Mapmatics

A wonderfully readable adventure through the mathematic poetry of mapping. Dr Rowinska has created something really special, a book that celebrates the science and ideas behind the cartographic art with tales of everything fascinating, from criminal geography to ancient earthquake detectors. An essential guide that illuminates how much of our understanding of the world, the past, and indeed the people around us, is shaped by the mathematician and the mapmaker. -- Edward Brooke-Hitching, author of <i>The Phantom Atlas<i> Opens our eyes to the use of 'mapmaking' in the broadest sense . . . If you have ever wondered why an airliner bound from London to Los Angeles flies over Greenland, how we know what lies inside the Earth, or how computers correct errors, then this is for you. I learned a lot. -- John Gribbin, author of <i>Six Impossible Things<i> A highly readable account of how mathematics and mapmaking have joined forces to inform not only our view of the world, but our view of ourselves. The historical insights and human stories bring the whole topic vividly to life. -- Ian Stewart, author of <i>What's the Use?<i> This book blew my mind, again and again. Rowinska covers an astonishing range of topics from our brain to our planet, with personal stories and maths, yes, but also scrutinising the social and political impacts of maps on our lives. -- Roma Agrawal, author of <i>Built<i> Guides you elegantly, like a beautifully drawn map, through the fascinating stories behind centuries of map-making . . . Highly entertaining. -- Tim James, author of <i>Fundamental<i>