Map Use Now an ESRI Publication

Credit to Jonathan at The Map Room for his post as I didn’t make the connection from looking at the press release. ESRI gained rights to JP Publications Map Use and has published an updated edition, the sixth.

This is one great book. I didn’t use it in college but somehow picked up a copy there. (I bet it was from Powell’s, which had a great geography collection.) Somehow during my time at ESRI I probably lent it out and never got it back. I don’t recall if it was when I left or when a colleague left, but he replaced my missing copy with his, the second edition, dated 1986. (Jeff, if you want it back, I’d understand. It still says Geography Middlebury College in it!) I’ve used my copy and this “new one” many many times for reference and in my teaching. It uses comics to help illustrate some key ideas and has clear explanations of concepts and formulae. The illustrations, in my edition in gray scale, are some of the best around.

I’m very pleased to see a new addition out, with far more names on the cover, than just Philip Muehrke’s. He’s now an emeritus professor at the Univ. of Wisconsin. ESRI’s efforts to keep this classic updated and in print are laudable.

The price tag may seem steep at $100, but based on my long term use of my copy, this is a true “must have” and would be a fabulous graduation present for any geography or GIS certificate, college or graduate degree recipient. It’s also a fabulous gift for any geography teacher at any level.