This is a superb collection of maps documenting the entire history of the city of Toronto. Starting with a First Nation map drawn on birchbark and the first European map of the area, the Huron Map drawn by a French explorer in 1641 to a contemporary satellite image, carefully researched maps portray the history of the city in a uniquely visual way. Although most maps speak to themselves, they are accompanied by just the right amount of text to place them into context. The author is also thankfully generous in his definition of what a map is, allowing him to use birds eye views, drawings and photographs to better illustrate the transformation of the city.

New to the city myself (and, admittedly, rather a map geek too), I have learned a great deal just by browsing this excellent book. Names, geographical features, road layouts make much more sense to me now that I learned how they came to be. For example, I realized that a street in my neighborhood called "Indian Road" is so named because it follows an ancient path used by the Mississauga Nation long before the first settlers came to the shores of Lake Ontario. As the settlement, then the city grew, it spread its network of roads around this ancient path, connecting modern urban design with age-old wisdom. It's easy to forget how much a city grows organically. Studying historical maps is a great way to bring that fact back to life. ( )