North American Maps for Curious Minds

As a boy in the 1990s, Matthew Bucklan eagerly awaited each new issue of National Geographic. There were just so many places, and they were all uniquely captivating. His favorite part was the centerfold map, which he would explore for hours. As he grew older, the nascent internet opened up a whole new world of geography, letting him see people and news from all of the places that had previously been mere points on a map. This love of human geography eventually propelled him to the state geography bee; today, he still can’t look away from a great map. He now works in audiobook production and lives in the Cleveland area.Victor Cizek distinctly remembers the first time he discovered the power of maps: at age seven, when he bought a picture atlas on a trip to Washington, DC, and learned what each part of the country is known for. He grew up one of six kids in northeast Ohio, represented by a steel mill on that old atlas, and still calls Cleveland home.Ian Wright runs Brilliant Maps, one of the most popular cartographic sites on the internet. In addition to being a cartophile, he’s also a keen walker. In 2015, he combined these two passions to become the first person to walk all of the newly expanded London Tube map. Originally from Canada, he now lives in the UK.