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DESPITE WHAT WE have been taught in public school, maps are not exact replicas of the earth's face. Mapping all the features of a landscape is impossible. so the information shown on any map must be carefully selected and filtered by a cartographer. The result is anything but a neutral or passive device for describing distances and locations. Most people are unaware of this shortcoming. Even those who have learned to be suspicious of the written word will often accept what they see on maps as true.
The latest books from Donald Johnson and Mark Monmonier reveal the inherent biases and prejudices of map-making. Their aim is not to expose this form of graphic communication as some type of elaborate hoax, but to show that if we understand the limitations of maps, we can use them to learn about the ideas, beliefs...