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This Way Up

When Maps Go Wrong (and Why it Matters)

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This Way Up

By: Map Men
Narrated by: Map Men
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$8.99/month after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends on 29 July 2026 at 11:59 AEST.

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A SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLER

A Waterstones Best Nature & Travel Writing Book 2025

'Educational, smart and funny’ Richard Osman

‘This book is superb’ Charlie Brooker

‘Brilliant. Fascinating. Hilarious.’ Jonn Elledge, bestselling author of A History of the World in 47 Borders

The debut book from the YouTube sensation and all-round cartographical nerds, The Map Men!

Hello, we're the Map Men, and in the following pages we've selected what we believe to be some of the very best wrong maps. Some of them are decades old, some are centuries old and some are so recent they're being published today (or yesterday, if you’re reading this tomorrow).

They include world maps, colonial maps, corporate maps, Soviet maps, pioneer maps, news maps and maps whose intended use was hijacked for a French surrealist political movement in the 1950s. Whether you’re an avid map junkie or simply ‘map-curious’, you will uncover a unique tale of adventure, error and unexpected humour in each chapter, as we attempt to answer the question: ‘What on earth happened here?’

So, ditch the compass (or disable location services) and set out on a journey with us, the Map Men, into a world of cartographic chaos and mappy mishaps.

Because the worst maps are the best maps.

(P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers Best of 2025 Earth Sciences Editors Select Politics & Government Science World Funny Witty Misadventure
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Critic Reviews

‘Map Men’s unique and witty outlook translates brilliantly from their hilarious videos onto the page’ Matt Lucas
‘The funniest book on geography ever written’ Rufus Hound
'A gloriously entertaining look at how maps can get things – sometimes very big things – badly wrong’ Charlie Higson
‘The best book I’ve ever read (and not just because it’s the first)’ Michael Howe, author of Terrible Maps
All stars
Most relevant
I did enjoy this collection of stories and was inspired to research some of them further. Loved the humorous delivery.

An entertaining collection of mappy stories.

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Cleverly presented treatise on a subject most of us would seldom give thought to. Trivial, but entirely entertaining and educational.

Good fun and strangely educational

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Granted in a few places the book was a tad heavy on dull technicalities but for the most part, it was interesting, quirky and sometimes laugh out loud funny.
I also learned a great deal from the book.

Surprisingly interesting and funny!

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The mix of spoof with history was an absolute hoot. The authors' delivery and interaction was perfect. I did slow the speed though, it was l little to fast for my taste otherwise.

Meticulously researched and still hilarious

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Entertaining history of world maps and technology with very amusing footnotes.
Highly recommend for all

Essential listening of an entertaining performance

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