Books, books, books!
Welcome to this special edition of Location is Personal. It’s summer and what better time to share a list of books we love here at Mapbox. This is a giant “What we’re reading” section comprised of books recommended by Mapboxers. Enjoy!
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1 — “How to Lie with Maps” by Mark Monmonier
Lively, cleverly illustrated essay on the use and abuse of maps. The book teaches us how to evaluate maps critically and promotes a healthy skepticism about these easy-to-manipulate models of reality.
— Recommended by Paige Moody, Data Engineer
2 — “We, The Navigator” by David Lewis
Mind-blowing book about Polynesian navigators and the voyaging movement”
— Recommended by Jay Cox Chapman, Navigation Product Manager
3 — “The Lands of Ice and Fire (A Game of Thrones): Maps from King’s Landing to Across the Narrow Sea (A Song of Ice and Fire)” by George R. R. Martin
GoT is such a location-based fantasy world that they came up with some detailed maps of “the known world.” When we got the book delivered at Bangalore office, the whole lunch hour was delayed as we kept looking into the maps on the table.
— Recommended by Pratik Yadav, Satellite Imagery Engineer
4 — ” Imagined Communities” by Benedict Anderson
Benedict Anderson creates a framework for how systems, paradigms, the media, print, increasing digitalization converge to crystallize notions of nationalism, identity and nostalgia based on concepts of “place.”
— Recommended by Diana McCarley, Executive Assistant
5 — “Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas”, “Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas”, and “Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas” by Rebecca Solnit
Beautiful maps and essays that look at familiar places from super alternative points of view. I particularly love Unfathomable City : A New Orleans Atlas, but the New York City and San Francisco ones are also great.
— Recommended by Paige Moody, Data Engineer
6 — “W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America” by W.E.B. Du Bois
Visualizing Black America is an inspiring collections of early data visualizations, including a pieces around location and race that offer a glimpse of the life of black America in the late 19th century. Personally, I am simply in awe with the fact that these are all hand-drawn and that they’re so diverse in shapes and colors. We spend hours on our computers and this is a good reminder that pencils are mighty tools.
— Recommended by Lo Bénichou, Interactive Developer
7 — “How to Do Nothing” by Jenny Odell
It talks a lot about using place (specifically public spaces) to re-orient yourself in the midst of the attention economy. It took a really strong stance on the importance of “non-productive” public space, especially in the Bay Area. I think about it everyday.
— Recommended by Jake Pruitt, Platform Engineer
8 — “Every Day Is For The Thief” by Teju Cole
“Everyday for the Thief is a window into growing up between places and cultures. It is rumination on how civic institutions are shaped by economics as well as a personal essay on belonging and not belonging, on where your parents are from and where you’ve found yourself living.”
— Recommended by Ian Villeda, Maps API Manager
9 — “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi
Homegoing explores slavery’s legacy through its impact on one family over 300 years and across two continents. It’s a powerful case for how memory, trauma, and violence are handed down through land as well as through lineage. Read this book! It might make you cry! It might change your politics!
— Recommended by Diane Schulze, Maps API Engineer
10 — “The City and The City” by China Miéville
Science Fiction story set in two cities that share the same physical space but are socially and psychically distinct. Touches on a lot of geography and urbanism themes.
— Recommended by Mikel Maron, Community Team
11 — “The Ghost Map” by Steven Johnson
Page turner non-fiction about Dr John Snow who used maps to find the source of the 1854 cholera outbreak in London.
— Recommended by John Branigan, Sales Engineer
12 — “The Arab of The Future” by Riad Sattouf
I love graphic novels and I needed to add this one to the list. Riad Sattouf’s graphic memoir is deeply moving, funny, and refreshing. I especially loved the way he portrays his dad’s attachment to his homeland, and his struggle in embracing two cultures that do not always play well together. There are 3 volumes in English and 4 in French with more to come.
— Recommended by Lo Bénichou, Interactive Developer
13 — Bonus from Twitter #Cartography: “The Map of Salt and Stars” by Zeyn Joukhadar
The Map of Salt and Stars is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I started listening to the audiobook from the Denver Library and already ordered a hardcopy to keep by the 1st chapter. To all my colleagues in cartography, READ THIS BOOK!
— Recommended by Aly D. Ollivierre, National Geographic Cartographer
Who we’re following
- Rudo Kemper, pro-indigenous rights activist. Mapping and programs at Amazon Conservation Team. Team lead at terrastories.io.
- Anita Graser, spatial data scientist, open source GIS advocate, and author.
- Dr Sarah Taber, crop scientist. Ex-farmworker. Follow for intersection of tech, bio, biz, & people stuff behind it. Host at Farm To Taber podcast.
- Missing Maps, a humanitarian project that maps areas to meet the needs of vulnerable communities. An open collaboration building on OpenStreetMap.
What we’re building
- 2 million boundaries, including US census data, added to Mapbox Boundaries
- Product Updates, our new monthly newsletter highlight product improvements & change logs — Sign up!
- Launching Mapbox.jp at SoftBankWorld with Zenrin and Yahoo! JAPAN
- Support for Kepler.gl in Mapbox Atlas
- Leverage Mapbox alongside your Esri implementation
Events
- EthicalGEO | Explore ethical challenges and opportunities posed by geospatial technologies. Enter for a chance to be selected as a AGS EthicalGEO Fellows | Deadline August 1, 2019
- Mapbox Government Meetup at Mapbox DC | August 14, 2019
- ONA19 in New Orleans | September 12–14
Jobs
- Senior Software Engineer, Atlas
- Senior Software Engineer, Search
- Email Marketing Manager
- Senior Solutions Architect (Android)
- Senior Technical Account Manager, Automotive
Location is Personal: Issue 7, July 2019 was originally published in Points of interest on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.