A history of the development of the global GPS system. Interesting enough if a bit too heavily focused on technological developments rather than usage. A good example though of how today books featuring technology can date very quickly. Published in 2016 and already in need of an addendum. ( )

Pinpoint: How GPS Is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds is a historical account of the development of the Global Positioning System, various related and interdependent systems, the political and technological climate that gave rise to GPS as we know it today, and an account of how it may be affecting the way we see ourselves and perceive the world outside of ourselves. Milner chronicles many unpublished interviews with leaders in the field, ranging from corporate to military to academic experts.

Milner spends a lot of time explaining the political ins and outs of who developed what that led to GPS, at times getting lost in names of military branches and competing organizations. It seems that some things are explained with painstaking detail, while others are not explained that much, probably reflecting on how much detail Milner was able to acquire from his sources. Organizationally, the book is divided in chapters that make thematic sense, but within the chapters some threads get lost.

Personally, I was more interested in the neurology research on the brain and wayfinding intersection as well as the ancient methods of wayfinding and navigation. The former is promised in the title of the book, though it does not take up much of the book. This is perhaps not much is known about the way the brain configures and reconfigures itself based on spacial navigation. The latter, which Milner spends some time discussing in terms of history, is a bit vague despite the number of pages spent on the subject, perhaps reflecting the way the scientific world is still, for the most part, puzzled by non-technological ways of finding your way, say, in a vast, featureless ocean. A recent article in the New York Times Magazine (The Secrets of Wave Pilots by Kim Tingley) does a better job in shedding light into this tradition than Milner manages in the book (though Milner does tell a much more detailed historical story, which is interesting).

One thing that I would have liked to read about is the etymology of "dead" reckoning and how it relates to ded. (deduced) reckoning, which Milner never once touches upon. It's an interesting story, whether it be dead or ded., it seems, from the very little I was able to glean over the internet.

The role of GPS in finding and tracking objects, finding our way, sensing the movements of the tectonic plates, fighting wars, traveling into space, measuring distances, fighting crime, and most importantly, measuring time are discussed in the book. I did wonder if GPS has any applications in the healthcare industry.

Overall, I think the book aggregates a lot of interesting and important in formation about GPS and surrounding technologies. It could use a bit more humor and fewer paragraphs packed with institution names and titles and names of people. The book would also be immensely improved with maps that show some of the discussed locations and journeys, and diagrams that explain some of the main concepts in simplified terms (I am not sure if the final version of the book had any figures or not.)

Thanks to GoodReads and the publisher for a free copy of the ARC for my honest review. The ARC has some repeated paragraphs and typos, which I believe will be edited out and corrected for the final proof. Some transitions seem oddly placed, perhaps because some later parts were written before earlier parts, which could use some tightening and rearranging. ( )