On The Map: Why the world looks the way it does - Softcover

Garfield has a genius for being sparked to life by esoteric enthusiasm and charming readers with his delight. (The Times 2012-10-06)

A rollicking sweep through map history, packed with curiosities and written with verve (Independent on Sunday 2012-10-07)

Garfield allows his varied, expertly researched stories to speak for themselves, and in so doing helps us see that there are fewer things in life more useful, rewarding and beautiful than a map (Daily Telegraph 2012-10-27)

Garfield's genial prose twinkles with the delight of discovery (Tom Hawker Wanderlust 2012-10-01)

There couldn't be anyone better to write about our love of maps than Simon Garfield, who is a master at unearthing strange facts and mixing them with a lively personal narrative . . . fascinating (Giles Foden Condé Nast Traveller 2012-11-01)

A stunning celebration of the cartographic. As one of the UK's leading contemporary polymaths, Garfield's always a joy to read for his gossamer-light show of rigorous learning, his shed-dweller precision in research and his infectious glee in passing on the golden nugget of fact. (Robert Bound Monocle 2012-10-01)

He takes us on a fascinating voyage . . . and is a lively companion for the journey. (Douglas Osler Scotsman 2012-11-03)

He hops around the world, ancient and modern, with glee, dispensing information, both learned and chatty. On the Map is informative and entertaining, and good fun . . . fascinating. (John S Doyle Irish Times 2012-11-03)

Beguiling ... Garfield is like the schoolteacher who made the time fly, a one-man Blue Peter team for intelligent adults, a great British explainer. (Andrew Martin Observer 2013-09-29)

Utterly charming and engrossing ... A thoroughly enjoyable guide to guides (Sally Morris Daily Mail 2013-09-20)

Simon Garfield is the author of more than a dozen acclaimed books of non-fiction, including the international bestseller, Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, and a trilogy of edited diaries from the Mass Observation Archive, which includes the bestselling Our Hidden Lives. He lives in London and St Ives, with old maps lining the walls.