The Natures of Maps: Cartographic Constructions of the Natural World
By Denis Wood & John Fels
University of Chicago Press £29, 230 pages
FT Bookshop price: £24.20

For some years, there has been something of a feud in map circles. Various cartographic factions – including the Young Turks of the “new cartography” school – have clashed with considerable vigour.

Wood and Fels examine this wrangle, beginning with the premise that “maps are less pictures than talk”. They cannot be viewed as objective representations but are, rather, reflective of their creators’ bias, mapping the ideological as well as the territorial. The focus is on nature maps – long seen as agenda-free. But what emerges are not mere physical illustrations but culturally based depictions of reality that reinforce power structures and calibrate our relationship with the natural world.

Alongside the theory, the book is filled with beautiful maps, ensuring there is something here for the serious cartographer and casual reader alike.