How is it any different than a basic outline?
I kept the more odd stuff out of there like subnodes, links, icons and circular references. Some of those braches goes layers and layers deep.
But one of the things that makes it truly powerful is just the ability to quickly drop thoughts in a semi-organized way and then turn around, pick them up, move them and understand the flow.
I'm actually fairly pleased at how close the book turned out to the map and the pre-planning saved me a ton of work and let me write what I was feeling like without worrying that I was forgetting something.