Book/10605

Transit Maps of the World

Penguin (Non-Classics) Search Penguin (Non-Classics) by Mark Ovenden Search Mark Ovenden

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Product Description
Transit Maps of the World is the first and only comprehensive collection of historic and current maps of every rapid-transit system on earth. Using glorious, colorful graphics, Mark Ovenden traces the history of mass transit-including rare and historic maps, diagrams, and photographs, some available for the first time since their original publication. Transit Maps is the graphic designer’s new bible, the transport enthusiast’s dream collection, and a coffee-table essential for everyone who’s ever traveled in a city.

Customer Reviews:
Author loves 45 degree angles

This beautifully illustrated book documents subways and subway maps, a subject not fully explored in book form prior to this book. Of special interest are older maps that show the growth of systems and changing design aesthetics of subway mapping. The books limits itself to subway based rapid transit systems, so heavy urban rail systems are usually left out. It would be nice if there were a larger coffee table version of the book, so that one could see more detail in the maps. I found myself disagreeing with the author's preference for diagram subway maps over maps that are more topographically accurate.

Great View of the world's subway systems
Fantastic book, it is amazon view of the world's subway systems. Just amazing. Who has the best system.......and it isn't NYC and I leave there!

he does it again
After his metro book, ovenden now expands and shows us more of the cartography of mass transit. This kind of map gives a unique view of urban life and a book as beautiful as this a testament to cities where that kind of life can proser

Great Book
I bought this book for my son who is autistic. He is fascinated by trains, subways, trollies, and buses. He loves to look at the maps of various transit systems and memorizes the portions of the systems he would like to ride on. This was absolutely the perfect gift for him.

Five Stars - Super! But hear out my nit picking.
I'm not going to echo what countless others have said about this book. It's five stars all the way and a joy doubtlessly not just to those of us who share the author's perverse fascination with transit maps but also to a somewhat wider ken. In short, if you've made it this far and are for whatever reason curious about this book or wondering if it's for you, just GET IT. You'll be glad you did.

That said, like a true pedant, I'm going to harp upon some things that I think could have been improved. This is all nitpicking nonsense. I'm telling you that it's nitpicking nonsense, so don't yell at me for nitpicking since you've been warned in advance that picking nits is exactly what I'm about to do.

Basically, the British author has in his mind that the epitome of metro diagrams is Harry Beck's london underground and its subsequent improvements. Yes, it's an excellent diagram and system and a key touchstone (perhaps the key artifact) in metro mapping. However, to judge everything else against this standard often misses the point and negates contributions from other areas.

For example, the author rather perversely notes/compares the Seoul map to London's while apparently being blissfully unaware of the obvious Tokyo influence on the Seoul map. Indeed, the author's familiarity with Asia seems to be very thin - the examples chosen for Tokyo are particularly poor and in many ways atypical (I cringed when I saw the short lived "oedo-line-circle-centered" map included in the book). There are far better Tokyo metro/transit diagrams in wide circulation with far more interesting features that would have been of interest in the book. Amazingly, the author goes out of his way to berate a Tokyo chart which shows stair location in stations, even though as every Tokyo residents know, location of such is vital to making the most of your commute. London Underground, arguably, despite its history, the worst major metro in the world, would have a LOT to learn from Tokyo if it only had the sense to stop navel-gazing (and yes, I live in England).

Next, some monumentally interesting maps are not included. The author seems to know a bit about the Moscow Metro and gushes about it enthusiastically. While the Moscow metro has heavy use, it badly fails its users - its monumental station entrances, while architecturally interesting-ish, wastes commuters time.. so much so that I think the author could have done better than to gush as he did. However, beyond that, I'm in shock and awe that the author could apparently know so much about the Moscow metro and yet he couldn't be bother to include a diagram of the (admittedly speculative) "Metro 2" in there. "Metro 2" (look it up in wikipedia if unfamiliar) is a fascinating story, and its diagram would have fit perfectly in the book, regardless of whether it exists.

Pyongyang's metro deserved far better treatment than it got in the book. I know the author had to pick snd choose, but this one and its maps and associated stories are far more interesting than some of the more routine ones that got more coverage. That said, given that the author doesnt seem to have any particular knowledge of Asian metros, maybe this is not a bad thing (though look me up for version 2 and maybe we can improve the asian metro coverage!)

Finally, the author pays too much homage to the idea of "pure" metro systems because of his pro-London Underground biases. Of course, my views are contrastingly biased with the fact that I think the Underground is horrible. A "pure" metro by the standard of the book and apparently certain transport enthusiasts, is one that is self-contained (by which i mean no particular links to other systems), is (ideally) entirely underground, and doesn't use interoperable rolling stock and equipment. In other words, the "pure" metro is the london underground system with its claustrophobic cars and decrepid stations. It takes a good ten to fifteen minutes to get from a east coast mainline train at king's cross station to an ammoniac-steched underground train at the same station. What, ideal, exactly, are we celebrating here?

By comparison, it takes no time to get from, say, the Odakyu, Keio, and many other rail operators in Tokyo to that city's metro because of smartly designed inter-running. This is what should be celebrated - not some arbitrary aesthetic of a "pure" metro that just happens to be well exemplified by the author's favourite london system.

Ok. Enough carping. It's an excellent book. And actually, this is a true story--I was reading it while flying first class on an airliner for a four or five hour flight accross america. The title of the book is prominent and I, being a true connissur, would spend several minutes looking at most of the maps. The flight attendant was convinced that I was reading it because I had nothing else to read. Repeatedly he brought / suggested to me several magazines that he had on offer. Finally, I had to explain to him that I actually liked the book and I wasn't reading it at a glacial pace just because I was bored. He didn't get it.

I suspect you will, however, if you've made it this far in my review. Highly recommended.