Overview

Maps are everywhere. They can change how cities are designed and how rivers flow, how wars are fought and how land claims are settled, how children learn about race and how colonialism becomes a habit of mind. Maps don't just show us information - they help construct our world, making sense of our society, our environment, and even ourselves. But the new ease and speed of mapping today can lead to the same results as ever: over-simplified maps being used as tools of control. Cartographer and historian William Rankin argues that it's time to reimagine what a map can be and how it can be used. Maps are not neutral. They are innately political, defining how the world is divided, what becomes visible and what stays hidden, and whose voices are heard. Brimming with vibrant, radical maps created by Rankin and by other cutting-edge mapmakers, Radical Cartography challenges the map as a tool of the status quo. Changing our maps can change the questions we ask, the answers we accept - and the planet we build.

Full Product Details

9781509888801

Table of Contents

Reviews

This striking study . . . lavishly illustrated . . . stuns * Publishers Weekly * Edifying . . . An in-depth, revisionist plunge into the extraordinary world of maps * Kirkus Reviews * This is it: the full download from a true genius of cartography. Radical Cartography will make you see maps and, indeed, your place on the planet, with fresh eyes -- Daniel Immerwahr, author of <i>How to Hide an Empire</i> A fearless, fascinating examination of how maps shape our worldview. This revolutionary text . . . is essential reading for anyone who’s ever taken a map at face value -- Gareth Cook, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former series editor of <i>Best American Infographics</i> A significant addition to the literature on cartography . . . Readable and engaging -- Johanna Drucker, author of <i>Inventing the Alphabet</i> In Radical Cartography . . . we see mapmaking in all its complexity: messy, necessary, and full of promise -- Susan Schulten, author of <i>A History of America in 100 Maps</i> A groundbreaking and fascinating work that shatters our cartographic illusions about the world . . . Vividly illustrated and elegantly written -- Paul Richardson, author of <i>Myths of Geography</i> As rigorous as it is accessible, Radical Cartography offers a brilliant and imaginative approach to ‘mapping differently.’ In this landmark achievement, William Rankin establishes that mapping can be urgent and compelling -- Michael Ralph, author of <i>Forensics of Capital</i> Since the turn of this computer-generated century, William Rankin has been jolting cartographers out of ruts, inviting them to question defaults and see the world anew. In this essential volume, he gave me a good shake once more -- Oliver Uberti, coauthor and designer of <i>Atlas of the Invisible</i> An impressive guide to how maps can make a difference in how we see the world, Rankin's book will appeal to professional and armchair cartographers alike -- Professor James Cheshire, author of <i>The Library of Lost Maps</i> A must-read for anyone looking at a map occasionally! . . . an important plea for more empathy in cartography -- Sandra Rendgen, author of <i>Information Graphics</i>

This is it: the full download from a true genius of cartography. Radical Cartography will make you see maps and, indeed, your place on the planet, with fresh eyes -- Daniel Immerwahr, author of <i>How to Hide an Empire</i> A fearless, fascinating examination of how maps shape our worldview. This revolutionary text strips away the myth of cartographic neutrality, revealing the power structures embedded in every contour line and choice of color. By turns charming and fierce, Radical Cartography is essential reading for anyone who’s ever taken a map at face value -- Gareth Cook, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former series editor of <i>Best American Infographics</i> A significant addition to the literature on cartography, William Rankin’s Radical Cartography uses seven parameters—boundaries, people, layers, projections, color, scale, and time—to systematically demonstrate that the graphics of maps are their argument. Readable and engaging, Rankin’s work expands the possibilities of cartographic representation -- Johanna Drucker, author of <i>Inventing the Alphabet</i> In Radical Cartography, Bill Rankin interrogates the very concept of a map, while also showing us how its various elements—such as projection, color, scale, and layers—shape our understanding of reality. Through his attention to both the big picture and consequential details, we see mapmaking in all its complexity: messy, necessary, and full of promise -- Susan Schulten, author of <i>A History of America in 100 Maps</i> A groundbreaking and fascinating work that shatters our cartographic illusions about the world. Radical Cartography brings the human back into geography, offering endless possibilities for mapping new kinds of worlds. Vividly illustrated and elegantly written, this is a timely and significant intervention that provides essential tools for challenging authoritative - and authoritarian - voices -- Paul Richardson, author of <i>Myths of Geography</i> As rigorous as it is accessible, Radical Cartography offers a brilliant and imaginative approach to ‘mapping differently.’ In this landmark achievement, William Rankin establishes that mapping can be urgent and compelling, with the potential to illuminate vexing social and theoretical problems and, ultimately, to save lives -- Michael Ralph, author of <i>Forensics of Capital</i> Since the turn of this computer-generated century, William Rankin has been jolting cartographers out of ruts, inviting them to question defaults and see the world anew. In this essential volume, he gave me a good shake once more -- Oliver Uberti, coauthor and designer of <i>Atlas of the Invisible</i> An impressive guide to how maps can make a difference in how we see the world, Rankin's book will appeal to professional and armchair cartographers alike -- Professor James Cheshire, author of <i>The Library of Lost Maps</i> A must-read for anyone looking at a map occasionally! Drawing from numerous examples, William Rankin shows that cartographic conventions are by no means universal and neutral, and suggests alternative approaches for including more individual and localised perspectives. This is an important plea for more empathy in cartography -- Sandra Rendgen, author of <i>Information Graphics</i>

Author Information

William Rankin is a historian of science at Yale University, where he specializes in the history of mapping and the geographic sciences. Born and raised outside Chicago, he originally trained as an architect before receiving a dual PhD in the history of science and architecture from Harvard. In addition to his work as a historian, he is also an award-winning cartographer, and his maps - available at www.radicalcartography.net - have appeared in numerous books, magazines, and exhibits around the world. His work has been published in The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Economist, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Slate and Vox.

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