This book was a gift, which made it somewhat difficult to DNF.
A decade ago, I told my then girlfriend (now wife) that I liked maps and history. And a few weeks later, this book showed up at my door.
I'm ashamed to say I didn't read it immediately (a behavior I'm working to rid myself of). Now that I'm reading my shelf, and it was time for a non-fiction book, I reached for this one.
One of the things I really enjoyed was the writing. Academic books like this can be extremely dull and loaded. A real lousy read. However, I found the author's style enjoyable.
The intro makes a compelling case for viewing history through mapmaking. He's hardcore with it. Well, at least as hyped as I can imagine a cartographer getting.
A black and white photo of a decorative shield, in clean dirty display, greeted me early on in the first chapter "Science." Where was the map? I wasn't sure.
For a book about maps, there aren't as many as I expected there would be. That led to quick fatigue of the pedantic prose, which led to the DNF.
Not a bad book, and great for reference, but not for me right now.
