This was a fun book to peruse. It is composed of maps of various parts of the world with a number of illustrations whowing a curious factoid about a country or some community. These are frequently cute, or irreverent, or obscure, but some are quite significant. The China and Japan map shows a Shinkansen train in Japan, but also another lcomotive indicating the first train to cross from North Korea to South Korea in 2007. No high speed trains are illustrated in France, Britain, or Germany, but is shown on the map of Spain. The first electric tram in Belarus (Vitsyebsk) is shown, but early subways (metros) are not shown foor London, Budapest or Boston. I think as a young person I would have enjoyed pouring through this book. ( )