About the book: 2022 / Navigation skills are deeply rooted in our biology. The ability to find their way over long distances in prehistoric times gave Homo sapiens an evolutionary advantage, allowing them to explore the most remote corners of the planet. The ability to navigate is closely related to other important cognitive functions such as abstract thinking, imagination and memory. Michael Bond summarizes the latest research in psychology, neurobiology, ethology and anthropology and provides examples from the experiences of people whose profession or occupation is somehow related to navigation - orienteers, pilots, search and rescue volunteers, cartographers, urban planners and others . The result is a fascinating dive into the topic of human navigation in the natural and built environment, with a particular emphasis on examining the neurobiological underpinnings of this critical skill. “The fact that we don’t get lost all that often is something of a miracle. The world around us is infinitely complex, and yet most of us can navigate it. We are able to walk along unfamiliar streets, adhering to a certain direction, take shortcuts by creating new routes, and after many years remember places where we have been only once. These are amazing achievements. One of the goals of this book is to explain how we do this: how our brains create cognitive maps that help us navigate even in unfamiliar places. But more importantly, the book talks about our relationship with the world, about how understanding the world around us affects psychology and behavior." (Michael Bond)