Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World

Name: Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World
Price: 16.98 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.4 (194 reviews)
Author: M. R. O'Connor

by M. R. O'Connor

Nonfiction Memoir

4.4 (194)

4.4 stars from 194 reviews

368 pages~6.1 hr readPublished by Brilliance AudioPublished 2019-01-01

$16.98Deal26% off peak

Last checked: Jun 3, 2026

Price history: $1.99 – $22.99

While not the biggest discount we've seen for this book, it's still a great deal and we recommend grabbing it before price returns to its normal range.

Price range: $1.99 – $22.99

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Perfect for you if...

You're fascinated by how the brain works and want to understand why GPS is making us forgetful.
You're interested in Indigenous knowledge systems and how traditional skills solve modern problems.
You enjoy narrative nonfiction that weaves together science, travel reporting, and cultural preservation.

Maybe not for you if...

You want a how-to guide for getting better at reading maps yourself.
You're looking for a pure neuroscience textbook without the storytelling.
You prefer books that stay in one place rather than following a reporter across multiple continents.

About this book

In this work of narrative nonfiction, journalist M.R. O'Connor investigates how humans navigate the world, traveling to the Arctic, the Australian bush, and the South Pacific to document navigation traditions and speak with environmental experts working to preserve their knowledge. O'Connor examines the neurological mechanisms underlying spatial orientation in the brain and discusses how cognitive mapping skills affect hippocampal health. She also presents research linking hippocampal atrophy to memory impairment, dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, depression, and PTSD. The book explores how humans have navigated across continents without modern instruments, and connects this capacity for exploration, memory, and storytelling to topophilia—the human attachment to place.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$1.99 – $22.99

Currently on sale at $16.98 — 26% off peak. Price has dropped 14 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 118 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #760K in the Kindle store — a niche title. Climbing the charts — 39% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.4★ from 194 reviews

Gaining approximately 1 new review per month. Rating has remained stable at 4.4 over the tracking period.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $16.98. It typically returns to around $22.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.