Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks is Ken's sequel to his 2005 best-seller Brainiac. Much like his previous book, Braniac followed the competitive world of game shows. Jennings offered the same behind-the-scenes look into the world of geography buffs and map geeks. In a world where geography only becomes headlines or a topic of discussion in coffee shops if a new study is released about how bad students are, however, surprisingly there ARE still students and people who simply love it and are thriving in their spot of sight. interest. Some stare at maps endlessly searching for things that most people wouldn't even bother looking at, such as what makes this state like this state or why the population is more or less here. Some want to find and view the rarest maps available; others embrace the future by participating in an activity known as geocaching. Geocaching is when the participant visits special areas with hidden “treasures” using their GPS devices and smartphones. Some people even draw thousands of imaginary maps, highlighting details of the worlds and countries they want to visit. Ken Jennings was a map nerd himself from a young age, you won't be surprised to learn, even sleeping with an old, crumpled atlas on hand. next to the pillow, most children his age cuddled with a trusty blanket, but Jennings did not. As he travels the world he meets people of kindred spirits: map librarians, publishers, geocachers, and the engineers behind Google Maps. Now that technology and geographic unawareness increasingly insult us from space and the earth around us, we will need these people more than ever. Mapheads are the ones who always know exactly where they are and... middle of paper... running through the streets of Hollywood, or brilliant natural perfections like The Degree Confluence Project. Now that we have made our way through the journey of Ken Jennings' incredible book. I feel like it's important for me to try to get you to get more involved in geography. It's a truly fascinating topic and can take you places you never thought you'd be able to visit. If you don't want to leave home, at least buy an atlas, a map or visit Google Earth. You never know what you might discover on your journey. If you don't think maps or an atlas are your thing, you'll never know if you never try. Jennings created a journey that I never would have cared to take if it hadn't been assigned as a class assignment in college, but now I'm so glad I did. Jennings shed a different light on geocaching and map hunting. He made it fun, interesting and overall exciting.