How Maps Change Things: A conversation about the maps we choose and the world we want

by Ward Kaiser

This full-colour book is about politics and faith and the values we hold. It's about human relations, social justice, peace, budgets, and environmental concerns. It's about that "Aha!" moment when we realize that maps are loaded not just with data, but with meaning and the map maker's perceptions and prejudices about what's important and what's not. Ultimately, this book is about becoming aware of how we shape and use maps and how they in turn shape us, so that we can begin to reflect on and choose the kind of world we want. Includes a four-session study guide by Wood Lake Publishing co-founder James Taylor. Participants combine research with personal experience through discussion in small groups.

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 29, 2012

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the first paragraph of the P.S. sums up this book: "If you picked up this book expecting it to be all about maps, you were in for a surprise, right? It moved further into politics and faith and the values we hold, into human relations, justice and peace and budgets and environmental concerns - in short, how we deal with the world - than you anticipated."

It starts out all cool about maps, and especially about different types, like the ones ODT sells on their website (the Peters Projects, which is an equal-area map; maps where south is on top; etc.), but then it moves into this great big discussion about how maps that are inaccurate (including misrepresenting land sizes) put people at a disadvantage: the people who live in certain areas are underrepresented, and people who don't live in those areas don't realize there's misrepresentation, and that colors how they think about the rest of the world.