An exceedingly boring subject, you might think, irreverently. How do you make an exciting book of that? But here we have a brilliant example of the subject of urbanization having life breathed into it. The book is about research into the importance of ‘the route’: the actual process of being ‘on the way’, of ‘going somewhere’. Cast in a clear, watery blue, the book looks rather like a dictionary in the making. Was the colour perhaps a little too prominent? It’s even inside the book, where it has also been used for the pages.
And yet taken as a whole it works, and indeed the clearly delineated structure makes for easy reading. The interaction between the various elements is cleverly done and very functional. The photography too is a success and well chosen, like the other illustrations and the cartography. No attempt is made to avoid breaking taboos to turn the subject into something exciting. The panel were quickly agreed: this is an intelligently made book that well deserves selection.