Here’s the 2023 iteration of my annual gift guide. The idea of which is, if you have a map-obsessed person in your life and would like to give them something map-related—or you are a map-obsessed person and would like your broad hints to have something to link to—this guide may give you some ideas.
This is not a list of recommendations: what’s here is mainly what I’ve spotted online, and there’s probably a lot more out there. In most cases I haven’t even seen what’s listed here, much less reviewed it: these are simply things that look like they might be fit for gift giving. (Anyone who tries to parlay this into “recommended by The Map Room” is going to get a very sad look from me.)
Atlases
2023 saw the release of a new edition of the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, widely seen as the granddaddy of all world atlases. At The 16th edition came in October in the U.K. and is scheduled to launch in North America next Tuesday, so there should be time to get it in your hands by Christmas. At £175 /$260 it’s not exactly a stocking stuffer;1 if you’re looking for something more modest in size, weight and cost, consider another entry from the Times Atlas line, or the Oxford Atlas of the World, which gets a fresh update each year. Also new this year: the National Geographic Atlas of Wild America.
- National Geographic Atlas of Wild America by Jon Waterman. $65. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
- Oxford Atlas of the World, 30th edition. $95. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
- The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, 16th edition. £175/$260. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
Other Kinds of Map Books
Either it’s been a really thin year for new map books, or for various reasons news of them is not reaching my ears. Books of interest to a general audience (as opposed to academic monographs or GIS manuals) that came out in 2023 include the following:
- The Globemakers: The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft by Peter Bellerby. £25/$30. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
- The Lost Subways of North America by Jake Berman. $35. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
- Dublin: Mapping the City by Joseph Brady and Paul Ferguson. £30/$45. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
- Atlas of Imagined Cities: From Central Perk to Kanto by Matt Brown and Rhys B. Davies. £25/$35. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
- A History of the World in 500 Maps by Christian Grataloup. £35. Amazon (UK-only).
- Buffalo in 50 Maps by Vicky Johnson-Dahl. $24. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
- The Deepest Map: The High-Stakes Race to Chart the World’s Oceans by Laura Trethewey. $32. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.
More books are listed on the Map Books of 2023 page.
Calendar
A shoutout to the GeoHipster Calendar, back again in 2023.
Alternative Guides
Once again, Evan Applegate has assembled his own gift guide featuring everything from prints to globes to mugs. “Today you can support great mapmakers making hand-painted globes, cartographic dishware, watercolor street maps, letterpress landscapes and more. No affiliate links, just a gallery of great map material culture.”
Also be sure to check out gift guides from previous years: items listed on the 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 gift guides may still be available (in 2020 I focused on map stationery, which ditto).
Finally, note that while Evan’s guide doesn’t contain affiliate links, mine certainly does (as have previous versions); I receive a cut of the purchase price if you make a purchase via these links.
Notes
- Nor could it be at its size: see my review of the 15th edition on how freaking large the Times Comprehensive is.