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Title: Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World
Author: Mike Higgins
Illustrator: Manuel Bortoletti
Series: Maps for Curious Minds
Genre: Science
Audience: Adult
My Review:
I thoroughly enjoy poring over the “Maps for Curious Minds” books. The authors and illustrators cleverly share data, both widely known and obscure, in fun, colorful maps and graphs. I find myself texting my husband and my sister with random facts while they’re each trying to work.
This was just as interesting as the other two books in this loose series but it dealt a bit more with climate change and its effects on us, the earth, and animals trying to survive. It got a little depressing. There were maps that were somewhat hopeful, like the windiest coastlines that could generate the most power or locations that receive the most sunshine for solar power, but since we collectively don’t seem to be doing much to utilize either one, they didn’t really help. Maps about species that have gone extinct in the past hundred years and countries that are most vulnerable to rising seas just pack an emotional punch.
One quibble that I’ve had with all three books is that the two-page spreads, which is what almost all the maps are, lose a lot of data inside the binding. It inevitably goes right through western Africa and Europe and I’m squinting and pulling at pages to see the text in there. Just a slight shift toward Greenland (no offense Greenland, but I don’t think you were singled out even one time in this collection) could correct that. It might not look as aesthetically centered but at least the data would be there.
Overall, this is still a fun, colorful collection. Depressing or not, I learned a lot and my inner map nerd had a lot of fun checking it out.
Synopsis from GoodReads:
The natural world has never been wilder—with 100 fiercely fun, curiously captivating, and amazingly adventurous maps
Which nations have launched animals into space? Where are the world’s cat people? How many humans live in high-risk zones for natural disasters? How far do you have to travel to hug all fifteen of the world’s oldest trees? Where in the world do snakes live—or better yet, where can you avoid them?! Find the thought-provoking answers to these questions and many more in Wild Maps for Curious Minds. This info-graphic atlas of nature’s most impressive wonders and eye-popping oddities is bursting with discovery, whimsical insight, and startling revelations that will change the way you see the natural world.
Similar Books:
If you liked Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World you might also like my reviews of
- North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan and Victor Cizek, illustrated by Jack Dunnington
- Atlas of the Invisible: Maps and Graphics That Will Change How You See the World by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti
- The Trivia Lover’s Guide to the World: Geography for the Lost and Found by Gary Fuller
Purchase:
Buy Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World from Malaprop’s Bookstore in beautiful Asheville, NC or
