jennings as the guy who cleaned up on Jeopardy. That was in 2004. According to Wiki he has made money from some other game show appearances and according to the front pages of my copy he is author of 2 prior books. He seems to have had a few problems with his blog upsetting people, but maybe that comes with being visible in the blogosphere.
Maphead is a semi-serious confession of Jennings� fascination with cartography and of the various outlets for likeminded people. A part of my job includes some work with complicated map making software. It is a part of my job I enjoy, that is when everything works and a part that allows me to exercise whining and cursing when it does not. I am a former ship’s Navigator and because I had very good people on my team that assignment was one of the best jobs for which I ever received a paycheck. That plus I am something of a nerd so I am in the Venn diagram of the natural audience for this book.
Across the several chapters of his Book Jennings preaches a little, reports on some map related games and in general relates various stories and aspects of how true map heads live out their hobbies. Early on he indulges in a little advocacy for the study of geography while tracking the Annual Geography Bee. He has a section on people so into the idea of maps as guides to the imagination that they have created complete sometimes detailed maps of places that only exist in their imagination. Readers of the classic Thomas More’s Utopia may not know that More had a map of his “No Where�
Other chapters tell the stories of the various games people have invented tacking advantage of GPS tracking devices. He tracks down the founder of the online/real world game of Geocaching, whereby players seek out small cashes of trinkets hidden away in various places for the fun and saying they found them. Other games included an annual mind bending games of map reading. Started by Jim Sinclair is The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. It can be played from your desk and or in the ‘real� world but it requires the successful player to be detail and exacting as they travel across geography solving very deliberately obtuse questions about maps geography and the highway system. Jennings not only plays investigative reporter but participates.
Throughout the style is friendly a little self –deprecating and rarely serious. The result is easy to read but like map head enthusiasm, hard to understand. I mostly get it, but I am not sure who might enjoy it. There are one or two map centric people, at work who might give it a glace. Maphead might make an adjunct read for armchair travels who like reading about the real travel adventures. Maphead may qualify as a beach read or other light time passers, but � who else?
Maphead is a semi-serious confession of Jennings� fascination with cartography and of the various outlets for likeminded people. A part of my job includes some work with complicated map making software. It is a part of my job I enjoy, that is when everything works and a part that allows me to exercise whining and cursing when it does not. I am a former ship’s Navigator and because I had very good people on my team that assignment was one of the best jobs for which I ever received a paycheck. That plus I am something of a nerd so I am in the Venn diagram of the natural audience for this book.
Across the several chapters of his Book Jennings preaches a little, reports on some map related games and in general relates various stories and aspects of how true map heads live out their hobbies. Early on he indulges in a little advocacy for the study of geography while tracking the Annual Geography Bee. He has a section on people so into the idea of maps as guides to the imagination that they have created complete sometimes detailed maps of places that only exist in their imagination. Readers of the classic Thomas More’s Utopia may not know that More had a map of his “No Where�
Other chapters tell the stories of the various games people have invented tacking advantage of GPS tracking devices. He tracks down the founder of the online/real world game of Geocaching, whereby players seek out small cashes of trinkets hidden away in various places for the fun and saying they found them. Other games included an annual mind bending games of map reading. Started by Jim Sinclair is The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. It can be played from your desk and or in the ‘real� world but it requires the successful player to be detail and exacting as they travel across geography solving very deliberately obtuse questions about maps geography and the highway system. Jennings not only plays investigative reporter but participates.
Throughout the style is friendly a little self –deprecating and rarely serious. The result is easy to read but like map head enthusiasm, hard to understand. I mostly get it, but I am not sure who might enjoy it. There are one or two map centric people, at work who might give it a glace. Maphead might make an adjunct read for armchair travels who like reading about the real travel adventures. Maphead may qualify as a beach read or other light time passers, but � who else?
October 23, 2012
In 2004 Ken Jennings became my hero. An unassuming charming nerd from Utah who absolutely conquered the trivia world via his astonishing 6 month reign on Jeopardy. I picked up Maphead at the library because it was written by Jennings and not so much because I am a maphead, although I do appreciate geography and maps and have a fairly decent working knowledge of both. This book turned out just as good as I'd expect a glimpse inside such a smart (map)head would be...it is clever, erudite, funny, enlightening and very entertaining. Whether he is writing about the world of antique map collectors, geography wunderkinds, obsessive travelers, geocaching or the incredible technological advances that have been made in the recent past, Ken Jennings never fails to make the narration personable and exciting. Particularly interesting were his insights into how knowledge of geography relates to real world and american education systems tend to deprioritize it leading to results either alarming or laughable, depending on your perspective. And, of course, the book is peppered with fascinating trivia bits as one would expect from a trivia champ. Excellent book on an excellent (if underappreciated) subject. Highly recommended.
August 27, 2023
Very enjoyable book full of geography quirks and interesting tidbits. Lost a star for mentioning a nemesis (actually for one to many jokes about how his wife can’t read maps).
Was bonkers to see not only Minocqua, WI mentioned, but also one of my high school classmates. But you know what, that kid was a geography genius, so that’s fair.
Took the quiz at the end and scored 19/40 which puts me at the knowledge level of “Western Europe or Japan! Well done.� Ironic given that many of the questions I got wrong were about Western Europe or Japan.
Was bonkers to see not only Minocqua, WI mentioned, but also one of my high school classmates. But you know what, that kid was a geography genius, so that’s fair.
Took the quiz at the end and scored 19/40 which puts me at the knowledge level of “Western Europe or Japan! Well done.� Ironic given that many of the questions I got wrong were about Western Europe or Japan.
October 16, 2011
If a book about maps and the people who love them written by the snarky Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings sounds like the kind of book you would like, then what are you waiting for? Go get this book immediately.
If it doesn't sound like the kind of book you would like, then I would urge you to reconsider. As fans of his blog or his television appearances know, Jennings is incredibly charming as he drops witty and random asides, makes pop culture references galore, and lets his geek flag fly. And the topic he discusses is quite interesting. I don't consider myself to be a 'maphead', but I do understand the appeal of maps, and of obscure trivia in general, and reading about people pursuing their passions is always very interesting. He includes chapters about topics like the map collection at the Library of Congress, geocaching as a hobby, and the ways that Google maps is changing what maps even mean, and the whole time that he explores these topics he brings the reader along with him and makes you feel like a member of his family (or at least that you wish you were!)
What a fun book, and I cant wait to see what Jennings writes next.
If it doesn't sound like the kind of book you would like, then I would urge you to reconsider. As fans of his blog or his television appearances know, Jennings is incredibly charming as he drops witty and random asides, makes pop culture references galore, and lets his geek flag fly. And the topic he discusses is quite interesting. I don't consider myself to be a 'maphead', but I do understand the appeal of maps, and of obscure trivia in general, and reading about people pursuing their passions is always very interesting. He includes chapters about topics like the map collection at the Library of Congress, geocaching as a hobby, and the ways that Google maps is changing what maps even mean, and the whole time that he explores these topics he brings the reader along with him and makes you feel like a member of his family (or at least that you wish you were!)
What a fun book, and I cant wait to see what Jennings writes next.
December 14, 2020
5 Stars for Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks (audiobook) by Ken Jennings read by Kirby Heyborne. This was fascinating. I thought that I liked maps. But hearing about how some many people have geography such a big part of there life’s was great.
September 18, 2024
This would've been five stars had I read it upon release, but Ken's prognostication has aged poorly and the novelty of certain technologies has waned. Most chapters were highly relatable (did you know I'm a two-time geography bee champion?) but felt a bit too formulaic at the same time--this niche subculture sure is comprised of an odd group of individuals, huh gang?
Maybe I'm just salty for having been mildly called out in the chapter about decorative maps.
Maybe I'm just salty for having been mildly called out in the chapter about decorative maps.
August 1, 2016
Si no hubiese estudiado administración, yo habrÃa sido geógrafo. Este dato, que conocen bastante en mi casa, procede quizá de que uno de los grandes sueños de mi vida es ser un escritor de libros de viajes. Tengo un drive de wanderlust exagerado; siempre quiero estar en un lugar distinto al que estoy. Siempre que piso el aeropuerto de esta ciudad de regreso de un viaje termino pensando: ‘no viajo lo suficienteâ€�. Y mi presencia en esta red social habla de otra gran parte de mà que añora viajar: aquella que no involucra dejar el sillón.
Entonces, soy el mercado objetivo natural de este libro de no ficción, un largo ensayo y carta de amor al poder de la geografÃa. Ken Jennings, famoso campeón de Jeopardy! Nos lleva a través de un viaje exhilarante por muchos temas englobados primero en esta ciencia y luego en su propio amor por los mapas. Desde las caracterÃsticas biológicas que hacen al humano tener inteligencia espacial y sentido de la orientación hasta los efectos que el poder de Google tendrán sobre la geografÃa, pasando por el debate sobre el cacareado analfabetismo geográfico de los estadounidenses y los esfuerzos de la National Geographic para revertir esta tendencia a través de su famoso Bee.
Los mejores capÃtulos, empero, son aquellos que cuentan las manÃas de grupos súper ‘motleyâ€� de amantes de los mapas. Pasa por los coleccionistas de mapas antiguos, por los viajeros adictos que compiten para ver quién ha viajado por más lugares del mundo, por los campeones del juego de Geocaching que tantas ganas tengo de practicar, por los que compiten en rallies sólo con un atlas carretero sin dejar sus casas. Y mi favorito, un capÃtulo sobre el amor por los mapas que ha llevado a los fantasistas del último siglo a crear mundos completos.
Pese a que no tiene un tema unificador salvo esta fascinación cartográfica, Jennings presenta una colección convincente de datos históricos, referencias a la cultura pop y discusiones sobre los efectos de la tecnologÃa cartográfica actual sobre la privacidad y sobre la arcana industria de los mapas. Con la pasión que sólo puede provenir de un amante de los datos, al final la idea de la que intenta convencernos el autor es la de nunca olvidar uno de los instintos más básicos y a la vez más hermosos que tenemos: el deseo de explorar y la sensación de aventura.
Un libro maravilloso.
Entonces, soy el mercado objetivo natural de este libro de no ficción, un largo ensayo y carta de amor al poder de la geografÃa. Ken Jennings, famoso campeón de Jeopardy! Nos lleva a través de un viaje exhilarante por muchos temas englobados primero en esta ciencia y luego en su propio amor por los mapas. Desde las caracterÃsticas biológicas que hacen al humano tener inteligencia espacial y sentido de la orientación hasta los efectos que el poder de Google tendrán sobre la geografÃa, pasando por el debate sobre el cacareado analfabetismo geográfico de los estadounidenses y los esfuerzos de la National Geographic para revertir esta tendencia a través de su famoso Bee.
Los mejores capÃtulos, empero, son aquellos que cuentan las manÃas de grupos súper ‘motleyâ€� de amantes de los mapas. Pasa por los coleccionistas de mapas antiguos, por los viajeros adictos que compiten para ver quién ha viajado por más lugares del mundo, por los campeones del juego de Geocaching que tantas ganas tengo de practicar, por los que compiten en rallies sólo con un atlas carretero sin dejar sus casas. Y mi favorito, un capÃtulo sobre el amor por los mapas que ha llevado a los fantasistas del último siglo a crear mundos completos.
Pese a que no tiene un tema unificador salvo esta fascinación cartográfica, Jennings presenta una colección convincente de datos históricos, referencias a la cultura pop y discusiones sobre los efectos de la tecnologÃa cartográfica actual sobre la privacidad y sobre la arcana industria de los mapas. Con la pasión que sólo puede provenir de un amante de los datos, al final la idea de la que intenta convencernos el autor es la de nunca olvidar uno de los instintos más básicos y a la vez más hermosos que tenemos: el deseo de explorar y la sensación de aventura.
Un libro maravilloso.
January 8, 2013
Ever read a book and decide you just can't stand another minute of exposure to it? That's how I feel about Maphead.
I got 36 pages in and was reflexively wincing every time the author made a bad pun. And Jennings makes a lot of them. Here's an example:
"I wonder: how would history be different if Bunyan or Dante had chosen to represent life not as a linear journey through a geographic territory but as something a little more holistic -- a library, say? Or a buffet? (Pilgrim's Potluck!)"
Groan... and then he immediately follows with a completely irrelevant comment concerning Oprah Winfrey and a waffle bar. What the HELL does this have to do with maps?
It has nothing to do with them. It's just whatever random thoughts were in his mind at the time. But maybe I'm being charitable.... a more damning thought is that he actually worked to construct these godawful passages.
Then there are all the lengthy footnotes. Dozens of them. (Did I mention I was only 36 pages in?) The narrative itself is a rambling mash-up of random factoids, but then Jennings is in love with the idea of putting other random factoids (often of a smirking nature) in footnotes. God knows why. They're in miniscule text. Needless to say, deciphering them is rarely worth the effort.
Alas, the real subject of Mapheads is Jennings himself. I'll restrain myself here and simply say that Jennings is not that interesting. He's spent more or less a lifetime absorbing factoids then regurgitating them. With embellishments. But it's no substitute for coherent thought. There's no there there.
While Jennings was clearly shooting for something along the lines of a Bill Bryson book, he came short. There are much better books on map-obsessed people out there, such as The Island of Lost Maps.
I was given this book as a gift and decided to give it a go as I'd once read another book, on the life of Lola Montez, by another former Jeopardy whiz, Bruce Seymour. I greatly enjoyed it. Seymour took his winnings and used them to devote himself to researching Montez, a fascinating subject. Jennings, alas, seems more intent on cashing in on his moment of fame.
I got 36 pages in and was reflexively wincing every time the author made a bad pun. And Jennings makes a lot of them. Here's an example:
"I wonder: how would history be different if Bunyan or Dante had chosen to represent life not as a linear journey through a geographic territory but as something a little more holistic -- a library, say? Or a buffet? (Pilgrim's Potluck!)"
Groan... and then he immediately follows with a completely irrelevant comment concerning Oprah Winfrey and a waffle bar. What the HELL does this have to do with maps?
It has nothing to do with them. It's just whatever random thoughts were in his mind at the time. But maybe I'm being charitable.... a more damning thought is that he actually worked to construct these godawful passages.
Then there are all the lengthy footnotes. Dozens of them. (Did I mention I was only 36 pages in?) The narrative itself is a rambling mash-up of random factoids, but then Jennings is in love with the idea of putting other random factoids (often of a smirking nature) in footnotes. God knows why. They're in miniscule text. Needless to say, deciphering them is rarely worth the effort.
Alas, the real subject of Mapheads is Jennings himself. I'll restrain myself here and simply say that Jennings is not that interesting. He's spent more or less a lifetime absorbing factoids then regurgitating them. With embellishments. But it's no substitute for coherent thought. There's no there there.
While Jennings was clearly shooting for something along the lines of a Bill Bryson book, he came short. There are much better books on map-obsessed people out there, such as The Island of Lost Maps.
I was given this book as a gift and decided to give it a go as I'd once read another book, on the life of Lola Montez, by another former Jeopardy whiz, Bruce Seymour. I greatly enjoyed it. Seymour took his winnings and used them to devote himself to researching Montez, a fascinating subject. Jennings, alas, seems more intent on cashing in on his moment of fame.
May 31, 2013
I thought this was great, but I am a bit of a map nerd myself. And by "bit of," I mean I am a humongous map nerd. This is my most frequent tool of procrastination - I sit at the library when I should be doing work and I read the atlas. I've been doing it for years. When I am supposed to be doing work on the computer I am often tracing routes on google maps to local and far-flung donut shops. When I am driving places with friends I tend to read their road atlases when I probably should be talking to them. I am terrible.
I will say, Ken (it's funny that I feel so familiar with Ken because I watched him on Jeopardy. He must meet people who think they know him all the time), Ken maybe fills this with just a hair too many bad jokes. Especially in early chapters, the book reads like a vaudeville routine...every footnote seems designed to cue up a rim shot. He calms down a bit as the book progresses. I loved all the little anecdotes and random trivia that he scatters through the book. He looks at pretty much every kind of map geekdom, from geocachers to geography bee champions to the kinds of people who have memorized the road atlas and know what every route used to be called and ring up the DOT to report bad highway directional signs. He also inspired me to think about more classic maps that I wish I could buy to decorate my home/cublicle, before further reminding me that these maps are really very expensive. I went out and looked in used book shops in Boston and he is right, these collectors have made all these random old maps worth hundreds of dollars. He also clued me into why the people at the Mass Historical Society always search me when I leave and give me the evil eye - they are worried I'll exacto knife a map out of an old book and slip it in my pocket. Who knew people did that? Bastards!
Recommended for all map dorks. Excuse me, I want to go and look at the Imus Geographics U.S. map that I (honestly...I know) specifically requested for my birthday last year. In my defense, it is an awesome map.
I will say, Ken (it's funny that I feel so familiar with Ken because I watched him on Jeopardy. He must meet people who think they know him all the time), Ken maybe fills this with just a hair too many bad jokes. Especially in early chapters, the book reads like a vaudeville routine...every footnote seems designed to cue up a rim shot. He calms down a bit as the book progresses. I loved all the little anecdotes and random trivia that he scatters through the book. He looks at pretty much every kind of map geekdom, from geocachers to geography bee champions to the kinds of people who have memorized the road atlas and know what every route used to be called and ring up the DOT to report bad highway directional signs. He also inspired me to think about more classic maps that I wish I could buy to decorate my home/cublicle, before further reminding me that these maps are really very expensive. I went out and looked in used book shops in Boston and he is right, these collectors have made all these random old maps worth hundreds of dollars. He also clued me into why the people at the Mass Historical Society always search me when I leave and give me the evil eye - they are worried I'll exacto knife a map out of an old book and slip it in my pocket. Who knew people did that? Bastards!
Recommended for all map dorks. Excuse me, I want to go and look at the Imus Geographics U.S. map that I (honestly...I know) specifically requested for my birthday last year. In my defense, it is an awesome map.
February 12, 2012
As someone who has participated in car rallies, did the semi-obligatory post-college backpacking trip around Europe, and finally relented to using a smartphone mainly for the GPS, I know the allure and interest of navigating the wide, weird world around us. But holy cow, do I not know it in the ways explored in this book! The mild pleasure I take in being my family's navigator is nothing compared to the delight found by collectors, quiz kids, geocachers, and travelers who truly dig on mapping, memorizing, and circumnavigating the globe.
Jennings' wide-eyed perspective makes him a fun guide on the journey; I often found myself chuckling at his footnoted references and side comments on all sorts of cultural topics, from quirky Australian star Yahoo Serious to disappointment in the lack of 2010-era subacquatic biodomes to Lex Luthor's California-as-island scheme from the first Superman movie. The personal nature of the book, knowing that the topic is close to home for this geographic trivia nerd, makes it more of a pleasure to read.
A minor complaint about the book is that after reading a couple of chapters, I didn't really know what I'd be getting -- a rare case of Jennings not providing enough a map for the reader? I was tempted to quit, but on a friend's strong recommendation persevered, and was glad I did.
As for catching the geography bug myself? I doubt I'll join the Traveler's Century Club anytime soon, but a harmless bit of geocaching might be on the docket.
Jennings' wide-eyed perspective makes him a fun guide on the journey; I often found myself chuckling at his footnoted references and side comments on all sorts of cultural topics, from quirky Australian star Yahoo Serious to disappointment in the lack of 2010-era subacquatic biodomes to Lex Luthor's California-as-island scheme from the first Superman movie. The personal nature of the book, knowing that the topic is close to home for this geographic trivia nerd, makes it more of a pleasure to read.
A minor complaint about the book is that after reading a couple of chapters, I didn't really know what I'd be getting -- a rare case of Jennings not providing enough a map for the reader? I was tempted to quit, but on a friend's strong recommendation persevered, and was glad I did.
As for catching the geography bug myself? I doubt I'll join the Traveler's Century Club anytime soon, but a harmless bit of geocaching might be on the docket.
October 10, 2011
A quick read and not that good. It's more about the wonks and obsessives like Jennings himself, than maps or map-making. I think he wants to be a Bill Bryson but he isn't interesting enough as a subject. I could spend hours poring over maps myself, so it's a bit disappointing not to find many of those in the book.
November 19, 2020
Recomendado para todos los amantes de los mapas, en papel o digital, coleccionistas, buscadores de geocaching, viajeros y planificadores. Interesante la manera de narrar desde simples conceptos de geografÃa hasta las últimas novedades en tecnologÃa en el momento de su edición.
December 13, 2019
I’ve had Ken Jennings� Maphead in my Audible library for a few years. I bought it when I was in full Jennings fever after the whole hat trick of his Jeopardy! appearance, his memoir, and his book of trivia. I was eager for more Ken Jennings, whose name - like some other authors like Ruth Reichl - need not include a surname in my house. I said Ken, and my husband understood who I was talking about. He was a celebrity to us.
Then ... I don’t know if my interest in Ken waned, or if this new book - about geography, rather than trivia or Ken himself - was simply less interesting to me. I’ve never been big on the subject; as Ken so astutely puts it in the book, it stopped being taught as a discrete subject in schools before I was born. Maybe I never really had a chance to get into maps the way I got into novels and trivia and video games. The most involved my life ever got was when a huge wall map and its metal hanging structure fell on my algebra teacher’s head and we had a substitute for three weeks.
But I do love my accessible, poppy books on subjects I’m not familiar with, so when I was casting around for something to get me out of the sad novels about dead girls rut I seemed to be in, I hit on Maphead.
The book worked in exactly the way I wanted it to. Thesis statement about why maps are important and why they’re important to Ken. The broad history of maps and geography, mostly American-centric but taking the context of the world into much consideration.
Eventually we move into the futuristic now: chapters on GPS and geocaching and there’s a complicated math/geography chapter I didn’t quite understand. A really neat discussion of Google Earth. Thoughts about whether the future of maps will eliminate paper altogether. Closing, cautiously optimistic statement about the next generation of mapheads. And fin.
But that’s just the structure. It’s the structure pop writers take when writing books about difficult subjects for a mass audience. And I like the structure. It’s comforting, and only a little samey. What matters is how it’s tackled. Who’s writing it. How much of themselves they put into it. I read a history of salt earlier this year that was popular and I found it dull. Ken Jennings isn’t dull.
What comes across most in Maphead is how very, very much Ken likes maps and geography. And because he’s passionate about the subject - at times, you kind of think the book should be called Mapstan - YOU become passionate about it. I’m suddenly fascinated with geocaching, and also with fixing my geography blind spots and finally knowing all the state capitals, and not just the big ones like Boston or Orlando or Los Angeles.
If you have an interest in subjects you should have learned in school - or learned better - and want an in, this is that sort of book for you. Or if you just like nerds being nerds, and perhaps are a nerd. You might come away with a sudden craving for a National Geographic atlas. PS it’s on my Amazon List and Christmas is two weeks away.
Then ... I don’t know if my interest in Ken waned, or if this new book - about geography, rather than trivia or Ken himself - was simply less interesting to me. I’ve never been big on the subject; as Ken so astutely puts it in the book, it stopped being taught as a discrete subject in schools before I was born. Maybe I never really had a chance to get into maps the way I got into novels and trivia and video games. The most involved my life ever got was when a huge wall map and its metal hanging structure fell on my algebra teacher’s head and we had a substitute for three weeks.
But I do love my accessible, poppy books on subjects I’m not familiar with, so when I was casting around for something to get me out of the sad novels about dead girls rut I seemed to be in, I hit on Maphead.
The book worked in exactly the way I wanted it to. Thesis statement about why maps are important and why they’re important to Ken. The broad history of maps and geography, mostly American-centric but taking the context of the world into much consideration.
Eventually we move into the futuristic now: chapters on GPS and geocaching and there’s a complicated math/geography chapter I didn’t quite understand. A really neat discussion of Google Earth. Thoughts about whether the future of maps will eliminate paper altogether. Closing, cautiously optimistic statement about the next generation of mapheads. And fin.
But that’s just the structure. It’s the structure pop writers take when writing books about difficult subjects for a mass audience. And I like the structure. It’s comforting, and only a little samey. What matters is how it’s tackled. Who’s writing it. How much of themselves they put into it. I read a history of salt earlier this year that was popular and I found it dull. Ken Jennings isn’t dull.
What comes across most in Maphead is how very, very much Ken likes maps and geography. And because he’s passionate about the subject - at times, you kind of think the book should be called Mapstan - YOU become passionate about it. I’m suddenly fascinated with geocaching, and also with fixing my geography blind spots and finally knowing all the state capitals, and not just the big ones like Boston or Orlando or Los Angeles.
If you have an interest in subjects you should have learned in school - or learned better - and want an in, this is that sort of book for you. Or if you just like nerds being nerds, and perhaps are a nerd. You might come away with a sudden craving for a National Geographic atlas. PS it’s on my Amazon List and Christmas is two weeks away.
February 18, 2019
My sister and I have always loved maps. I have memories of us spending hours exploring our cheap K-Mart globe, our grandfather's atlas, and cheap tourist maps we got from the (rare) vacations to Daytona Beach and Disney World. You know, the ones that are displayed on the huge racks in tourist restaurants and such? We grabbed all of them! Even ones for the places we didn't go. All of them.
When my sister went on a vacation to St. Augustine as an adult with her husband, she gleefully dug a tourist map from her luggage and declared "I got a map!" And we looked over it for a good hour discussing all the places she went. When I went to Universal Studios for the first time, I grabbed a map of the park in every language, just because. We call it "map porn."
I haven't been this immersed in a book in a long time. I looked up so many things, learned so many things... considered buying an antique map, became interested in Geocaching (even downloaded the app and discovered a cache around the corner from my work that I'm going to visit during my afternoon walk!), searched the Library of Congress' map archive and bookmarked it, and visited the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. For those people who have loved maps their entire lives -- this is the book for us!
When my sister went on a vacation to St. Augustine as an adult with her husband, she gleefully dug a tourist map from her luggage and declared "I got a map!" And we looked over it for a good hour discussing all the places she went. When I went to Universal Studios for the first time, I grabbed a map of the park in every language, just because. We call it "map porn."
I haven't been this immersed in a book in a long time. I looked up so many things, learned so many things... considered buying an antique map, became interested in Geocaching (even downloaded the app and discovered a cache around the corner from my work that I'm going to visit during my afternoon walk!), searched the Library of Congress' map archive and bookmarked it, and visited the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. For those people who have loved maps their entire lives -- this is the book for us!
September 12, 2023
I love maps. So it makes sense that i would enjoy this book. The ‘current� information is now about ten years old, and that left me longing for an updated version, because no doubt a lot of sh** has gone down in the last ten years. The jokes are pop-culture oriented, and mostly not very clever. And some of the deep in the weeds stuff was interesting to me but some was not. I listened to it so now i guess i have to find the book and take the quiz. 4.5 rounded up
January 30, 2013
I like maps. When I travel somewhere new, I open Google Maps and spend a day or two plotting museums, food, and orienting myself to the geography of the city. I've whittled away countless hours in Street View, just to get a glimpse of a spot on a map. Sometimes it's a small, Southern American 'burg. Other times it's dead-center in a Central American metropolis I never knew existed. Or if I get bored of claustrophobic concrete canyons, it's off to the farthest reaches of the map, hoping to catch a panorama of a fjord or Sub-Saharan desert.
Ken Jennings summarized it nicely; he says that maps represent a sense of place. Each dot on a map exists; people live there, food is eaten, and the landscape may be completely alien. A map stokes my imagination, and I can play with an escapist fantasy for a couple minutes until I decide to finally write that memo that's been on my to-do list for a week.
This book is full of people who share that love of maps and take it to an absurd extreme. There's a map-based "road rally" in which contestants have to navigate the USA with a paper map and oblique trivia navigation. Geocachers spend hours collecting caches because... they're there. Sixth graders answer questions about places that are seemingly fictional in the National Geography Bee final.
I won my school's geography bee in seventh grade and flamed out on the state geography test because of places that, to me, still don't exist. Maphead is a reminder that there are people who take something I like and run with it until it's so specific and obsessive that it's almost inaccessible.
The book is mostly fluff, but it's fun fluff.
Ken Jennings summarized it nicely; he says that maps represent a sense of place. Each dot on a map exists; people live there, food is eaten, and the landscape may be completely alien. A map stokes my imagination, and I can play with an escapist fantasy for a couple minutes until I decide to finally write that memo that's been on my to-do list for a week.
This book is full of people who share that love of maps and take it to an absurd extreme. There's a map-based "road rally" in which contestants have to navigate the USA with a paper map and oblique trivia navigation. Geocachers spend hours collecting caches because... they're there. Sixth graders answer questions about places that are seemingly fictional in the National Geography Bee final.
I won my school's geography bee in seventh grade and flamed out on the state geography test because of places that, to me, still don't exist. Maphead is a reminder that there are people who take something I like and run with it until it's so specific and obsessive that it's almost inaccessible.
The book is mostly fluff, but it's fun fluff.
July 24, 2012
I enjoyed::
How the book ties together quite a lot of trivia in a format that allows a smooth transition from one fact to the next.
Anecdotes from the writer's personal life. Also, he seemed to make the conversational tone of the book work very well.
I didn't enjoy::
The lack of globally relevant material
This was unexpected and a big disappointment. Maphead is clearly written by an American aimed at Americans, which is a shame because throughout Maphead, Jennings passionately derides US-centricity as a way of global approach. The book also missed some background info where it was due. As someone who has never been to the US, I have trouble understanding entire chapters about American road signs and interstate system if I'm not eased into it.
Or the crude attempts at humour:
How the book ties together quite a lot of trivia in a format that allows a smooth transition from one fact to the next.
Anecdotes from the writer's personal life. Also, he seemed to make the conversational tone of the book work very well.
I didn't enjoy::
The lack of globally relevant material
This was unexpected and a big disappointment. Maphead is clearly written by an American aimed at Americans, which is a shame because throughout Maphead, Jennings passionately derides US-centricity as a way of global approach. The book also missed some background info where it was due. As someone who has never been to the US, I have trouble understanding entire chapters about American road signs and interstate system if I'm not eased into it.
Or the crude attempts at humour:
Many cases of twentieth-century American map geekdom, it seems, began the same way that many twentieth-century Americans began: conceived in the backseats of Buicks.
Check it out, Europe: Caribbean women are all hawt ! And, like, total sluts.
He testified that, on his wedding night, he even kept his new bride waiting in bed while he polished the covers of his beloved rare books. Perhaps she misunderstood when he warned her he was into “leather binding.�
November 22, 2011
fairly pleasant book about geography and maps. author has a style of intermittent full on trivia flood a la simon winchester mixed with some analysis and synthesis of why maps possibly are hardwired in human brains. that is the interpretation and understanding of maps. not enough illustrations and maps though. toby lester's is better for this sort of thing and so is winchester's map book as is sobel's new one , but still, ken jennings has written an excellent book for the right crowd
September 23, 2013
Ken Jennings has done a masterful job verbalizing a passion that many, including myself, share. We 'mapheads' enjoy maps in all their forms, and Mr. Jennings touches on many of them.
This book is not at all dry or boring - Mr. Jennings infuses his subject with wit and humor, and brings the various aspects of map research, creation, exploration, variation and evolution together in a very enjoyable read.
He has a breezy way of covering what could be snoozer subjects. I enjoyed the mix of his personal experiences and general reporting, and he uses a lot of modern cultural references that make an old subject feel current and alive.
I could sure relate to his topics - to the days poring over older paper maps, to the explorations with Google Earth and robotic GPS devices, to pastimes like geo-caching, and many others. About the only area I think that he could have been addressed more is the maps in video games - there are so many games out there, such as the Age of Empires or the Dawn of Discovery series or Titan Quest, that create worlds of imaginary maps that live only in pixels and our heads.
I do suggest this book - easy, entertaining and engrossing.
This book is not at all dry or boring - Mr. Jennings infuses his subject with wit and humor, and brings the various aspects of map research, creation, exploration, variation and evolution together in a very enjoyable read.
He has a breezy way of covering what could be snoozer subjects. I enjoyed the mix of his personal experiences and general reporting, and he uses a lot of modern cultural references that make an old subject feel current and alive.
I could sure relate to his topics - to the days poring over older paper maps, to the explorations with Google Earth and robotic GPS devices, to pastimes like geo-caching, and many others. About the only area I think that he could have been addressed more is the maps in video games - there are so many games out there, such as the Age of Empires or the Dawn of Discovery series or Titan Quest, that create worlds of imaginary maps that live only in pixels and our heads.
I do suggest this book - easy, entertaining and engrossing.
October 1, 2012
I wanted to like this book so much -- highly recommended, great subject matter, well-written, etc. The subject matter itself was great. It just skirted a little too far from its map roots for my taste.
What doomed it in the end was what it wasn't. There were few maps; none worth looking at. Instead, it was a series of vignettes about various geographic topics. I had expected this, I know, but I still found most of the book rather dull. I enjoyed doing my own research to expand upon the trivia and anecdotes more than reading the book itself. In fact, that's why it took so long to finish -- I'd leave and look something up, and never return. (Though I think this says more about me than it does about the book.)
I think I'm also losing my taste for a lot of "string of anecdotes around a particular topic" non-fiction... I think I need to head back toward the more research-based works I abandoned during college. This, instead, just felt like fluff.
What doomed it in the end was what it wasn't. There were few maps; none worth looking at. Instead, it was a series of vignettes about various geographic topics. I had expected this, I know, but I still found most of the book rather dull. I enjoyed doing my own research to expand upon the trivia and anecdotes more than reading the book itself. In fact, that's why it took so long to finish -- I'd leave and look something up, and never return. (Though I think this says more about me than it does about the book.)
I think I'm also losing my taste for a lot of "string of anecdotes around a particular topic" non-fiction... I think I need to head back toward the more research-based works I abandoned during college. This, instead, just felt like fluff.
June 3, 2012
An interesting look at people obsessed with maps and geography. The author takes a trip to the largest repository of maps in the world, (The Library of Congress) and peruses its rare maps, speaks of his love of atlases, and visits various geeks, nerds and "mapheads" all over the country that do things like climb the highest mountain in every country in the world, or memorize all the interstate highway interchanges or make up their own countries. I did that when I was a kid, too, and made lots of maps to chronicle it all; I did get a twinge of jealousy in the chapter on "Travel Clubs", where the prerequisite for joining is visiting 100 countries. I only got to 49. A little boring when he got to the parts about "technology", but I still love Google Earth.
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