Books like Never lost again by Bill Kilday

Never Lost Again charts the remarkable evolution of mapping technology from its humble beginnings as the cash‑strapped startup Keyhole, founded by Texas entrepreneur John Hanke, to its rise as a global mapping powerhouse. Bill Kilday, who served as Keyhole’s marketing director during its earliest days and later at Google Maps, offers an insider’s perspective on the pivotal moments that shaped the industry. The book details how Keyhole’s innovative approach to geographic information systems attracted a CIA contract that kept the company afloat during the 1990s tech bubble burst. A critical break came with the coverage of the 2003 Iraq invasion, where CNN’s use of Keyhole’s mapping technology catapulted the company into public awareness. Google’s acquisition that same year relaunched the software as Google Maps and Google Earth, dramatically redefining how users interact with geographic data. Kilday closes by looking ahead—exploring emerging map‑based technologies such as virtual reality, driverless vehicles, and location‑based mobile games like Pokémon GO. He argues that these innovations will continue to reshape human experience, illustrating the enduring impact of vision, imagination, and implementation on our understanding of the world.

First publish date: 2018