Wood (The Power of Maps; former professor of design, North Carolina State U.) views the roles of maps in historical, logical discourse, political, and cultural contexts. He illustrates how maps have been used to support authorities in examples of their roles in knowledge-construction, e.g., a map supporting the desegregation of schools, and a map of Mars reifying a scientific hypothesis. But in "counter-mapping," participatory use of geographical information systems (GIS), map art which critiques maps (e.g., by the Counter-Cartographers Collective), and political applications (Palestine mapped by different parties), maps are used to counter particular interests. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)