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Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey
"My name is Mike and I am a map addict. There, it's said " Maps not only show the world, they help it turn. On an average day, we will consult some form of map approximately a dozen times, often without even noticing: checking the A-Z, the road atlas, or the Sat Nav, scanning the tube or bus map, a quick Google online, or hours wasted flying over a virtual Earth, navigating a way around a shopping center, watching the weather forecast, planning a walk or a trip, catching up on the news, booking a holiday or hotel. Maps pepper logos, advertisements, illustrations, books, web pages, and newspaper and magazine articles: they are a cipher for every area of human existence. At a stroke, they convey precise information about topography, layout, history, politics, and power. They are the unsung heroes of life, and this guide sings their song. There are some fine, dry tomes out there about the history and development of cartography: this is not one of them. This exploration mixes wry observation with hard fact and considerable research, unearthing the offbeat, the unusual, and the downright pedantic in a celebration of all things maps. In "Map Addict," we learn the location of what has officially been named by the OS as the most boring square kilometer in the land; we visit the town fractured into dozens of little parcels of land split between two different countries and trek around many other weird borders of Britain and Europe; we test the theories that the new city of Milton Keynes was built to a pagan alignment and that women can't read maps. Combining history, travel, politics, memoir, and oblique observation in a highly readable, and often very funny, style, Mike Parker confesses how his own impressive map collection was founded on a virulent teenage shoplifting habit, ponders how a good leftie can be so gung-ho about British cartographic imperialism, and wages a one-man war against the moronic blandishments of the Sat Nav age.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
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760 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
May 5, 2010
The first half of this was really enjoyable; a fascinating history of map making,the Ordnance Survey and much more besides. Well illustrated with examples of maps but there was a change half way through in which the author's sexual proclivities and disappointments started to intrude upon the landscape - altogether too much information - and I'm afraid I couldn't finish the book quickly enough.
July 27, 2019
There is a good short book in here about obsession with maps, but this lapses into a tour of national eccentricities, the likes of which can be found in many funnier or more incisive books. It also attempts to shoehorn in barely relevant sex and politics and a little too much self-indulgent autobiography.
August 21, 2012
A great read. Who knew there was so much history and so much of interest in the OS? Very readable and entertaining.
October 8, 2011
I've rounded my rating up to 3, but would actually rate it as 2.5. After reading this I now know I'm not a map addict as defined by Mike Parker, even though I do enjoy using and looking at maps. Parts of this book just didn't interest me at all, but other parts where he goes into the history of mapping are much better.
September 19, 2023
Having worked for Ordnance Survey for many, many years previously, I did enjoy this love letter to that esteemed organisation, and mapping in all its many forms and guises. The author writes both interestingly and funnily and with great warmth about a subject he is very obviously deeply passionate about. Humorous and pertinent anecdotes, coupled with well observed social commentary on various dubious groups, made for a fine narrative for this reader.
June 16, 2023
As a map addict myself, I really liked this book but at the same time I got a bit disappointed. By not being British and never traveled to all those places that the author describes with a big enthusiasm, it felt a bit off. It gave me the motivation to travel to all those places but at the same time it made me feel a bit bored and uninterested. The book would be better described as :"A Welsh map addict talks about every small British village and mentions some general things about maps". But it will probably be a too much of a title.
non-fiction-to-read
February 25, 2016One of the subtitles of my autobiography could be map addict. Must find out what Parker has to say about the subject. From Telegraph 052209: Parker claims that his impressively diverse map collection was founded on a teenage shoplifting habit, and it's this dubious tone that informs much of this excellent book on the pleasures of maps and navigation, which is also a withering attack on the infantilisation of the satnav age. Combining hefty cartographic history with travel memoir, Parker explores the politics of maps, but with a good dose of humour. There's a funny section on Ordnance Survey maps, and the square kilometre described as the most boring in the country, as well as an examination of everything cartographic, from the weird borders of Britain and Europe to why women always turn maps upside down.
Extract
"A map reminds us constantly of what is possible, of how much we have seen, and how much we still have to see. This therapeutic longing for place and rootedness has its own word in Welsh, hiraeth. Homesick-ness doesn't quite cover it in English, but what cannot be expressed in one word has found ample expression over the centuries in art, literature and music. [After:] the First World War, Cotswold composer and poet Ivor Gurney was invalided back to Britain [and:] would respond to nothing except an Ordnance Survey map of the Gloucestershire countryside that he had adored and written about with such vivid hiraeth."
Extract
"A map reminds us constantly of what is possible, of how much we have seen, and how much we still have to see. This therapeutic longing for place and rootedness has its own word in Welsh, hiraeth. Homesick-ness doesn't quite cover it in English, but what cannot be expressed in one word has found ample expression over the centuries in art, literature and music. [After:] the First World War, Cotswold composer and poet Ivor Gurney was invalided back to Britain [and:] would respond to nothing except an Ordnance Survey map of the Gloucestershire countryside that he had adored and written about with such vivid hiraeth."
May 27, 2016
I should have loved this book, and its early moments of laugh-out-loud recognition certainly boded extremely well. But the author soon began imposing his acerbic opinions – about anything from middle-England Tories to Julie Burchill, via Lewis Carrol's suspected proclivities (now, I'm no fan of any of those people, but I don't want to read snidery in a book about maps). Whatever enjoyment I might have had after that was curtailed as I tiptoed forward, wary of what nastiness would come next. Other things I didn't want to read included: the author explaining how he shagged his way round p.90 of the Birmingham A-Z in his over-sexed twenties (just no); and I shouldn't need to say that mocking (obviously) autistic people is never funny.
A good book, spoiled. 1.5 stars.
A good book, spoiled. 1.5 stars.
March 14, 2015
Being a self-confessed map addict (I to own the whole Landranger OS collection), I was very intrigued by this book. Subsequently I feel let down. I simply didn’t feel Parkers love for maps and what enthusiasm that may have come across was simply dry and boring.
It was a challenge to finish the book and I had to force myself to read chapter a night in order to complete the book as I had paid good money for it. Some of the chapters were ok, such as the use of sat nav’s and the stupid things people do while following them, but other chapters made me a little angry such as women and their use of maps. Not an enjoyable read for me.
It was a challenge to finish the book and I had to force myself to read chapter a night in order to complete the book as I had paid good money for it. Some of the chapters were ok, such as the use of sat nav’s and the stupid things people do while following them, but other chapters made me a little angry such as women and their use of maps. Not an enjoyable read for me.
December 12, 2011
I thought it was ok until the pratnav chapter. I then realised that Mike Parker is a technophobe. I love satnavs. They do go wrong sometimes but most of the time are very accurate and extremely good at predicting time.
If you take maps to the next stage then technology is marvellous. To have OS explorer on your phone or iPad is like carrying every single map with you.
If you take maps to the next stage then technology is marvellous. To have OS explorer on your phone or iPad is like carrying every single map with you.
August 29, 2021
Some interesting stuff in the first half, but it tailed off...
December 28, 2024
3.5 out of 5. Top reviews for this would make you believe its more of a shag-fest than a tome on maps, but that hardly was the case other than the author being open about their sexuality, making reference to topographical depictions of sexual conquest, and one anecdote about being chatted up by a maybe swinger in the aptly named Rutland of all places.
As a book about maps it has some interesting comments to make on their more modern history and how we let them as tools define our society. Quite a lot of bits degenerate into indulgent, autobiographical prose, but fairly forgivable considering it real purpose is as a memoir and reflection on one man’s own love story with maps.
As a book about maps it has some interesting comments to make on their more modern history and how we let them as tools define our society. Quite a lot of bits degenerate into indulgent, autobiographical prose, but fairly forgivable considering it real purpose is as a memoir and reflection on one man’s own love story with maps.
November 30, 2017
This had been sitting on my shelf for the best part of six years before I finally got around to reading it properly. Well, I didn't actually have it the whole time, I guess, as I left it back home for some of that time, but this is part of a larger problem I have with books, and finishing them. Oops.
I like maps, as some of my friends will attest. So this was an obvious choice for me to buy. It's mostly a memoir by the author. We're quite similar in many ways - the main difference is our age. I'm much more comfortable with digital maps, while he is obsessed with the Ordnance Survey and considers their maps the best in the world. He reveals that he's gay and has a male partner about halfway through the book - I liked him better after he revealed that, I think. I think his life in central Wales with his boyfriend and some sheep seems idyllic and enviable.
His attitudes do come across as parochial sometimes, though - but he embraces this outwardly, and I had only minor qualms with it ultimately.
Nice book overall, and the inset example maps make it definitely worth buying the paperback and not an ebook version of this!
I like maps, as some of my friends will attest. So this was an obvious choice for me to buy. It's mostly a memoir by the author. We're quite similar in many ways - the main difference is our age. I'm much more comfortable with digital maps, while he is obsessed with the Ordnance Survey and considers their maps the best in the world. He reveals that he's gay and has a male partner about halfway through the book - I liked him better after he revealed that, I think. I think his life in central Wales with his boyfriend and some sheep seems idyllic and enviable.
His attitudes do come across as parochial sometimes, though - but he embraces this outwardly, and I had only minor qualms with it ultimately.
Nice book overall, and the inset example maps make it definitely worth buying the paperback and not an ebook version of this!
January 15, 2012
I liked this book about one man's relationship with maps. If I do find myself caught without a book, a map is not second-best and I often feel that at such times I read maps every bit like a book.
I was surprised at what *wasn't* in it - it is not a comprehensive look at the subject by any means. But he covered the history of maps and mapping with a light touch, focusing on interesting or amusing quirks. In some books of this nature there can be patches of dullness where there is more detail on something which doesn't interest you but not so with this book.
I really enjoyed his perspectives on guide books (he has written many), psychogeographers and multiple senses of belonging. He has useful things to say about the infamous "women can't read maps" theory. I am sure there is more of his life to be told - he looks at what some psychologists have said about the childhood experiences of map addicts and draws parallels with his own family history. But to have your mother leave for another country when you are a small child remains relatively unusual even now.
I was surprised at what *wasn't* in it - it is not a comprehensive look at the subject by any means. But he covered the history of maps and mapping with a light touch, focusing on interesting or amusing quirks. In some books of this nature there can be patches of dullness where there is more detail on something which doesn't interest you but not so with this book.
I really enjoyed his perspectives on guide books (he has written many), psychogeographers and multiple senses of belonging. He has useful things to say about the infamous "women can't read maps" theory. I am sure there is more of his life to be told - he looks at what some psychologists have said about the childhood experiences of map addicts and draws parallels with his own family history. But to have your mother leave for another country when you are a small child remains relatively unusual even now.
April 20, 2017
I LOVED this book. I'm a girl who can read a road atlas and one of my favourite books as a child was a picture atlas. I also live in Southampton, so his dreams of Maybush being lovely then turning out to be "Coventry with seagulls" was hilarious and horribly accurate!
I have noticed a number of reviews here and elsewhere which highlight their dislike of Parker hammering home his homosexuality. I did not find this - I think he's just not hiding it (and why should he - after all, this book is really a memoir). He mentions his partner quite often, but then Bill Bryson mentions his wife in his books. I don't understand what's wrong with that.
BTW, as a person who reads maps for fun - you can't read a satnav for fun. Yes, I use a satnav when I'm driving, but I wouldn't be without my road atlas. It's not the same. And I like the size of a paper map rather than one on an iPad. If you don't get this, maybe this isn't the book for you.
I have noticed a number of reviews here and elsewhere which highlight their dislike of Parker hammering home his homosexuality. I did not find this - I think he's just not hiding it (and why should he - after all, this book is really a memoir). He mentions his partner quite often, but then Bill Bryson mentions his wife in his books. I don't understand what's wrong with that.
BTW, as a person who reads maps for fun - you can't read a satnav for fun. Yes, I use a satnav when I'm driving, but I wouldn't be without my road atlas. It's not the same. And I like the size of a paper map rather than one on an iPad. If you don't get this, maybe this isn't the book for you.
May 2, 2020
This is a book that I picked up on a whim, because it sounded interesting, and because I have always been fascinated by maps (I used to spend hours reading OS maps and atlasses).
This book starts with the author Mike Parker talking about his obsession with maps, which extended to him stealing them from shops when he was young; I could also tell from this that he loathes satnavs (with good reason) and guidebooks.
This book may cover a niche subject, but I found it full of fascinating facts, many of them political, including the story about how the French objected to the Greenwich Meridian, when they preferred their own Paris Meridian, and absurdities relating to British administrative county boundaries.
This book felt dense at times, but it was a fascinating read, and at times I found it very funny too, and at the end I noticed that he acknowledges his own addiction to maps, commenting on how he probably needs to take a break from them.
This book starts with the author Mike Parker talking about his obsession with maps, which extended to him stealing them from shops when he was young; I could also tell from this that he loathes satnavs (with good reason) and guidebooks.
This book may cover a niche subject, but I found it full of fascinating facts, many of them political, including the story about how the French objected to the Greenwich Meridian, when they preferred their own Paris Meridian, and absurdities relating to British administrative county boundaries.
This book felt dense at times, but it was a fascinating read, and at times I found it very funny too, and at the end I noticed that he acknowledges his own addiction to maps, commenting on how he probably needs to take a break from them.
April 18, 2018
Well this is a strange book. On one hand Parker comes over as a bit of an arse, apparently unashamed of his recurring shoplifting of maps when a teen and blithely equating people who visit steam railways with paedophiles. On the other, parts of the book are quite readable.
I say “parts” because it’s very uneven, sometimes relating map history and sometimes wandering off into meandering stories (mainly about himself). And his loathing of satnav seems way over the top. I suspect he reached a point where he didn’t have enough of the good stuff for a whole book and just dashed off the rest. I couldn’t recommend it.
I say “parts” because it’s very uneven, sometimes relating map history and sometimes wandering off into meandering stories (mainly about himself). And his loathing of satnav seems way over the top. I suspect he reached a point where he didn’t have enough of the good stuff for a whole book and just dashed off the rest. I couldn’t recommend it.
January 12, 2019
A fascinating first half, with lots of nerdy information in it about maps and how they work, and why he was interested in them, and a trip to the Ordnance Survey, and all that.
In the second half, he tells you that he's gay, that he hates sat navs (but doesn't really give a compelling reason why), tells you he's gay again, tells a few stories involving hats and pubs and being gay, and it all kind of putters out in irrelevancy. And as someone who loves maps but can't stand electronic ones for reasons he can't quite explain, he comes across as being a bit of a grumpy old man. Which is a shame, because in the first half you feel quite warm to him. It's a shame, because it started so well.
In the second half, he tells you that he's gay, that he hates sat navs (but doesn't really give a compelling reason why), tells you he's gay again, tells a few stories involving hats and pubs and being gay, and it all kind of putters out in irrelevancy. And as someone who loves maps but can't stand electronic ones for reasons he can't quite explain, he comes across as being a bit of a grumpy old man. Which is a shame, because in the first half you feel quite warm to him. It's a shame, because it started so well.
February 21, 2012
What a tremendous book. As I read the introduction and the author explained his life-long love of maps, I was chortling with laughter as I identified myself. I have not ever collected maps for the sake of it but my first action when visiting somewhere new is always to buy the map! The book explores the history of maps and much more besides and I would highly recommend it to anyone who, like me, can happily spend an hour poring over an Ordnance Survey map or lose the occasional morning to Google Earth. 10/10
January 5, 2023
I confess it: I do not care about the Ordnance survey (my interest in maps doesn't go that far...) therefore I skimmed through the first chapter. However, I did enjoy the book and the array of nerdy information about maps, their history and how they came about, and I'm going to keep it for reference.
July 6, 2021
Fascinating in every chapter. I am going to do further study on some of the things he writes about. I will keep this book for reference as it contains so many gems and it had a great Index in the back. I will also be sharing many of his insights with others. I have already started.
And I am a woman who CAN read maps.
And I am a woman who CAN read maps.
December 4, 2018
I enjoyed every page of this book. I like to think of myself more as a cartophile than full-blown addict and the stories and vignettes in this book had me smiling and reaching for several maps and, of course, Google Earth, to see for myself some of the places Mike describes.
December 3, 2020
A very good book. Pretty readable for what is, mainly, a factual book. It could be improved with more illustrations and perhaps some colour plates but there is a very good selection of web addresses as well.
June 6, 2012
Absolutely brilliant. Especially if you like maps and geography and have at least a little bit of a nit-picker in you. ;-)
August 5, 2019
Quirky book about maps - a mixture of the history of mapping and maps in the life of the author. (no fudge, or did I miss it?) I think this author is perhaps an acquired taste but he suits me. I'm not an obsessive map collector but I have always pored over maps: my father had a little gadget which you could wheel about on a map to give you exact distances, spent hours with that (sad, I know). I was a bit shocked by his schooldays and his practice of shoplifting of maps! I enjoyed the book, although perhaps its structure is a bit uneven (the mix of history and personal stuff). This reminded me of the wisdom of taking maps with you even when you think you know where you are going - it only takes an incident on the road for you to be directed into unknown territory. Also, like the author, I don't think I would want to rely on satnav. (I think every car-borne visitor to our house has ignored my directions and listened to their satnav, which for some reason persist in sending everyone down a no-through road). Lots of knowledge lightly imparted, and an interesting bibliography at the end.
February 24, 2024
Sorry, but this dude kinda sucks. Sounds like he has several large chips on his shoulder. Like a kid who was bullied and now uses his reach to talk shit about... well... everyone.
The vibes were wildly off for me, and considered stopping multiple times, but the there was a brief interlude of interesting facts before the author devolved back into rambling stories and random thoughts with the occasional diss of anyone and anything who somehow didn't live up to his standards and ideals.
These include (but are certainly not limited to):
- "Fairweather Pagans"
- Anyone in a polyester/multiblend something uniform
- Anyone doing passport control
- The British
- Most non-Brits
- Young people
- Old people
- GPS navigation systems
- People who enjoy maps the wrong way
There is some weird gate-keeping in here, and a lot of odd bragging about stealing maps as a teenager.
I wish this had been a lot less "Mike Thinks" and a lot more "interesting things about maps and geography". Where was the editor?
The vibes were wildly off for me, and considered stopping multiple times, but the there was a brief interlude of interesting facts before the author devolved back into rambling stories and random thoughts with the occasional diss of anyone and anything who somehow didn't live up to his standards and ideals.
These include (but are certainly not limited to):
- "Fairweather Pagans"
- Anyone in a polyester/multiblend something uniform
- Anyone doing passport control
- The British
- Most non-Brits
- Young people
- Old people
- GPS navigation systems
- People who enjoy maps the wrong way
There is some weird gate-keeping in here, and a lot of odd bragging about stealing maps as a teenager.
I wish this had been a lot less "Mike Thinks" and a lot more "interesting things about maps and geography". Where was the editor?
June 16, 2025
Opening chapters carried so much promise. I've read ''Map of a Nation'' by Rachel Hewitt, but I wasn't aware of how broad of a competition map market used to be. So it was a bit enlightening to read about Bartholomew etc.
Then the book fell of a cliff. Jumping from point to point, rambling about various first world problems, lack of coherent thought....
and then there's writing. I read this book in Joey Tribbiani (Friends) voice, from the episode when he's using a thesaurus built in the word processor, when writing an adoption support statement for Chandler and Monica. Almost every other word is an overwrought synonym. If one were to remove all the unnecessary adjectives, this book would turn into a brochure. It is such an unfriendly writing style, I barely managed to finish this book. It was more 1.5 than 2, but let's just top it up for added photos.
Then the book fell of a cliff. Jumping from point to point, rambling about various first world problems, lack of coherent thought....
and then there's writing. I read this book in Joey Tribbiani (Friends) voice, from the episode when he's using a thesaurus built in the word processor, when writing an adoption support statement for Chandler and Monica. Almost every other word is an overwrought synonym. If one were to remove all the unnecessary adjectives, this book would turn into a brochure. It is such an unfriendly writing style, I barely managed to finish this book. It was more 1.5 than 2, but let's just top it up for added photos.
July 31, 2024
The parts of the book that concentrate on the history of maps is quite good although most map addicts will know much of this stuff. Some interesting quirky facts and nuggets to provoke further research. However, by the half way point in the book we have moved onto more how we use maps and a lot more about Mike Parker. So the second half dwells overly on Mike's travels, Mike's political views, his taste in music, his sexuality and his general disdain for those who don't share his views. Altogether. something of a lost opportunity.
Demoted to 2.5 stars for nicking books from the good old Midland Educational Bookshop who, if they were still in business, should be claiming royalties and a generous recompense from Mr Parker.
Demoted to 2.5 stars for nicking books from the good old Midland Educational Bookshop who, if they were still in business, should be claiming royalties and a generous recompense from Mr Parker.
June 10, 2025
Borrowed this one from my boyfriend and who is an avid map collector and although not my usual read I found it mildly interesting.
It was heavily filled with much map jargon (which isn’t the books fault obviously as it’s marketed for fellow cartographers of which I don’t consider myself lol) and I underestimated how hard it would be to relate as someone that doesn’t know much about that world but wanted to learn more.
I also found the chapter ‘Boys Toys?’ to be displaying misogyny at its best. The author did his best to try using other women’s opinions to prove the point that women can’t read maps and that it’s shocking that we’re able to. The tone was very much ‘women can even read maps, imagine that!’
Overall not one I’d revisit but glad I took an interest in something my love loves
It was heavily filled with much map jargon (which isn’t the books fault obviously as it’s marketed for fellow cartographers of which I don’t consider myself lol) and I underestimated how hard it would be to relate as someone that doesn’t know much about that world but wanted to learn more.
I also found the chapter ‘Boys Toys?’ to be displaying misogyny at its best. The author did his best to try using other women’s opinions to prove the point that women can’t read maps and that it’s shocking that we’re able to. The tone was very much ‘women can even read maps, imagine that!’
Overall not one I’d revisit but glad I took an interest in something my love loves
April 3, 2018
This book is a mixture of biography of Parker, a map addict and travel writer, and a history of cartography. It's split into 10 chapters, exploring everything from the origins of the Ordnance Survey through to street names that indicate where brothels used to be, the politics of mapping GPS/SatNavs, and the joys and terrors of getting lost without a map. There are lots of interesting factoids dotted through, and the author's own stories of growing up near my hometown added an extra layer of interest too. Easily readable - worth a read if you have any interest in maps and cartography, or you want an interesting primer to the topic. (Some knowledge of Ordnance Survey maps helps!).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews