I laughed, I loved it, and dare I say I love maps more because of it. While the authors of this book already have a pre-existing following on Youtube doing what they love (talking about maps obviously), you can enjoy this book just as much having never seen one of their videos. I personally had no previous experience with the Map Men and honestly I think that made me love it more! It's fun and informative and it allows readers to learn in an exciting (and comical) way. The Map Men take you through all the different kinds of maps we as humans have developed in all of their weird, wacky and yet oddly wonderful ways. If you're looking to read more non-fiction but find it a but daunting, this is a great place to start!

Have you ever wondered how the people navigated vast swaths of the featureless Pacific Ocean without a chart? Or how some of those unnaturally straight lines ended up being borders between today's biggest countries? Or even why, in the 1980’s, Yorkshire Television broadcast as far south as King’s Lyn? If so this book has the answers for you. I love the way Mark Cooper-Jones and Jay Foreman take a potentially mundane subject, such as the TV broadcasting stations of the UK in the 1980’s, and make it fascinating. Quirks of geography and cartography are examined in detail in a fascinating and light hearted manner. If you are already a fan of the YouTube channel, you will be able to picture the sketches they use to illustrate their points as you go along. The final chapter is a bit of a call to arms. It will have you reaching for the paper maps you may have packed away a few years ago and challenging your brain to an unguided GPS free walk. It’s an absolutely cracking read.

A fun and informative look at the world, and it's history through the lens of some throughly bafflingly bad maps. This book not only covers the stories behind these maps, but also looks at how they have a effected society now, how getting lost can help your memory and discovers how other parts of the world all deal with navigation and understanding our world. It is also very, very funny. Each chapter is written in a different way, using their trademark humour to keep you fully engaged and laughing out loud. The Map Men and fab, so is their book. No notes.

Whether you are already fans of the Map Men YouTube series (I am), or just have an interest in maps, This Way Up is for you. This book is jam packed with funny stories of when maps have gone wrong, laugh out loud moments and witty writing, making maps a genuinely engaging and interesting topic to read about. This Way Up manages to balance being educational and informative with insane (funny) anecdotes. Highly readable and I will definitely be recommending! Thank you to Harper Collins for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is perfect for anyone already familiar with the Map Men format but also anyone who wants to learn something new in an incredibly entertaining way.This book fully untilizes its format to give the reader something fresh and surprising in every chapter: running bits, varied chapters, and witty commentary all make it oblivious that the authors no only have a grasp of the information but the comedic genre.