Shortlisted as the Best Irish-Published Book of the Year at the 2013 Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards

A Portrait of Dublin in Maps is a unique piece of work. Most countries produce large, comprehensive national atlases, but no similar atlas has been produced for any major city.

Each map covers a single view of the whole city at a relatively small scale, covering a single theme or subject, so that patterns and interrelationships can be appreciated and the structure and working of the city can be better understood.

The atlas deals with intangible things, such as social class, economic status, politics and religion, and also hidden things, such as the city's geology, drainage, water and electricity supply. It also deals with the past, providing a comprehensible picture of how Dublin developed over time.

The internet provides access to a massive amount of information relating to the city of Dublin, but most of it is diffuse and difficult to locate, handle and compare. By contrast, this atlas contains between its covers a vast array of information which is clear and whose parts are directly comparable because of the standard form and scale of each map and the comprehensive range of themes covered.

This ground-breaking book will delight native Dubliners and visitors to the city alike. Every major city in Europe should have one.