Reviewing Guidelines

This page provides information for authors, software developers and their publicists who may be interested in sending me a copy of their work for review at The Map Room.

Book Reviews

Books sent to me for review should have maps, cartography or mapmaking as their primary focus. As an amateur, I am unable to review technical books for programmers or geospatial professionals. Historical monographs, though, are fine—I’m an historian by training. Basically, if your map-related book is aimed at a broad readership or arts-and-humanities academia, I’ll be happy to take a look at it.

For sample reviews, see the book reviews category and these earlier reviews. For my reviews of books that aren’t about maps and cartography, see the reviews section of my personal home page.

To send a physical copy to me for review, whether by postal mail, courier or other shipping service, please contact me to get my street address and phone number. For various reasons I don’t put my physical address online. I used to give my post office box number, but publishers kept trying to ship to it via DHL, and couriers can’t use post office boxes. So, to avoid confusion: just ask me for my address.

Ebooks may be sent to me at contact@jonathancrowe.net; I’m able to handle Adobe Digital Editions, epub, mobi (Kindle) and PDF files. I’m also on NetGalley (under my first name dot my last name at Gmail).

Software Reviews

I’m able to evaluate software for iOS (both iPhone and iPad) and the Mac. I can’t review software for other platforms (e.g. Android or Windows). That’s a function of what I own. As with books, I’m best able to review applications aimed at a non-technical, general audience. (GIS software is generally beyond me.) For a sample review, see my review of the Barrington Atlas iPad app.

iTunes promo codes may be sent to me at contact@jonathancrowe.net or via the contact form.

Other Products

Feel free to send me paper maps, physical objects and other tchotchkes. Again, if you want me to say anything remotely intelligible about them they should be aimed at a a non-technical general audience. See the Product Reviews category for past reviews.

See above for my mailing address; if you’re not shipping by regular post, contact me to get my street address and phone number.

Disclaimers and Disclosures

I won’t promise that I will review every book sent to me, or that I will review it promptly (I’m busy and my health is wobbly). Or favourably—I’m quite capable of delivering a brutally negative review when it’s appropriate. Reviews will link to Amazon and/or iBooks/iTunes with my affiliate/associate ID and I will indicate if I have received a review copy.