A Classic Reissued and Expanded Sixth edition of Map Use continues its educational mission Unlike most texts dealing with maps, Map Use: Reading and Analysis is written for the map user rather than the mapmaker. The mission of this book is even more important now than when the first edition was published in 1978 because GIS has made map reading and analysis skills more—not less—important than previously. Once maps were the closely guarded repositories of geographic data. Now maps generated using GIS are ubiquitous—they pop up all over the Internet and can be accessed from cell phones. By streamlining the process of compiling and processing data and designing and producing maps, GIS has expanded not only the number of maps produced but also the topics mapped. In addition to people who need to accurately read and analyze maps as part of their job, many people depend on maps when engaging in recreational activities such as sailing, hiking, or mountaineering. Although maps are nearly universally familiar and seem deceptively simple, special skills are needed to interpret the graphic language used by maps. As the databases associated with GIS have taken over the storage of geographic information, the role of maps as tools for conceptualizing and solving problems has increased. Maps are now more likely to be used for communicating highly processed data that is produced by GIS analysis. These densely symbolic documents often mask the complexity of the information they portray. Because a map is a representation, creating a map is a process of deciding what to include and what to leave out, what information to emphasize and what information to subdue to communicate the message of the map effectively to the map reader. As a result, a map can also tell a great deal about the cartographer who created it. "The underlying theme that separates Map Use from other books on mapping is its emphasis on the fact that maps do not merely show what is in our environment but are windows into how people think, adjust to their surroundings, make decisions, and communicate geographic information with each other," said A. Jon Kimerling, one of the book's coauthors. "In this sense, users get more out of a map than the graphic product created by the cartographer, especially when they have mastered the map reading and analysis skills so carefully presented in the book." Map Use was first published by Phillip C. Muehrcke, professor emeritus of geography at the University of Wisconsin, and Juliana O. Muehrcke, the founding editor of Nonprofit World, to help as many people as possible better understand and use maps. Through six editions, it has continued to do this in a manner that is entertaining as well as informative. The topics covered have expanded to include information on GIS and other geospatial technologies. This edition marks many changes for Map Use. Esri purchased the rights from longtime publisher JP Publications, owned by the original authors. With this edition, Aileen Buckley, a cartographic researcher at Esri, joined the Muehrckes and Kimmerling, interim chairman of the Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University in Corvallis (and a veteran of two previous editions of the book), as one of the book's four authors. Readers of previous editions will note this one is lavishly illustrated with 500 four-color maps and diagrams. This book continues to be a tremendous resource for the interested layperson and has won a place in homes, offices, and libraries. However, this edition has been designed for use as a textbook in a three-credit, 15-week course for upper high school to lower college level students. Map Use: Reading and Analysis, Sixth Edition, can be purchased at www.esri.com/ esripress or by calling 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visit www.esri.com/ esripressorders for complete ordering options or contact your local Esri distributor. Esri Press, 2009, 528 pp., ISBN: 978-1589481909 ArcUser Summer 2009 61 www.esri.com