Transit Maps of the World
by Mark Ovenden
List Price:
Our Price: $13.39
You Save: $11.61 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.37 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Mark OvendenEditor: Mike Ashworth
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-30
ISBN: 0143112651
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Transit Maps of the World
Book Review: Five Stars - Super! But hear out my nit picking.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not going to echo what countless others have said about this book. It's five stars all the way and a joy doubtlessly not just to those of us who share the author's perverse fascination with transit maps but also to a somewhat wider ken. In short, if you've made it this far and are for whatever reason curious about this book or wondering if it's for you, just GET IT. You'll be glad you did.
That said, like a true pedant, I'm going to harp upon some things that I think could have been improved. This is all nitpicking nonsense. I'm telling you that it's nitpicking nonsense, so don't yell at me for nitpicking since you've been warned in advance that picking nits is exactly what I'm about to do.
Basically, the British author has in his mind that the epitome of metro diagrams is Harry Beck's london underground and its subsequent improvements. Yes, it's an excellent diagram and system and a key touchstone (perhaps the key artifact) in metro mapping. However, to judge everything else against this standard often misses the point and negates contributions from other areas.
For example, the author rather perversely notes/compares the Seoul map to London's while apparently being blissfully unaware of the obvious Tokyo influence on the Seoul map. Indeed, the author's familiarity with Asia seems to be very thin - the examples chosen for Tokyo are particularly poor and in many ways atypical (I cringed when I saw the short lived "oedo-line-circle-centered" map included in the book). There are far better Tokyo metro/transit diagrams in wide circulation with far more interesting features that would have been of interest in the book. Amazingly, the author goes out of his way to berate a Tokyo chart which shows stair location in stations, even though as every Tokyo residents know, location of such is vital to making the most of your commute. London Underground, arguably, despite its history, the worst major metro in the world, would have a LOT to learn from Tokyo if it only had the sense to stop navel-gazing (and yes, I live in England).
Next, some monumentally interesting maps are not included. The author seems to know a bit about the Moscow Metro and gushes about it enthusiastically. While the Moscow metro has heavy use, it badly fails its users - its monumental station entrances, while architecturally interesting-ish, wastes commuters time.. so much so that I think the author could have done better than to gush as he did. However, beyond that, I'm in shock and awe that the author could apparently know so much about the Moscow metro and yet he couldn't be bother to include a diagram of the (admittedly speculative) "Metro 2" in there. "Metro 2" (look it up in wikipedia if unfamiliar) is a fascinating story, and its diagram would have fit perfectly in the book, regardless of whether it exists.
Pyongyang's metro deserved far better treatment than it got in the book. I know the author had to pick snd choose, but this one and its maps and associated stories are far more interesting than some of the more routine ones that got more coverage. That said, given that the author doesnt seem to have any particular knowledge of Asian metros, maybe this is not a bad thing (though look me up for version 2 and maybe we can improve the asian metro coverage!)
Finally, the author pays too much homage to the idea of "pure" metro systems because of his pro-London Underground biases. Of course, my views are contrastingly biased with the fact that I think the Underground is horrible. A "pure" metro by the standard of the book and apparently certain transport enthusiasts, is one that is self-contained (by which i mean no particular links to other systems), is (ideally) entirely underground, and doesn't use interoperable rolling stock and equipment. In other words, the "pure" metro is the london underground system with its claustrophobic cars and decrepid stations. It takes a good ten to fifteen minutes to get from a east coast mainline train at king's cross station to an ammoniac-steched underground train at the same station. What, ideal, exactly, are we celebrating here?
By comparison, it takes no time to get from, say, the Odakyu, Keio, and many other rail operators in Tokyo to that city's metro because of smartly designed inter-running. This is what should be celebrated - not some arbitrary aesthetic of a "pure" metro that just happens to be well exemplified by the author's favourite london system.
Ok. Enough carping. It's an excellent book. And actually, this is a true story--I was reading it while flying first class on an airliner for a four or five hour flight accross america. The title of the book is prominent and I, being a true connissur, would spend several minutes looking at most of the maps. The flight attendant was convinced that I was reading it because I had nothing else to read. Repeatedly he brought / suggested to me several magazines that he had on offer. Finally, I had to explain to him that I actually liked the book and I wasn't reading it at a glacial pace just because I was bored. He didn't get it.
I suspect you will, however, if you've made it this far in my review. Highly recommended.
Summary of Transit Maps of the World
Transit Maps of the World is the first and only comprehensive collection of historic and current maps of every rapid-transit system on earth. Using glorious, colorful graphics, Mark Ovenden traces the history of mass transit-including rare and historic maps, diagrams, and photographs, some available for the first time since their original publication. Transit Maps is the graphic designer's new bible, the transport enthusiast's dream collection, and a coffee-table essential for everyone who's ever traveled in a city.Mass Transit Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Mass Transit Books
Public Transportation System Security and Emergency Preparedness Planning Guide: Final Report, January 2003by John N. Balog
Federal Transit Administration; Published: 2003-05-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.00
Right to Ride (John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture)by Blair L. M. Kelley
The University of North Carolina Press; Published: 2010-05-03; Kindle Edition; eBooks
Price in other shops:
The Trolley Car and the Lady; a Trolley Trip from Manhattan to Maineby Willima James Lampton
Published: 2010-06-05; Kindle Edition; eBooks
Price in other shops:
Angels of Light: Address Bookby Diana Cooper
Findhorn Press; Published: 2002-10-01; Spiral-bound; Book
Best price: $9.21
Price in other shops:
Car-Free in Boston: A Guide for Locals and Visitors, 10th EditionRubel Bike Maps; Published: 2003-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $130.49
Transportation Planning (Classics in Planning)Edward Elgar Pub; Published: 2007-05-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $382.56
Transport for Suburbia: Beyond the Automobile Ageby Paul Mees
Routledge; Published: 2009-12-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $54.87
Price in other shops:
Old Trolleybuses (Shire Library)by David Kaye
Shire; Published: 2011-04-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.54
Price in other shops:
Road and Rail Transportation (History of Invention)by Harriet Williams
Facts on File; Published: 2004-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.89
Price in other shops:
Right to Ride: Streetcar Boycotts and African American Citizenship in the Era of Plessy v. Ferguson (John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture)The University of North Carolina Press; Published: 2010-05-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $59.56
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timelineby Anthony Grafton, Daniel Rosenberg
Princeton Architectural Press; Published: 2010-03-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $26.18
Price in other shops:
You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imaginationby Katharine Harmon
Princeton Architectural Press; Published: 2003-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
Price in other shops:
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonksby Ken Jennings
Scribner; Published: 2011-09-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.92
Price in other shops:
Helvetica and the New York City Subway System: The True (Maybe) Storyby Paul Shaw
The MIT Press; Published: 2011-02-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $26.37
Price in other shops:
The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartographyby Katharine Harmon, Gayle Clemans
Princeton Architectural Press; Published: 2010-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.70
Price in other shops:
Paris Underground: The Maps, Stations, and Design of the Metroby Mark Ovenden
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2009-10-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops:
The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraperby Kate Ascher
Penguin Press HC, The; Published: 2011-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.59
Price in other shops:
Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiositiesby Frank Jacobs
Studio; Published: 2009-10-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.06
Price in other shops:
The Works: Anatomy of a Cityby Kate Ascher
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2007-11-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.34
Price in other shops:
Railway Maps of the Worldby Mark Ovenden
Viking Adult; Published: 2011-04-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.16
Price in other shops: