“the map they are using does not indicate the village of Orce, how very inconsiderate on the part of the cartographers, I’ll bet they didn’t forget to indicate their own hometowns, in future they should remember how vexing it is for someone to check out his birthplace on a map only to find a blank space, this has given rise to the gravest of problems for those trying to establish personal and national identities.”

“every man has a map in his heart of his own country and that the heart will never allow you to forget this map. (p. 18)”

“To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.”

“In coming to Alaska, McCandless yearned to wander uncharted country, to find a blank spot on the map. In 1992, however, there were no more blank spots on the map—-not in Alaska, not anywhere. But Chris, with his idiosyncratic logic, came up with an elegant solution to this dilemma: He simply got rid of the map. In his own mind, if nowhere else, the terra would thereby remain incognita.”

“Everyone had memorized a chant of names and villages along footpaths in every direction. This was a very useful map.”

“How satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement - no matter how temporary.”