Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds

October 15, 2019
A map can convey a lot of information at a glance, something Wright has been documenting on his website, brilliantmaps.com, for nearly five years using maps collected from creators all over the internet. This book is a collection of some of the most popular and commented-on maps from the website as well as some new ones, all of which have been drawn using one consistent style and, if needed, updated data. Grouped into broad categories (culture and customs, history, nature, etc.), these maps cover topics serious and less so, from the countries in red have as many murders combined as the U.S. to heavy metal bands per 100,000 people. Wright notes in the introduction that context is always necessary to truly understand the information provided by maps. While the full-page spreads make the color maps easy to read, readers may wish to also visit the website, where a short summary/analysis and links to sources are provided with each map. Credits/sources not yet available at time of review.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)