'My name is Mike and I am a map addict. There, it's said…'

Maps not only show the world, they help it turn. On an average day, we will consult some form of map approximately a dozen times, often without even noticing: checking the A-Z, the road atlas or the Sat Nav, scanning the tube or bus map, a quick Google online or hours wasted flying over a virtual Earth, navigating a way around a shopping centre, watching the weather forecast, planning a walk or a trip, catching up on the news, booking a holiday or hotel. Maps pepper logos, advertisements, illustrations, books, web pages and newspaper and magazine articles: they are a cipher for every area of human existence. At a stroke, they convey precise information about topography, layout, history, politics and power. They are the unsung heroes of life: Map Addict sings their song. There are some fine, dry tomes out there about the history and development of cartography: this is not one of them. Map Addict mixes wry observation with hard fact and considerable research, unearthing the offbeat, the unusual and the downright pedantic in a celebration of all things maps. In Map Addict, we learn the location of what has officially been named by the OS as the most boring square kilometre in the land; we visit the town fractured into dozens of little parcels of land split between two different countries and trek around many other weird borders of Britain and Europe; we test the theories that the new city of Milton Keynes was built to a pagan alignment and that women can't read maps. Combining history, travel, politics, memoir and oblique observation in a highly readable, and often very funny, style, Mike Parker confesses how his own impressive map collection was founded on a virulent teenage shoplifting habit, ponders how a good leftie can be so gung-ho about British cartographic imperialism and wages a one-man war against the moronic blandishments of the Sat Nav age.

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Celebrating 50 years of Adventure 1969-2019 - Cicerone Press Guide

Commemorating Cicerone's 50th year, Fifty Years of Adventure is a compilation of tales by Cicerone authors. A story to celebrate each year Cicerone has been publishing outdoor
activity guidebooks, the collection is a delicious hotpot of adventures in their every shape and form. Accompanied by outstanding photography, each page of this finely
crafted anniversary book is a veritable visual delight. As enchanting as it is inspiring, Fifty Years of Adventure is a must for anyone with an appreciation for adventure

Contributing editor Kev Reynolds

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£12.95

This book is a moving collection of 75 autobiographical short stories from prolific outdoors writer Kev Reynolds, an insight into a lifetime of mountain travel and adventure. These tales are spread across the Moroccan Atlas, Pyrenees, European Alps, Himalaya amongst other destinations, and will leave you by turns amused, reflective and inspired.

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Europe's High Points

Getting to the top in 50 countries
by Rachel Crolla, Carl McKeating

A guide to reaching the summit of every country in Europe – driving, walking and climbing routes to the tops of 50 countries in Europe. Detailed route descriptions, sketch maps – advice on transport, seasons, grading and gear. From afternoon strolls in Malta to three-day mountaineering ascents on classic Alpine routes such as Mont Blanc.

£17.95

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Trekking in the Alps

by Kev Reynolds

An inspirational walking guide to 20 summer treks in the European Alps in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France and Slovenia, by 8 Alpine trekking experts, including the classics such as the Tour of Mont Blanc and lesser-known routes like the Traverse of the Slovenian Alps. Illustrated with clear overview maps and route profiles throughout.