Figure 2.1 is cool. It captures the whimsy and harshness of an unknown land. it says to me “there is a lot of snow, some bears, a walrus up North, and if you found an ice dragon here I would not be surprised.”
Figure 2.2 reminds me of moving to Alaska. At the time we had serious health concerns for my wife and soon to be born son (all are currently well). We were in an area that could have supported, but things got weird. When we made the decision to go through with the move we knew that healthcare would be an issue, but having talked to the doctors here we saw that Alaskans are willing and able to do much more with less. We moved and everything turned out fine.
Figure 2.5 is cool because I grew up in the North-East and my parents act like a trip to DC is some sort of pilgrimage. This map helps to explain why we can’t just pop down to Palmer every weekend.
Figure 2.9 I find interesting because in a way it puts the center of mass for world population towards the center of the map instead of at the margins. The traditional way of splitting the map down the Pacific forces a large portion of the human population out to the margins while emphasizing what is essentially NATO.
related to figure 2.10:
The link below is one that I find informative because it explains how shifting your view of a map can impact your view of the world. This map emphasizes how important strategically Alaska has been for the United States role in the world.