Simon Garfield

Maps fascinate us. They chart our understanding of the world and they log our progress, but above all they tell our stories. From the early sketches of philosophers and explorers through to Google Maps and beyond, Simon Garfield examines how maps both relate and realign our history.With a historical sweep ranging from Ptolemy to Twitter, Garfield explores the legendary, impassable (and non-existent) mountains of Kong, the role of cartography in combatting cholera, the 17th-century Dutch craze for Atlases, the Norse discovery of America, how a Venetian monk mapped the world from his cell and the Muppets'' knack of instant map-travel. Along the way are pocket maps of dragons, Mars, murders and more, with plenty of illustrations and prints to signpost the route.From the bestselling and widely-adored author of Just My Type, On The Map is a witty and irrepressible examination of where we''ve been, how we got there and where we''re going.

Witty and geekily eclecticThe TimesAn erudite and amusing explorationFinancial TimesFull of jawdropping factsMail on SundayRemarkable . . . engrossingSunday TimesA pleasureSpectatorAn infectiously enthusiastic historyTimes Literary SupplementThe encyclopaedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Now these huge books sell for almost nothing on eBay while we derive information from our phones. What have we lost in this transition? All the Knowledge in the World tracks the story from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, from modest single-volumes to the 11,000-volume Chinese manuscript that was too big to print. It exposes how encyclopaedias reflect our changing attitudes towards sexuality, race and technology, uncovers a fascinating part of our shared past and wonders whether the promise of complete knowledge - that most human of ambitions - will forever be beyond our grasp.

Three generations. Two secrets. One family tree. Aunt Oleander is dead. In the Garden of England her extended family gather to remember her, to tell stories and to rekindle old memories. To each of her nearest and dearest Oleander has left a precious seed pod. But along with it comes a family secret that could open the hardest of hearts but also break the closest ties...A complex and fiercely contemporary tale of inheritance, enlightenment, life, death, desire and family trees, The Seed Collectors is the most important novel yet from one of the world's most daring and brilliant writers. As Henry James said of George Eliot's Middlemarch, The Seed Collectors is a 'treasure house of detail' revealing all that it means to be connected, to be part of a society, to be part of the universe and to be human.

The encyclopaedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Created by thousands of scholars and the most obsessive of editors, adults cleared their shelves in the belief that wisdom was now effortlessly accessible in their living rooms. Contributions from Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Orville Wright, Alfred Hitchcock, Marie Curie and Indira Gandhi helped millions of children with their homework.

A delightful, entertaining and illuminating investigation into our peculiar fascination with making things small, and what small things tell us about the world at large. Simon Garfield reveals the secret histories of tiny Eiffel Towers, the truth about the flea circus, a doll's house made for a Queen, eerie tableaux of crime scenes, miniature food, model villages and railways, and more. Bringing together history, psychology, art and obsession, Garfield explores what fuels the strong appeal of miniature objects, and how controlling a tiny scaled-down world can give new perspectives, restore our sense of order in uncertain times, and, in unexpected ways, let us see our world in a whole new light. In Miniature takes a big look at small things and teaches us that there is greatness in the diminutive.

The classic elegant English typeface still widely used as a book text more than 250 years since its creation Baskerville is a transitional design poised between the first metal types and modern styles notable for its combination of fat and thin strokes When it was first used there was genuine concern that it would damage readers eyes John Baskerville was a maverick lacquer maker and printer in Birmingham a flamboyant dresser an important figure in the Enlightenment Though it earned him little money he was obsessive about both his typeface and its appearance on the page a perfectionism culminating in his magnificent Bible The story encompasses one of the first powerful women of the printing world his wife Sarah Baskerville and the many typefaces the Baskervilles inspired And it examines why John Baskerville s body was dug up and buried many times before it was finally allowed to rest in peace

Comic Sans is one of the most used and most reviled typefaces of the digital age How was it made How could it spawn a movement to ban it and yet still be so widely promoted by educators What does its accidental creator make of its contentious and singular history This quirky and unique book considers how the computer transformed type into something that anyone could use and have an opinion on It examines how a typeface correctly used may sell us almost anything and how new types with names such as Crash Soul Lovely Scream Queens and Ampersandist to name but three recent examples of the hundreds issued each year each attempt to keep the alphabet exciting and new And it concludes with an alluring question could Comic Sans now be the coolest typeface ever made

** With a new introduction by Russell T Davies **A new edition of the award-winning, ground-breaking account of the early AIDS crisis in Britain.Masterful. Jonathan Dean, Sunday TimesA remarkable journalistic achievement.Time OutPowerful . . . Indispensable.ObserverSuperb.London Review of BooksWinner of the Somerset Maugham PrizeHow does a country control a virus that is killing increasing numbers of people?How does a government contain an epidemic spread by sex, drug use and blood products?And how does a population react when told that everyone is at risk from infection?By 1986, when the British Government woke up to the problem of AIDS, it estimated that 30,000 people had already been infected with HIV. Why did it act so late? Would the situation have been different if most of those affected had not been gay men?Award-winning journalist Simon Garfield presents a story of political intrigue, of panic and hysteria, of wasted opportunities and of a medical battle conducted against seemingly impossible odds. Including interviews with key figures in the fight against the virus as well as those facing personal devastation and prejudice, The End of Innocence is an important and powerful story, compellingly told.Features a new afterword by the author.

Just My Type is not just a font book but a book of stories About how Helvetica and Comic Sans took over the world About why Barack Obama opted for Gotham while Amy Winehouse found her soul in 30s Art Deco About the great originators of type from Baskerville to Zapf or people like Neville Brody who threw out the rulebook or Margaret Calvert who invented the motorway signs that are used from Watford Gap to Abu Dhabi About the pivotal moment when fonts left the world of Letraset and were loaded onto computers and typefaces became something we realised we all have an opinion about As the Sunday Times review put it the book is a kind of Eats Shoots and Leaves for letters revealing the extent to which fonts are not only shaped by but also define the world in which we live This edition is available with both black and silver covers

DOGS BEST FRIEND is as fascinating, funny and wise as weve come to expect from Simon Garfield. More than that, its a book that asks profound questions about what it means to be canineANDY MILLER, author THE YEAR OF READING DANGEROUSLYThis is a book that will make your tail wagKATE HUMBLEA fascinating, informative and highly entertaining expedition through the highways and byways of dogdomJOHN BRADSHAW, author of IN DEFENCE OF DOGSSimon Garfield has written a book every owner will lap up with the same delight and enthusiasm their Fido would a discarded box of fried chicken. That is to say, with great pleasureKATE SPICER, author of LOST DOG***One of the first words we learn. Perhaps the best friend well have. An animal so much part of our lives that we speak to it like a child and spend small fortunes on its wellbeing and wardrobe.Dogs and humans: in the last 200 years no inter-species relationship has developed so fast nor come so far. Dogs accompany us in every walk of life, usually three times a day. How and why did this relationship begin? How has it changed over the centuries? And whos getting the upper hand?DOGS BEST FRIEND investigates this unique bond by revisiting some of the most important milestones in our shared journey. It begins with the earliest visual evidence on ancient rock art, and ends at the laboratory that sequenced the first dog genome. En route we encounter the first Labradoodle in Australia, a misguidedly loyal Akita in Japan, an ill-fated Poodle trainer in the United States, and a hilariously disobedient Romanian rescue dog named Kratu at the Birmingham NEC. We will also meet Corgis and Dorgis at the Palace, the weightless mutniks of the Soviet space programme, a Dalmatian who impersonates Hitler, and an owner who claims his Border Collie can remember the names of more than a thousand soft toys.If you own or once owned a dog, you will know that our relationship can be as rich, complicated and rewarding as the relationship we have with other humans, and the book reflects this diversity with the aid of trainers, breeders and psychologists. Above all, it explores the extraordinary ability of dogs to enhance so many aspects of our lives. DOGS BEST FRIEND is as entertaining as it is informative, as eccentric as it is erudite, and all told with Simon Garfields irrepressible gift for witty and insightful storytelling.

One of the most beautiful handcrafted typefaces in the world, Albertus is also one of the most enduring. The face of thousands of book jackets, and the chosen look for David Bowie, Coldplay, Star Wars and London street signs, Albertus is as as warmly enticing on film posters as it is on memorial plaques.The story of the font is one displacement (its designer Berthold Wolpe was a German Jewish refugee who went on to design the masthead for The Times), but also one of permanence, for it has proved a fresh, vibrant and indestructible face for almost a century. In this unique celebration, the designers children reveal the history of its creation and the erratic brilliance of their father, while the book grapples with one of the fundamental artistic questions: what makes great art not only survive but flourish in each new age and medium?

The classic elegant English typeface, still widely used as a book text more than 250 years since its creation. Baskerville is a transitional design, poised between the first metal types and modern styles, notable for its combination of fat and thin strokes. When it was first used there was genuine concern that it would damage readers eyes.John Baskerville was a maverick lacquer maker and printer in Birmingham, a flamboyant dresser, an important figure in the Enlightenment. Though it earned him little money, he was obsessive about both his typeface and its appearance on the page, a perfectionism culminating in his magnificent Bible. The story encompasses one of the first powerful women of the printing world, his wife Sarah Baskerville, and the many typefaces the Baskervilles inspired. And it examines why John Baskervilles body was dug up and buried many times before it was finally allowed to rest in peace.

Comic Sans is one of the most used and most reviled typefaces of the digital age. How was it made? How could it spawn a movement to ban it and yet still be so widely promoted by educators? What does its accidental creator make of its contentious and singular history?This quirky and unique book considers how the computer transformed type into something that anyone could use and have an opinion on. It examines how a typeface, correctly used, may sell us almost anything, and how new types with names such as Crash Soul, Lovely Scream Queens and Ampersandist (to name but three recent examples of the hundreds issued each year) each attempt to keep the alphabet exciting and new. And it concludes with an alluring question: could Comic Sans now be the coolest typeface ever made?

A brilliant oral history of the golden age of British wrestling and magnificent wider social history. Richard OsmanThe classic account of the men and women who used to fight each other for pride and money. Simon Garfield brings them to life in one last glorious bout of jealousy, myth, revenge, passion and deep devotion.When British wrestling was dropped from the ITV schedules in the mid-80s it left the giants of the ring - Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki - bereft. This is the true story of the circuit, the big names and their rivalries, told with humour, warmth and affection. This edition features a new afterword by the author.

Un apasionante recorrido desde los primeros bocetos de filósofos y exploradores hasta Google Maps. Los mapas nos fascinan. Plasman lo que conocemos del mundo y registran nuestros progresos pero, sobre todo, cuentan nuestra historia. Imagine un mundo sin ellos. ¿Como viajariamos? ¿Podriamos reclamar la propiedad de una tierra? ¿Hasta donde se extenderian los paises? ¿Sobre que discutirian hombres y mujeres en el coche? Remontandose a los primeros dibujos de filosofos y exploradores hasta llegar a Google Maps y el GPS, Simon Garfield examina la singular manera en la que los mapas reflejan lo mejor y lo peor de lo que nos hace humanos: el descubrimiento y la curiosidad, el conflicto y la destruccion. Este libro, ingenioso y lleno de anecdotas, constituye un rico mosaico de historias fascinantes: desde la busqueda del globo terraqueo perfecto o las dificultades de cartografiar Africa y la Antartida hasta la confeccion de los intrigantes mapas de tesoros ocultos, los sublimes mappae mundi medievales, el bautizo de America, los origenes de las primeras guias de viaje o los fraudes mas sorprendentes

¿Cuál es tu tipo? Una desenfadada introducción al mundo de la tipografía. Desde que las tipografías se mudaron a la barra de herramientas del ordenador todos comenzamos a tener una opinión sobre ellas. Hoy es imposible ignorar su poder, su omnipresencia en las marcas que nos rodean o el caracter que imprimen a nuestros textos. Y si no, ¿por que despierta tantas antipatias el uso de Comic Sans? ¿A que se debio el revuelo causado cuando Ikea fue infiel a Futura con Verdana? ¿Por que Obama decidio optar por la Gotham como su distintivo grafico? ¿Que hace que una tipografia funcione? Este divertido libro, profusamente ilustrado, cuenta la historia de mas de doscientas fuentes desde su nacimiento -y en algunos casos hasta su muerte- a traves de anecdotas sobre su empleo, sus creadores y sus usuarios. Garfield explica los fenomenos que hay detras del dominio de fuentes como Helvetica o Times New Roman o del odio hacia otras como Papyrus. Es mi tipo tiene todas las respuestas para quienes alguna vez se preguntaron que tienen en comun EasyJet y los Beach Boys, cual es la tipografia favorita de Hollywood o si, como las personas, algunas fuentes son de Marte y otras son de Venus.

¿Cuál es tu tipo? Una desenfadada introducción al mundo de la tipografía. Desde que las tipografías se mudaron a la barra de herramientas del ordenador todos comenzamos a tener una opinión sobre ellas. Hoy es imposible ignorar su poder, su omnipresencia en las marcas que nos rodean o el caracter que imprimen a nuestros textos. Y si no, ¿por que despierta tantas antipatias el uso de Comic Sans? ¿A que se debio el revuelo causado cuando Ikea fue infiel a Futura con Verdana? ¿Por que Obama decidio optar por la Gotham como su distintivo grafico? ¿Que hace que una tipografia funcione? Este divertido libro, profusamente ilustrado, cuenta la historia de mas de doscientas fuentes desde su nacimiento -y en algunos casos hasta su muerte- a traves de anecdotas sobre su empleo, sus creadores y sus usuarios. Garfield explica los fenomenos que hay detras del dominio de fuentes como Helvetica o Times New Roman o del odio hacia otras como Papyrus. Es mi tipo tiene todas las respuestas para quienes alguna vez se preguntaron que tienen en comun EasyJet y los Beach Boys, cual es la tipografia favorita de Hollywood o si, como las personas, algunas fuentes son de Marte y otras son de Venus.

Un libro delicioso para cualquiera que haya querido alguna vez a un perro. «Refrescante y reparador como un buen paseo».The Nation «Será felizmente devorado por cualquier lector que ame a los perros»

Cronometrados es una brillante exploración de las formas en que hemos percibido, contenido y ahorrado el tiempo a lo largo de los últimos 250 años, narrado en el estilo ingenioso y entretenido del maravilloso Simon Garfield. No hace mucho mediamos nuestras vidas por el movimiento del sol. Hoy la hora nos llega de todas partes con insistencia, y lo que impulsa nuestras vidas es la idea de que nunca vamos a tener suficiente de lo que mas anhelamos: el tiempo. ¿Como hemos llegado a ser dominados por algo tan arbitrario? Este es un libro sobre nuestra obsesion por el tiempo y por medirlo, controlarlo, venderlo, filmarlo, inmortalizarlo y darle sentido. A lo largo de los ultimos 250 años, el tiempo se ha convertido en una fuerza dominante y omnipresente en nuestras vidas. ¿Por que, tras miles de años orientandonos vagamente mirando el cielo, hemos pasado a necesitar continua y compulsivamente las señales de nuestros ordenadores y moviles, de una precision milimetrica? A medida que la gestion del tiempo se convierte en nuestro mayor desafio, esta historia contada en varias capas nos ayuda a hacer frente a el con una luz nueva y brillante.La critica ha dicho...Simon Garfield es aquel profesor de escuela que lograba que el tiempo volara.The Observer Todo un manjar. Garfield es adictivo, y Cronometrados rebosa de material fascinante. Un libro de lo mas divertido e iluminador.Robin McKie, The GuardianCuando se trata de encontrar anecdotas deliciosas y reconditas, Simon Garfield es un verdadero sabueso.The Sunday Times Cronometrados es de lo mejor en historia divulgativa.Express Una coleccion eclectica de reflexiones sobre nuestra relacion con el tiempo.The TimesUna delicia. Gloriosamente divertido.Daily Express Simon Garfield es el mejor guia para acompañarnos en este viaje por el tiempo.Daniel Pink, autor de Drive Garfield es un gran contador de historias.Independent on Sunday Garfield tiene un gran talento para deleitar a sus lectores y contagiarlos con su entusiasmo por las cuestiones mas misteriosas de la vida.The Times Simon Garfield, uno de los mas exitosos autores de este tipo de libros divertidos, curiosos, disparatados y a la vez eruditos, que pretenden agotar un tema sin renunciar a hacernos reir ni a explorar el lado jocoso de la realidad. Y he vuelto a sentir la misma sensacion que me domina cada vez que caigo en uno de estos ensayos: envidia. Porque forman un genero abundante lleno de maestros en la tradicion anglosajona, pero practicamente no existen en la española.Revista para leer, Sergio del Molino El libro esta deliciosamente escrito, esta jalonado de curiosidades bien hiladas e integradas en su contexto historico, y siempre da la impresion de que el saber enciclopedico del autor se exhibe organicamente, nada de un dato detras de otro al estilo de una aburrida y sosa enciclopedia por tomos.Sergio Parra, Xataka Ciencia