I have looked at and read the books below and found them entertaining yet quite different. Somehow they are all to do with walking!
Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey [Paperback] by Mike Parker
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love maps, but am not a map-nerd and so probably wouldn't read a more factual account of map-making history, use etc. However, this book proved to be a clever ploy on the part of a self-confessed map addict to make sure I did learn rather a lot about the history and use of maps, borders, and geopolitics in an entertaining and very funny way. Knowledge clearly gained over many years is passed on lightly and with plenty of wit, but with no diminution of the subject matter. I especially enjoyed the author's references to the role of maps in his own life. Not only did these make me laugh, allowing me to engage with maps, their (often surreal) uses and importance in the world, but helped to cement what in other hands could have been dry recitation of facts. The author's passing references to his less than enthusiastic partner provide a salient reminder to us all that our particular obsessions are not necessarily shared by those who have to live with us. I give full marks to Mike Parker for sharing his thoughts in such an entertaining and interesting way.
The Hills are Stuffed with Swedish Girls [Paperback] by Richard Happer
What's it about? Three old university mates walk the West Highland way in search of birds, booze and adventure, and try to answer a few more challenging personal questions at the same time. It's a bit "Three Men in a Boat" gone mad.
To cut a long review short, this book brought back all those wonderful student memories flooding back - over-enthusiasm, rubbish ideas, bad behaviour, beer, last minute trips, romance and heartache. It was a bit like listening to one of those songs from your long distant past that stirs up all your emotions and memories.
Recommended as an ideal stocking-filler for anyone - yes, anyone - who likes exploring the Scottish countryside, getting drunk, and still remembers what it feels like to be blown away by something as simple as a view - of girls and / or mountains.
Hint: I hear the Finnish Female Rambler's Club is tackling the Southern Upland Way next year.
(Reviewer) Malcolm Walters
Map of a Nation by Rachel Hewitt
There is nothing like the Ordnance Survey map, nothing to rival it, certainly nothing to beat it. It has survived the winds of change and the changes of fashion with its splendour undimmed. Like pubs and post boxes and milk vans, it pleases us with its usefulness and as a symbol of the kind of people we are. As Rachel Hewitt observes in her extremely well written account of the origin of the OS map, 'the national mapping agency has established a secure place in the affections of the modern British public‟. I would go further. Life without it is unimaginable.
Click Here for the rest of this review by Malcolm Walters
