He has separated the 100 maps in this books into eleven sections. The first three, People and Politics, Religion and Politics and power are very similar in scope. My favourite maps from these sections are Countries that have a smaller population than Tokyo and countries with large economies than California. In the foreword, Wright explained that he defined "popular" as "the most talked-about maps, the ones that seemed especially to strike a nerve with readers." Some of these maps went viral. Unsurprisingly, maps having to do with politics and national identity were some of the most popular over the last five years. In Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds, you’ll learn all this and much more. One hundred visually arresting maps strike a balance between sobering analysis (number of executions by state) and whimsical insight (the countries of the world where there aren’t any McDonald’s). For graphic design enthusiasts, compulsive Wikipedia readers and those looking for the sort of gift they buy for someone else and wind up keeping for themselves, this book will change the way you see the world and your place in it.

Which nations have North Korean embassies? How many countries have bigger economies than California? Who drives on the “wrong” side of the road? And where can you find lions in the wild?

Great information but I got more and more frustrated as I went along. Although there are few words other than the legend and title, I nearly marked this a could-not-finish—it was that aggravating. Which countries have had a female leader in the last 50 years and how long was a female the head of the government We live on a strange and beautiful planet. It is full of history, geology, people place and countries and if you’re anything like me, I find facts and figures endlessly fascinating. The best way of quantifying this data is to put it in graphical form, and Ian Wright has done this in Brilliant Maps. Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds, 100 New Ways to See the World by Ian Wright. I loved this book! Ian compiled 100 different maps of the world that each showed the world in a different way. The book is divided into nine categories including: People and Populations, Friends and Enemies, Geography, and Nature. The maps were all very colorful and showed off some unique ideas. With maps the cover the entire globe, Wild Maps will delight lovers of maps and lovers of nature, as well as anyone with an interest in all that is fascinating and awe-inspiring in the world around us. Beautifully designed and illustrated, Wild Maps is an eye-opening celebration of our planet and the planets and animals whom we share it.

There is a lot more that I could say here, but I don’t want to take away from the pleasure of discovering it for yourself. I thought the comparison between travel time from London in the modern-day compared to 1914 where days have been replaced by hours was fascinating as well as the size and scope of the Roman and Mongol Empires when compared to modern countries such as China. It also shows in stark detail just what we have lost in our relentless expansion, especially with the map showing the current verses the old distribution of lions. These North American maps didn't excite me quite as much as those in the related Brilliant…, but that’s not to say it was hard to find favorites.There's just so much data that can be presented on a map. My husband and I had Valentine's Day dinner at home, and is there any greater testament to the patience he has for me than the fact that he let me pull out this book when we finished eating and explain my very favorite maps to him?