The Map Room

For the second year running, I’ve compiled a list of The Map Room’s top ten eleven best-selling map books. This list is based on Amazon orders made through this website that were tracked by my Amazon Associates account. Dark and sinister magic was used in the event of a tie. Because of a tie, there are eleven books on this year’s list, rather than ten.

Once again, this list is likely to reflect the amount of attenion I’ve paid to each title — in that you’d expect a book I blog about six times to do better than one I’ve only mentioned once — but in practice it’s not necessarily so. Books I reviewed nearly three years ago are still there, and books I’ve reviewed during the past year aren’t. In the end, and as I said last year, readers determined these rankings more than I did.

1. National Geographic Atlas of the World, Ninth Edition. So … atlases apparently make great gifts! The ninth edition of National Geographic’s flagship atlas came out in October; my extremely obsessive review in November seems to have encouraged a few of you to buy one. (The eighth edition, now discounted, also sold well enough to make 16th place.) Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
2. Strange Maps by Frank Jacobs. A late 2009 title that I guess continued to sell a lot of copies through the beginning of 2010; it was in first place on last year’s list. If you don’t know Strange Maps, what are you doing here? Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
3. From Here to There by Kris Harzinski. Nice and inexpensive collection of hand-drawn maps from contributors to the HDMA website. I reviewed From Here to There in October. Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
4. The Map as Art by Katharine Harmon. Beautiful collection of map-related art, Harmon’s second book of the sort. In eighth place on 2009’s list. My review is horribly overdue. A paperback edition came out in September. Buy the hardcover at Amazon.com (Canada, UK). Buy the paperback at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
5. The Fourth Part of the World by Toby Lester. Lester’s history of the Waldseemüller’s 1507 map of the world is a great read — I reviewed it in December 2009 — and it’s now out in paperback. It was in ninth place on last year’s list. Buy the hardcover at Amazon.com (Canada, UK). Buy the paperback at Amazon.com (Canada).



6. MapArt Canada Back Roads Atlas. For a road atlas that was published in late 2007, this is a surprise: maps date quickly in this field. But MapArt’s compilation of regional maps from across Canada is a great value; I reviewed it in February 2008. Buy it at Amazon.com.
7. OpenStreetMap by Frederik Ramm, Jochem Topf and Steve Chilton. One of two OSM manuals to be published this year; this is the first English version of a book that has seen three editions in German. A review is on my to-do list. Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
8. Transit Maps of the World by Mark Ovenden. A book with staying power: first published in 2007, I reviewed it in March 2008. In sixth place on last year’s list. Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
9. Lost States by Michael J. Trinklein. Self-published in 2008 (which is how I reviewed it), Lost States is now back in print with a new publisher, and selling well, it seems. Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
10. Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas by Rebecca Solnit. I mentioned this “collection of fanciful maps” earlier this month. Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).
11. Texas: A Historical Atlas by A. Ray Stephens. Considering that I only blogged about this book nine days ago, I’m surprised to see it make the list. Buy it at Amazon.com (Canada, UK).

Previously: The Map Room’s Top 10 Books of 2009; Map Books of 2010.