While I had done production work on other books, nothing was remotely as challenging as the creation (with coauthor Paul Horsted) of Exploring with Custer, a comprehensive study of the 1874 Black Hills Expedition.
I designed the first half to serve two functions at once. Excerpts from journals, reports and newspaper accounts tell the dramatic story, each chapter devoted to a single day. For those who want to follow the trail in person, sections of the 1874 map are included along with modern-day topographic maps and arrows that define the route.
The topographic maps, in turn, are marked with GPS points used in the directions (set apart in blue boxes) and also to locate the sites of historic photos presented in the second half of the book.
This experience with rendering complex layers of text, maps and graphics can serve you well in preparing your own publication.
