NEWSLETTER NO. 1 OF 2008
AXIS OF EVIL MAPPING NEWSLETTER # 1 January, 2008
The Axis of Evil Mapping Newsletter is released irregularly. Any opinions expressed are strictly those of myself and are not intended to provoke anything more than the intellect.
INTRODUCTION
Belated New Year’s greetings to you. Lan and I were in Hanoi, Vietnam, over the holiday season, attending our daughter’s wedding, meeting with business associates, and researching the mountainous northwestern remote regions of Vietnam by driving for days along the Chinese border along some pretty bad roads. We had our typical adventures, such as driving through the same pass used by the Viet Minh to reach Dien Bien Phu on a road that is in just as bad shape as it must have been half a century ago. Lan’s father won two medals for valour at that battle where Indochina won its independence from French colonial rule in 1954. He’s 84 now but enjoyed the trip. The battlefield is still in place as a memorial, but not well sign-posted.
We are pleased to introduce 2008 with a wealth of brand new titles, as evidenced below. We have 45 new titles planned for this year, as well as 40 updates, so, as always, ITMB will have a busy year ahead. We will also be moving, gradually, into new premises and have decided to change direction a bit in the process by reducing our emphasis on retailing and distributing to concentrate more of our energy on publishing and marketing.
ITMB NEW TITLES RELEASED THIS MONTH: January, 2008
Athens, Greece, ITM City Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:9,000 ISBN 9781553416036 $10.95cdn/us, E7.95/5.99GBP – The capital of Greece is one of the oldest and most historic cities in the world. ITMB has produced what I would consider to be a very clean and easy to use map of the central area of Athens, showing the main touristic sites, hotels, transit lines, and public buildings. Major streets are bilingually-named, with smaller streets shown in Greek, as they would be sign-posted that way. This map is printed on durable ITM waterproof paper - AVAILABLE.
Borneo/Kalimantan Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:1,130,000 ISBN 9781553410652 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP - The Island of Borneo is shared by three countries: Malaysia and Brunei have the northern portion, with the balance forming Kalimantan Province of Indonesia. This double-sided map shows both northern and southern portions to good advantage; printed on paper - AVAILABLE.
Buenos Aires/Northern Argentina Travel Reference Map 3rd Ed. 2008 1:12,500/1:2,200,000 ISBN 9781553416203 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP – ITMB has re-worked the information on South America’s popular travel destination to include extra hotels, extensions to rapid transit lines, and we have changed the colours to make the map more readable. The BIG change to this edition is to add the northern half of Argentina to the other side, making this map much more useful for visitors planning trips to Salta and Cordoba as well as BA. By chance, most of Uruguay has also been included; printed double-sided, on paper - AVAILABLE.
Chile Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008, waterproof, 1:1,130,000 ISBN 9781553411673 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP – At last! ITMB’s long-awaited map of one of the most important countries in South America has arrived. As Lan says “A map is ready when it’s ready and not a minute sooner”. Kevin Healey and I started mapping the South American continent in 1985 and prepared 18 titles before his untimely death in 1994. We now have 55 titles dedicated to Latin America. Chile is probably the most difficult country in the world to map as a country and retain detail. Lan has developed a sectional approach that not only makes the best use of the page size, but has allowed us to show considerably more detail than any other map in print. The north half of the country is covered on two long panels on one side, and the south on three panels on the other side. We have done our best to portray this complicated country, showing roads and road conditions to be as accurate as possible, with parks, museums, airports, border posts, important touristic sites, and hot springs; printed double-sided on ITM plastic paper, this map is dedicated to the memory of Kevin, who dedicated his life to South America - AVAILABLE.
Croatia Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:325,000 ISBN 9781553411819 $13.95cdn/11.95us/E8.95/6.99GBP - The new country of Croatia has emerged from the failed state of Yugoslavia. ITMB is gradually mapping the entire Balkan Peninsula and this is the second map to emerge (Slovenia being the other). This map shows the whole country, is double-side, and printed on durable plastic paper. The road information is shown in great detail, with new motorways under construction being shown clearly. Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast region is covered particularly well.- AVAILABLE
Guatemala Travel Reference Map 6th Ed. 2008 1:470,000 ISBN 9781553412342 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP – This is the latest update of one of our most popular titles. Guatemala has emerged as a major touristic destination, and this detailed map shows touristic sites, historic towns, and remote roads to good advantage. Insets of Guatemala City and of Antigua are included; printed double-sided on durable ITM plastic paper; AVAILABLE.
Gulf Islands/Nanaimo and Islands (BC) Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 ISBN 9781553418580 $14.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP – This is completely new artwork and a new approach to ITMB’s mapping of the islands in the Gulf of Georgia, between the mainland and Vancouver Island. This double-sided map incorporates two NTS topographical maps into its artwork, with points of interest, hiking trails, boat launching spots, and B&Bs included. It also covers a wider area than previously, so we have decided to call this map a 1st Edition; printed on durable ITM plastic paper - AVAILABLE.
Guernsey Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:12,500 ISBN 9781553415961 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP – Just when you thought ITMB couldn’t get more bizarre, out pops Guernsey! Well, why not. The Bailiwick of Guernsey, along with the feudal holding of Sark, constitutes one of the world’s most enduring political entities. It was brought to England in 1066 by the invading Duke of Normandy, and is still the personal property of the reigning British monarch almost a thousand years later. More importantly, it is NOT part of the UK, is internally self-governing, has its own stamps and coins, and is NOT mapped by Ordnance Survey. It is also NOT a member of the EU, but it is a part of Great Britain, thanks to the Queen. It is also an extremely popular travel destination – exotic, kinky, more English than England, and fiercely proud of its silly idiosyncrasies. This is a beautifully prepared and detailed map of the island, its main town of St. Peter’s Port, and of the adjacent islands of Alderney, Sark, and Herm; altogether, a wonderful map of a luverley place to visit and absolutely unique – AVAILABLE.
Jersey Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:12,000 ISBN 9781553415947 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP – A year ago, Lan and I visited this island, accompanied by Jiri Navratil of ITM Prague. We were shocked at the paucity of maps available for visitors. We were very fortunate to arrange with Dave Moran to transform his lovely wall map of the island into a beautiful double-sided map of the bailiwick on one side and St. Heliers (and small villages) on the other. This is truly a great map and would be strongly recommended to anyone planning to visit Jersey; printed on paper as a companion map to Guernsey/Sark and AVAILABLE.
Mexico ITM Travel Road Atlas 1st Ed. 2008 1:1,000,000 ISBN 9781553410997 $19.95cdn/us, E14.95/9.95GBP This is truly a first for ITMB – a road atlas – and what better travel destination to release than ever-popular Mexico! At 1:1M scale, a book is the best way to portray a country as diverse as this one, and this Travel Atlas, with its glossy cover, 111 pages of detailed maps and 28 page place names index, makes this book the first-ever non-locally-produced travel road atlas of Mexico. Being a “book” of this thickness, it is not subject to provincial tax, which should help sales in Canada. Covering ALL of Mexico in great detail should help sales in the huge American market. Presenting an important touristic destination in a convenient and easy-to-carry booklet (6”x8.5” or 140mmx215mm) should appeal to the ‘international’ trade. The atlas is in full colour, detailed, with distances between communities clearly shown; with particularly interesting towns highlighted in colour, hotels and gas stations noted in smaller urban areas; parks and nature reserves, hot springs, waterfalls, camping sites, museums, beaches – the listing of attractions is superb. Lan has been slaving over this project for months; it has been a huge investment of time and effort by a dozen cartographers in different parts of the world, but it has resulted in something very unique. I hope that you will agree - AVAILABLE.
Mexico: Sonora & Chihuahua States Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:1,000,000 ISBN 9781553415916 $12.95cdn/us, E8.95/6.99GBP - This is the latest segment of Mexico justifying an ITMB map. The Border States between the USA and Mexico are of significant economic and travel importance, being some of the most traversed border crossings in the world. Touristicly, northwestern Mexico appeals to desert lovers, with resort towns along the coast and arid ranch areas inland. The rail trip through the Copper Canyon is one of Mexico’s highlights and, yes, the hairless miniature shivering dog actually originates from Chihuahua. Printed single-sided on paper; AVAILABLE
Sunshine Coast (BC) Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:250,000 ISBN 9781553418740 $8.95cdn/us, E7.99/5.99GBP – For those of you not from British Columbia, the Sunshine Coast is the coastal area immediately west and north of Vancouver, including Howe Sound, Gibson’s, the Sechelt coast, and the Powell River area. This interesting corner of BC is only available by ferry. The map includes the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler, the northern Gulf Islands, Bute Inlet, the Homathko Icefield, and the wilderness kayaking adventures of Jervis Inlet. Gibson’s is almost a suburb of Vancouver, being a relaxing ferry trip away, and Sechelt is a bustling coastal community. This is an exciting recreational map of a part of BC much-visited by locals and now mapped for visitors; printed on paper, single-sided - AVAILABLE.
ITMB TITLES PERMANENTLY OUT OF PRINT
With regret, ITMB wishes to announce that our map of the Falkland Islands has reached the end of its print run and has been discontinued. Ordnance Survey (UK) objected strenuously to this map’s release by ITMB and only let us sell out the print run reluctantly. Sales of this title are too low for us to justify investing in brand new artwork at this time.
We have also depleted the paper version of our popular Costa Rica map to close to zero, so we now have two instead of three versions of CR. Orders for the paper version will be offered the hard-covered paper version until all the remaining inventory of that version is used up. We are considering printing a paper version for sale in Costa Rica, but this will depend upon on-going demand.
ITMB TITLES: WORK IN PROGRESS (much better than last month)
Andes is at press and expected in March. This title covers all of western South America.
Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch and North Island NZ is a new ITMB city title currently at press. We’re expecting to release this title in late January. It also includes a detailed map of the country’s North Island.
Bowron Lakes Canoe Route (BC) is now being prepared, for probable release in April, 2008.
Buenos Aires/Northern Argentina is essentially an updated city map of BA, with a detailed map of the portion of Argentina closest to the city filling the second side of the paper. This map is at press and expected in late January.
Chile is at press, finally; and expected in our warehouse in late January!
France is almost out of stock. A new map has been arranged, but it will not be ready until April.
Hue/Danang and Central Vietnam is at final editorial checking stage. No ETA is available at the moment.
India South and Northeast is approaching completion; no ETA is yet available.
India North and Northwest is approaching completion, but no ETA is available yet.
Kolkata/Calcutta, and Northeastern India, is close to completion; but no ETA is yet available for this important title.
Las Vegas, Nevada, is under development; no ETA is available at this time.
Manning Park/Skagit is the latest BC recreational title being prepared. It should be available in late March.
Patagonia is out of stock. An updated edition has been prepared and is expected to be available again in February.
Somalia is close to running out of copies. A new edition is being prepared.
South America has been printed and shipped and is expected in February – FINALLY!!!
South America Wall Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:5,000,000 ISBN 978155341 is a new venture for us. This huge map will be marketed on our behalf by Craenen Distribution throughout Europe and by ITMB in North America. The wall map will be available in a paper format, a laminated format, and with magnetic hanging strips, all in tubes. It should be ready for sale in Europe by mid-December and by mid-January in America.
Taiwan is now out of stock and in the process of updating for a new edition in March.
Vienna, Austria, is at final editorial checking stage No completion date is available yet, but I’ll predict February.
Wells Gray Region (BC) is also at press. Wells Gray Park is about the size of Belgium/Luxembourg or Prince Edward Island. It is a lovely wilderness area with lots of recreational opportunities. This double-sided topographic map has been enhanced by adding all the recreational activities we can find, and is scheduled for release in the spring as part of our Great Parks of Canada series. Bowron Lakes, Manning, Kootenay, Yoho, and Strathcona are also planned.
THIS MONTH’S SHAKE YOUR HEADS STORIES
My first news report involves four habitual teen-aged car thieves who had to appear for a court-ordered counseling session in Winnipeg recently. It was cold, so they stole a car to drive to the courthouse - for a discussion group session trying to get through to them that it is wrong to steal other peoples’ cars. They were arrested by police who found the stolen car parked outside the adjoining building – the police station. Duh!
Police in Orem, Utah, were shaking their heads over a five-year-old girl who was reported missing by her distraught mother. Apparently, the charmer was anxious to get to school 13 kilometers away in another town, so tried her hand at hitch-hiking while her mother was getting ready to leave. How a five-yr-old would even know about such activity amazes me but the screamingly incredible part of this tale is that some idiot actually picked her up and drove her all the way to this other city and dropped her off at her school. When questioned, the little girl clammed up and wouldn’t say anything, but some adult needs a good lecture on what constitutes proper behaviour.
A NOT AT ALL FUNNY STORY
The United Nations has now estimated that the on-going war in the Congo has killed more than five million people. The Rwanda massacres, Darfur, several Ethiopian famines, Kosovo, and the Serbian atrocities in the early 90s pale into insignificance in comparison, but we hear very little about this terrible tragedy. Why? This is the most extensive ‘killing ground’ since World War II, far worse than the Vietnam War, Kampuchea, or Korea. Either the figures are incredibly inflated or we are incredibly blind and unfeeling about a huge tragedy that the world is choosing to ignore.
PROJECTS FOR ITMB TO DO IN 2008
Each year, distributors and retailers press us for an advance listing of titles we expect to publish during the year. Each year, I have to say the same thing – we don’t know. We start projects all the time; at any given point we will have up to 50 projects moving forward. Some come to fruition quickly; others rest on back shelves for years until sufficient information becomes available to complete them. Our current priority is to complete some of the projects that have been moving forward slowly over the past year. This includes Andes, Brisbane, Chad, China’s southeastern provinces, Cracow, France, India’s northeastern states, Italy’s northeastern region, Jakarta, Java, Kolkata/Calcutta, Las Vegas, Manila, Orlando and Central Florida, Miami and Region, Sicily, the Strathcona Plateau of BC’s Vancouver Island, Tianjin, Turkey, and USA West. How many of these titles will be completed in 2008? I don’t know; nor do I know which titles will need updates during the year.
Production depends on available resources of staff, information, and time. Money, of course, makes everything practical and, for ITMB, which operates as a debt-free business, our ability to expand is a direct result of sales. If people like yourself don’t order and/or pay for maps ordered from us, we don’t have enough money to keep churning out new editions and new titles. This is a given. Assuming that we can sustain our current level of sales, we can afford prepare and release between 65 and 75 titles in 2008. Updating and printing new editions of existing titles always takes priority over new titles, both from a staff usage perspective and from a financial perspective. I don’t think many distributors would be pleased to see Costa Rica or Belize out of stock for any length of time. We now have more than 300 titles in print, with five more at press and two more about to be sent to the printer. Another dozen titles are actively underway.
As always, we try and publish a balance of titles from around the world each year: a couple of South American titles, something from the Caribbean, two or three European titles, improved coverage of Africa etc. Please keep in mind that some of our supposedly ‘updated’ maps (Antarctica, for example) are actually completely new maps, and our publishing activity is fairly impressive. I will endeavour to keep everyone up to date with progress via the Axis newsletter, but our new titles for 2008 remains as much a mystery to Lan and myself as it is to you. No map will come out until it is ready – no matter how long that takes.
FORTHCOMING ITMB EVENTS
IMTA Portugal, in Cacais, near Lisbon, February 28/29 - March 1st, 2008 – We’re not only attending, but will be researching the Azores Islands during our visit. Can another ITM map be in our future??? I’ll never tell.
Rhodesia Study Circle 60th Anniversary Convention, Royal Leamington Spa, England – we’ll be there! And map people world-wide will be asking the what? Where? Why? It’s a secret. Can’t tell or I’d have to cull you.
London Book Fair, Earl’s Court, - April 14-16 – we have our stand booked already. This will be a bigger and better organized show than last year, and we’re already looking forward to it. Apparently, Lan has us booked into arriving in London via Tunisia. I don’t even ask why she does these things anymore; I’m just along for the ride.
IMTA Board Meeting – May 28-29, somewhere in the LA area. We’ll be driving from Vancouver, so don’t care where we meet. Linda says TBA. I guarantee that we’ll find a less expensive place to stay than the IMTA site!
BookExpo USA, Los Angeles May 30-June 1 – We will be at Stand 2755 with a big stand. Since we’ll be driving from Vancouver, we’ll have a wider selection of maps to show off (and we’ll find an inexpensive place to stay).
IMTA World Mapping Conference “Mapping the Future” – Vancouver, Canada at the famous Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver September 14-16, 2008, with Alaska cruises and RV rentals a possibility. This convention promises to be one of the most important, largest, and most exciting gatherings of the mapping industry in years! It’s SO big, even Nicolson Maps of Scotland plan on attending, and they NEVER spend a dime! Even Guenther Nelles might break down and attend, if he can persuade his boss (wife) to come along. You should come too. Nine exhibitors have signed up already, which is extraordinary, considering that prices haven’t been established yet. I’ll have lots more info in future newsletters.
ITMB TITLES PUBLISHED IN DECEMBER, 2007
Antarctica Travel Reference Map 4th Ed. 2008 1:8,000,000 ISBN 9781553410140 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – This is actually brand new artwork, replacing the partly-digital version with new digitized line work. It looks similar to our earlier editions; its real value will be in tracking changes to the continent as the ice cover gradually melts. The map is printed single-side, on paper; AVAILABLE.
Central America Travel Reference Map 7th Ed. 2008 1:1,100,000 ISBN 9781553410645 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – We have added a LOT of new information to this map. Apart from that, this is an updated map with a new cover and a new ISBN. It is printed double-side on paper; AVAILABLE.
Gibraltar Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:80,000/1:10,000 for Gib ISBN 9781553415954 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – We are always pleased to announce the release of a new title. The Straits of Gibraltar, as this map should be named is historically significant as the crossing point between Europe and North Africa and, more recently, as the guardian of the Mediterranean. It is now moving into a new era – tourism. The city/colony of Gibraltar itself is well worth a visit, and a detailed map is provided. The Spanish city/colony on the North African coast is equally interesting and is also shown, as is Tangier and a good stretch of the Moroccan north coast. This map is printed single-sided, on paper; AVAILABLE.
Guangzhou (China) ITM City Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:15,000 ISBN 9781553416364 $10.95us/cdn E7.95 5.99GBP – We are pleased to announce the release of our fourth city map for China. Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, is one of the largest cities of southern China, located on the Pearl River, north of Hong Kong. Traditionally more easy-going than Beijing, Guangzhou is the ancestral home of the vast majority of the Han-dialect people. I first visited the city in 1982, when it was illegal for individuals to enter China. The city has completely changed since those days. As far as I know, this is the only map of the city published outside of China. It shows historic Shamian Island, the new subway lines under construction, the railway stations, and new toll expressway, shopping districts, the huge Sun Yat Sen complex, and the nearby White Cloud Mountain Resort; single-sided, paper, AVAILABLE.
South America Wall Map due mid-December in Europe, mid-January in America.
Yucatan Peninsula Travel Reference Map 9th Ed. 2008 waterproof 1:500,000 ISBN 9781553410638 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – This is our most recent version of a perennial favourite; seems hard to believe that we are releasing our ninth edition. Apart from a new cover and US price, the colours of the map have been softened to make the map easier to read, road information has been updated, and new touristic information has been added. The map is printed double-sided, on durable ITM waterproof paper; AVAILABLE.