whole idea of the map as a representation with that of the map as a system of propositions.’” “The map is not a picture,” Wood and Fels insist in this new book, “It is an argument … everything about a map, from top to bottom, is an argument.” This idea of the map as an argument presented rather than a reality represented extends a more general thesis on the manner in which we “construct” the world through a range of socially-conditioned perspectives, and do so at various scales. A relevant but quite distinct title in this area of work is Wood's 2004 volume, Five Billion Years of Global Change: A History of the Land. Cartographic art More recently, Wood has joined his expertise in cartography with his interest in art and art history. A collage artist and painter, he has created in recent years a bibliography and history of cartographic art; work that from the Dadaist to the present have used maps as a medium for the exposition of cultural and political ideas and ideals. Again, the general thesis is the same as in Wood's other work: images—whether map, art, or artful maps—present a thesis through selection of subject matter self-consciously arranged through a medium's tools of exposition. Conviction In April 1996, Wood pleaded guilty to "crimes against nature" (viz. fellatio) and "taking indecent liberties with a minor", on more than one-hundred and thirty occasions. From 1996 to 1998, he spent 26 months in the North Carolina penal system as a result of his conviction. He is not on any national or regional register of sex offenders and has spoken publicly about his incarceration and the charges that led to it. The urbanist writer and activist Jane Jacobs has wondered in press whether Wood's arrest and incarceration may be one reason why some of his work receives less attention than it deserves. Despite the conviction, his writing and work continued and since his release he has continued to live in Raleigh, NC, while lecturing and working internationally in his field. For example, in 2008 he presented a plenary at the Royal Geographical Society in London. In a 1998 interview with the News and Observer, Wood announced plans for a book based on his prison experience. It was described as planned for publication by the Johns Hopkins University Press. The book is currently scheduled for publication by The Center for American