Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey

This had been sitting on my shelf for the best part of six years before I finally got around to reading it properly. Well, I didn't actually have it the whole time, I guess, as I left it back home for some of that time, but this is part of a larger problem I have with books, and finishing them. Oops.

I like maps, as some of my friends will attest. So this was an obvious choice for me to buy. It's mostly a memoir by the author. We're quite similar in many ways - the main difference is our age. I'm much more comfortable with digital maps, while he is obsessed with the Ordnance Survey and considers their maps the best in the world. He reveals that he's gay and has a male partner about halfway through the book - I liked him better after he show more revealed that, I think. I think his life in central Wales with his boyfriend and some sheep seems idyllic and enviable.

His attitudes do come across as parochial sometimes, though - but he embraces this outwardly, and I had only minor qualms with it ultimately.

Nice book overall, and the inset example maps make it definitely worth buying the paperback and not an ebook version of this! show less

For anyone who has ever looked at a map out of curiosity rather than necessity, this is an enjoyable undemanding read. Based around one man's personal obsession with maps, from schoolboy shoplifting to google maps mashups; it follows how people have interacted with maps through the years and their role in different cultures.There's plenty here to satisfy the average maps addict, even if some of it does hit uncomfortably close to home.

Maps not only show the world, they help it turn. 'Map Addict' mixes wry observation with hard fact and considerable research, unearthing the offbeat, the unusual and the downright pedantic in a celebration of all things maps.

A bit different from my usual - lots of interesting stuff from an obsessive but humorous map collector and journalist, tv show presenter - about maps and navigation and how Ordnance Survey maps convey so much detail about the history, industry, social preoccupations of UK. Some pieces about other countries and also some enlightening finds - like the disappearance of military bases from maps when the govt. doesn't want the public [or the enemy] to know about them. Helped along by the fact that I have used a lot of maps to find interesting places in the UK, and OS maps were always great when staying in one place and getting to know it in detail. Struck a chord for a particular area of Surrey where I lived, biked, walked, visited all the show more pubs, helped clear public footpaths, etc.
There are some places where I had to skip the detail but mostly it is intriguing and entertaining. show less

This is an truely English book but as a belgian with a passion for maps and cartography I enjoyed reading it. The author focuses mainly on the Ordnance Survey Maps and links history to his personal memories. Mike Parker is also a Rough Guide-writer and thanks to his sense of humour the story of Map Addict never gets dull.

Interesting and regenerated my interest in maps - but too long and why so many references to the author's sexual orientation?

Entertaining