Michael Blanding

What is it about old maps? Perhaps because of what is not presented, as much as what is, they draw us in and beguile us. They offer us a snapshot of the world before photography--a piece of history intimately connected to a specific time and place, with an unstated undercurrent of politics, religion, entrepreneurship, and exploration. These unique pieces of art offer us an interpretation of the known world that, in their time, demanded to be improved upon by succeeding cartographers and discoverers.

There is a tight knit global community of wealthy map dealers and collectors that hunt for and prize the world's rarest maps, some going back 500 years. This book is the story of one northeastern American man, E. Forbes Smiley III, who became so enamored with his role in the world of rare map collecting that he began living beyond his means, and one day made the decision that in order to pay his mounting debts, he would begin stealing the very maps he spent a lifetime buying and selling. Starting with the Boston Public Library, he lifted rare maps from the most prestigious libraries and collections in the world. Then in the early 2000s he got caught. This is his story.

Through Smiley's rise and fall, Michael Blanding presents us with a fascinating look into the often dark world of rare map collecting. For mapheads, as Ken Jennings calls them, this book is a must read. The story unfolds like good fiction. If you care even a little about places and how they were discovered and interpreted, you will love reading this book. I did.… (meer)