Book review: Map Use: Map Reading and Design
reviewed by Georgia Brown
Buckley, Aileen R., A. Jon Kimerling, Patrick J. Kennelly. Map Use: Map Reading and Design, Volume 1. Ninth edition. Redlands, California: ESRI Press, 2026. 319 p. $95.99. ISBN: 9781589487758
The authors of Map Use: Map Reading and Design created a useful and easy guide for folks wanting to learn or teach about the worlds of geography and cartography. The volume is concise and filled with examples of types of maps, design elements, and useful information for learning geographers and cartographers. Map Use establishes a flow that is broken into twelve chapters which could be easily adaptable for college classes to use as a textbook.
The authors Aileen R. Buckley, A. Jon Kimerling, and Patrick J. Kennelly all come from geography or GIS backgrounds, and two of the authors were on the teams that wrote earlier editions of Map Use. The book serves as a resourceful touchpoint in a field affected by continual changes in technology. The sections about design do a good job differentiating what design elements are considered standard on certain map types, whether they showcase multivariate areas for geologic maps or operational layers for web maps.
The chapter topics cover important geographical notions like scale, projection, map design, qualitive thematic maps, quantitative thematic maps, and relief portrayal. The illustrations chosen by the authors help to teach the reader hard to explain concepts. Projection and the US Public Land Survey System (Township and Range System) are two complex concepts that the book conveys meaningfully with graphics. The other maps and images the book uses as examples are helpful and complement the sections and definitions in the book. For the novice cartographer or geographer, the example maps complement the definitions nicely.
The authors missed an opportunity to expand on map accessibility as it relates to design. Accessible maps are defined in a small section, and then elements of accessibility are only sparingly mentioned for the rest of the book. In another edition or update, it might behoove the authors to include ways to make different types of maps or different design elements accessible throughout the book as concepts are explained. To create accessible maps, adding accessibility to the workflow makes it much more likely that students, professions, and others will make it a priority.
Chapter 12: Maps and Reality stands out as very different from the other chapters. The first 11 chapters focus heavily on definitions and example map images. Chapter 12 draws from different cultural uses and references of maps and uses several block quotations to make its argument that maps are limited in their capacity to be able to tell every side of every story. While the chapter’s argument is still valid and talks about the way we perceive maps versus the “realistic” aspects, the chapter’s much different style might hinder some learners who preferred the style of the rest of the book.
I recommend this book for academic libraries and for professors teaching introductory geography and GIS classes. The book could also serve professionals as a reference book for refreshers on definitions, types of maps, and other design elements. Additionally, the book would be useful for a map library to have on hand for quick reference and easy definitions for patrons.
Georgia Brown
Head of the American Geographical Society Library
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries
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