Oh, Canada: a nation of hockey players, trailer park boys, and doughnut shop habitues; a nation that can claim Marshall McLuhan, Pamela Anderson, and Mr Dressup as among their own. Canada is one complex country all right, and what better way to document its character than an atlas of Canadian place names as compiled by Geist, the magazine of Canadian ideas and culture?

This offbeat yet erudite collection of full-colour maps--many (but not all) of which have appeared in the magazine since 1995--includes a wide range of clearly Canadian subject matter from all points far and wide. The Meat Map of Canada features T-Bone Glacier, Yukon, Pork and Bean Point, Manitoba, and Burgerville, Ontario; the Angst Map of Canada locates Doom Mountain, BC, Dismal Creek, Alberta, and Port Disappointment, Newfoundland; and the Money Map of Canada lists Success, Saskatchewan, Silver Lake, Ontario, and Lac Spendet, Quebec.

Each map is accompanied by the stories behind specific place names as well as fast and furious Canadian facts and trivia. The net result is a tongue-in-cheek snapshot of the essential Canadian character, in all its quirky glory.

Other map subjects include: Apocalypse; Art; Atwood (Margaret); Automotive; Beer; Body Parts; Condiments; Doughnuts; Erotica; Gay and Lesbian; Hockey; International; Kitchen Implements; Literary; Loudmouths; Malls; Menstrual; Pets; Retail; Sartorial; and World's Largest.

With an introduction by Geist editor Stephen Osborne.

Melissa Edwards is a writer and a former associate editor of Geist; she has been involved in the creation of the Geist maps since 1999. She lives in Vancouver.

Melissa Edwards' profile page

Stephen Osborne was born in Pangnirtung in 1947. In 2004 he was a recipient of the CBC Literary Award, the Vancouver Arts Award for Writing and Publishing, and the National Magazine Foundation Special Achievement Award. He won the first Event Creative Non-fiction Prize, and is an award-winning columnist for Geist magazine, where many of the pieces in Ice & Fire got their start. He is the founder of Arsenal Pulp Press and editor and founder of Geist magazine. His work has appeared in numerous periodicals, and the title story in his collection was translated into Inuktitut and appeared in Inuktitut magazine.

Stephen Osborne's profile page

I love maps, and Geist has come up with a sure winner in its nutty, irreverent map series. Canada is presented in various ways: the Gay Map, the CBC Map, the Map of Heaven and Hell, the Map of Nicknames, and my favorite--the Impolite Map, closely followed by the Sartorial Map, with place names such as Mitten Lake, Cuff Tickle, Sock Point and Bloomers. Edwards points out in her introduction that the place names are real--and for map and history lovers, this book is a treat. It's funny and educational. What more do you want?
-The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun

If you've ever read the lit-mag Geist you'll know that Melissa Edwards maps - which group this country's quirky place names in erotic, sartorial, gastronomic and other themes - are fresh and witty, in the manner of Harper's index.
-The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun

The atlas is a fascinating collection ... typical of our own nationally distinctive obsession for defining ourselves, they include a wide range of uniquely Canadian subject matter.... Memorize the book's content and at your next barbecue party it should make you truly obnoxious at Trivial Pursuit games. In fact, come to think of it. There's even a map of board games.
-City Food

City Food

The atlas also has a number of fun appendices, including Demonyms (names that describe the inhabitants of a place). I had no idea residents of Moose Jaw were called Moose Javians or residents of Ucluelet were called Ucluelilies. So what do you call someone who lives in Surrey? A Surrealist.
-Read This! Blog with Peter Darbyshire, The Province

Read This! Blog

Trivia buffs across this Great Land of Ours, fellow Canuckleheads, cartographic junkies, fans of oddball nomenclature, rejoice! The Geist Atlas of Canada has arrived. Addictive and endlessly fascinating, it's the book equivalent of cashews. Try to read just one page. I dare you! I double dare you.
-Will Ferguson

Will Ferguson

The Geist Atlas of Canada could well say more about Canadians and our collective culture than a library full of Pierre Berton books.
-Canadian Book Review Annual

Canadian Book Review Annual

One of the season's most remarkable books. The Geist Atlas of Canada is filled with astonishingly detailed (and just plain astonishing) maps.
-Brian Bethune, Maclean's

Maclean's Magazine

Ever dreamed of living in Cannes, Paris or perhaps the Canary Islands? You could, and you don't even need a passport, because they're local spots too, as readers discover in one of Geist magazine's most popular features--a map of Canada, now packaged as a book. Themed Canadian place names ingeniously connect some of the country's more obscure locations by subject matter. Think: Doughnuts (Boston Bar, BC; Donut Lake, Manitoba), House Pets (Rex, Saskatchewan; Dogpound, Alberta) and many more. Alongside each map are place-specific stories and need-to-know Canadian trivia.
-Western Living Magazine

Western Living

Fascinating oddities fill the pages of the stellar Geist Atlas of Canada: Meat Maps and Other Strange Cartographies, where readers will encounter The Spooky Map of Canada, The Retail Map of Canada and even The Gay Map of Canada. This is the perfect gift for the Canadianaphile in your life.
-Calgary Herald

Calgary Herald