I'm not sure I've shared too much about my experience in map-making on this platform, but I am a geographer and maps are a huge part of my life. I've seen so much excitement over The Cartographers recently (of course I had to pick it up!), and I thought now would be an excellent time to share!
What is Cartography?
Cartography is all about telling a story through maps and geography uses maps and location data to address some of the world's biggest problems. It's place-based decision making. Surprise! It's not just making pretty maps and memorizing capitals, although that does make us great trivia team members!
There are so many real-life applications out there and I'm happy to know so many great cartographers, geographers, and data scientists doing great things, big and small. If you're curious, I'd love to share a few examples of important projects, research, and work that I've contributed to over the past ten years as a geographer and cartographer.
As a geographer, I've helped to:
Produce unbiased cropland acreage estimates from satellite imagery which ensures national food security and helps set food prices around the world
Track hurricanes and wildfires in near-real time to understand the impact of disasters
Better understand compatibility between solar farms and agricultural land
Train computers to differentiate between land cover types and neighborhood boundaries from satellite imagery
Compare census data to environmental data to understand population trends in neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana
Add road and building features to open source datasets in rural areas of Zimbabwe that aren't extensively mapped
Analyze walkability and identify food deserts in Maryland for sustainable and equitable economic development
Digitize physical maps and georeference GPS data in order to preserve historic records of Hawaii's archeological sites
Determine relationships between water chlorophyll content and cholera outbreaks in Bangladesh
Happy Mapping!
Genre: Academic Literary Magical Realism | Pages: 392
Synopsis
Nell Young was an up and coming star in the world of cartography. That is, until her father curiously fired her from the prestigious Map Division of the New York Public Library, all seemingly over a junky highway folding map she found in the basement. Seven years later, after her estranged father is found dead in his office, hiding the very last copy of the very same map, Nell rounds up her father's long lost colleagues and friends and sets out to discover what is so special about the map, and what dark mysteries it could be hiding.
Review
This is quite literally everything I love packaged into one book. A literary tale with a sprinkle of magic, grounded in the here and now, equal parts plot and character driven, a setting that is a character in itself, all served up in short well-written chapters that flow together seamlessly. And of course, the maps. (Also, I'm not one to praise Harry Potter, but if you were a HP fan, this book felt like a grown-up real-life version of it and one that the fandom would like.)
"What's the purpose of a map? To bring people together ... the purpose of maps had always been exactly the opposite of paintings - after all, what good would a map of a place be us only one person had it?"
I loved the storytelling style of this book. We follow Nell in real-time as she tries to uncover the truth that lies within the map and the people behind it, finding family in a time when she has none. As she questions the people from her father's past, the author simultaneously feeds us full chapters of first-person memories from them. But what stands out about this is how the multiple perspectives were woven together in a way that formed one continuous narrative. It was a beautiful way to frame a story, akin to how maps frame various perspectives of a place.
Not only did Shepherd bring the people to life, she also brought the places to life. The figurative (and literal?!) world building and strong sense of place made me want to visit the buildings and towns mentioned in the book. As a cartographer and map-obsessed geographer myself, I was yearning for more maps to be integrated into the text (can someone please make the Dreamer's Atlas already?!), but if invoking a sense of wonder into cartography was her goal, Shepherd most definitely hit the mark.
"Maps were love letters written to times and places their makers had explored. They did not control the territory - they told its stories."
I can't recommend this book enough. The Cartographers shows how if we harness the power of art and science together, maps can bridge places and people together. A fascinating love letter to adventurers and map-makers alike.
Looking for more book recommendations?
More by Peng Shepherd
I added The Book of M to my TBR a while back, and now it has definitely moved up a few notches in my list. It is also a magical realism book about memories and loved ones.
The Future Library is a short story by Shepherd, also magical at its core, but based on a real-life environmental library.
Other books that bring the setting to life
Where the Crawdads Sing truly brings the marsh to life as it's the only family sweet Kya knows. The author truly puts the mother in Mother Nature.
Once Upon a River is a historical account of one magical midwinter's night. It’s a book with a very strong sense of place, not so fantastical, but rather poetic. The river is it’s own character, and the book is a river - meandering through different stories at different times.
Need more maps in your life?
If the idea of funny places and secret cities float your boat, Unruly Places may be the non-fiction book for you!
From the Jeopardy king himself comes a bible for map nerds across the world. Check out Maphead by Ken Jennings.
Want to learn more?
Connect with Peng Shepherd by visiting her website and following her on Instagram and Twitter. Purchase The Cartographers here, or wherever you buy books!
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