Rethinking the Power of Maps

" Rethinking the Power of Maps" by Denis Wood is follow up to the "Power of Maps" title. This book is all about taking apart mapping and cartography and looking at the assumptions that are made within a map, and how maps have been used with great power to define and give authority to states. It also, goes into how maps can be taken out of these roles of traditional authority and be use to empower minorities and make positive change.

I am a little over half-way through this book and am loving it. The first half was a bit dense as Wood goes into great depth about the assumptions, signifiers, authority, and power that maps have without specific effort. The second half is more of a set of examples and essays of how maps can and are being used to circumvent these situations of power that maps have been in for so long.

This book is a must for anyone that loves mapping and wants to understand how maps have become what they are in a historical and social context. It's kind of like reading a book about how food gets to your plate, but about maps.