Scan barcode
duparker's review against another edition
4.0
A very charismatic book. I know that isn't the typical way to describe a book, but that is how I felt reading this, like I was being charmed. Coincidentally, the book recounts the tale of a charming map dealer. The text is good and the visuals are great. I really liked the overall simplicity of the book.
mkaybaker07's review against another edition
3.0
Probably closer to 3.5
I apparently don't know much about maps or the map world, but art theft has always been fascinating to me, so this fits right in.
I apparently don't know much about maps or the map world, but art theft has always been fascinating to me, so this fits right in.
themarnacle's review against another edition
4.0
interesting history of maps contained alongside the story of the map thief
mandibibbs37's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this one. The ending started to lose the momentum the beginning and middle held for me, but all in all I think it's a great overview of Smiley, and a great introduction to the world of rare maps.
johndiconsiglio's review against another edition
3.0
There’s a lot to like in this brisk true-crime take on an antique map dealer who spent his spare time stealing hundreds of historical treasures from world-renowned libraries. The author skillfully sails the robbery tale around cartography history, neat exploration anecdotes & the madcap map-collecting world. An A for effort but, unless you’re a mapmaking enthusiast, the story’s kinda lightweight. John Smith & Robert Dudley are more fun than the titular thief. Stays afloat, but we’re not exactly in uncharted waters.
chelse34's review against another edition
3.0
If you like history / geography /cartography this is the book for you. I felt there were too many details to keep track of, so that made it hard to read.
batwoman411's review against another edition
3.0
Maps, maps, maps. I read this book because it reminded me of The Poet, The Madman, and the Murderer to a degree. But it wasn’t as interesting. It bogged down in mapphilia and extended historical descriptions of some of the maps that Smiley stole. I am not a mapphile, so it was arduous to read through these parts.
It was more astounding to me though that pretty much anyone off the street could access books of rare and valuable maps unsupervised in a library and leave with a $100,000 map in their pocket. And that the libraries that housed these maps had such poor inventory systems for the maps that they didn’t even know when they were missing. Furthermore, when the libraries learned they were missing, they did not want to call attention to their losses.
If maps are your thing, this book should make a fascinating read.
It was more astounding to me though that pretty much anyone off the street could access books of rare and valuable maps unsupervised in a library and leave with a $100,000 map in their pocket. And that the libraries that housed these maps had such poor inventory systems for the maps that they didn’t even know when they were missing. Furthermore, when the libraries learned they were missing, they did not want to call attention to their losses.
If maps are your thing, this book should make a fascinating read.