Customer Reviews

The 21st Century World Atlas

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some world atlases breathe a sense of grandeur that makes you feel confident in its quality. This one is not one of them. This very heavy book exhibits a wide variety of geographical topics and razor-sharp maps of each country in this world, but they should have consulted a real visual artist; perhaps then this might truly have been a classic.

I like the way this atlas is organised into 5 main sections, Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Small scale maps overview each section, followed by larger scale maps showing each country separately. One problem with the way this atlas has approached this treatment is that small countries are quite large scale, but large countries are very small scale. The obvious solution would be to divide large counties into their states or provinces, which are generally about the same size as small/medium sized countries in Africa/Europe/Asia, and would show useful detail. Each state in the USA, each province in China, each state in Australia, needs its own map in order to show useful detail; illustrating these large countries on a double page spread is simply inadequate. Even many smaller countries would be much clearer if they were split into logical regional maps. Another problem is that apart from the overview maps introducing each section, the individual country map scales are completely arbitrary. It is not the case that small map scales have been chosen to fit the map to the page; frequently the map area occupies a fraction of the available space on the page. There is plenty of space for more maps; there are over 200 pages of obscure statistical information before the main map part of this atlas begins.

The Atlas is large and filled with decorative colorful pages. High land is represented using browns and low land is shown in greens. Deserts often appear green while fertile valleys at higher elevations are browned. Major roadways are depicted using double thick parallel blue lines. Less important roadways are represented using a bright vibrating orange color.

Various thematic maps and information are presented randomly for each country. There is an abundance of maps regarding geological formations. Nearly every country has its own charts showing male verse female statistics for literacy and life expectancy. There is one extra small detailed population map of the world.

The atlas contains many global thematic maps. Topics such as animal hides, honey, and feldspar are well documented; air travel and telecommunications are not. Thematic maps often use bubbles over each country to represent its proportion. These bubbles are not proportional in size to the numbers they represent. A bubble representing 1000 is less than 10 times larger than a bubble representing 100. This makes all countries look more equal than they are. Similar care is given to many other statistical presentations.

Some people are just fascinated by maps. Whether it is the exotic names or bright colors, or information about the economies and cultures of the world, atlases are a trove of information. As an atlas, this book aims high, but misses somewhat.

This is less an atlas, and more a very well illustrated geographic almanac. 240 pages detail mineral production, economic growth, and agriculture. Each continent gets several maps - physical, political, and bathymetric with various views - each with such detail that it makes the draw drop.

The atlas is not without flaws. Each country is given a small area with a small political map, and some information about the country's economy and geographic make up. Unfortunately, these political maps do not show enough detail to be useful. They are too small, and leave out important features. Some of the maps are hard to follow, especially those with many overlapping iconic symbols of various sizes.

This is not an American made product, and so America is treated at equal par with all of the other countries. This is both good and bad. You will not find detailed political maps of the states or regions of the US. Then again, you can pick up a road atlas for $10. The US is not the center of everybody's world.

I found this atlas at a competitor's discount rack for $25. It was not a fluke - I have seen it since at this price. For that price, it is a great deal. For $125, there are probably better options.

In my view, when you buy a reference book, buy one that will last for a long time. This is especially true with maps. Since the world will not change anytime soon, a good map can be used for a long time. This Atlas, produced on special cloth(?) paper, has a nice texture and will definetly last. It gives four or five different maps of the same region, including political and satellite images. While the political maps, no doubt, will change, the satellite images will be good forever.

As a bonus it has about 200 pages of information describing the natural and artifiical resources of the world. Time and again I have found myself referring to these pages as each country is mentioned in the news. I like having this extra information and I love having these maps. My only complaint, which is small, is that the book is so big. It doesn't fit in my bookshelf or any of the normal places I would store a book. If you are tight on space, or if you are low on mony, you may not want to purchase this one. Otherwise, for an Atlas, this is a great job.

I never knew geography and cartography could be displayed so beautifully. This atlas is one of the best books I have ever seen. Not only do we get details of the physical land of every country, but every other piece of information as well, from transportation method to GNP's, and it's all there in easy to understand formats. It's not only an educational tool, it's an entertaining and fascinating introduction to our world.

There is no doubt that the initial impression this atlas gives is a positive one. The overall appearance is one of quality and the glossy pages, satellite views and computer images all combine to create this appearance of quality and attention to detail.

The introductory pages setting out the arrangement of material in the atlas are clear and well thought out. The use of color throughout the arlas is to be commended. Although there is a strong contrast between the satellite images, DTM's, and reference maps, this does not create a disjointed product, as is sometimes the case. I like the use of the texture for sea areas on physical maps and thematic maps. It does not distract the eye, but helps create the overall interesting effect. The satellite images are certainly quite stunning and differentiating them by using bled-off-pages is effective. The use of vegnettes and colour blends throughout the atlas is a typical trend of much mapping of the 1990s. Although extensively used here, it is generally used appropriately and to good effect.

The concept of treating countries separately, rather than the more traditional atlas approach of maps showing sections of continents has been adopted by several recent atlases and does make for a general, more useful reference work, with the brief descriptions os countries and additional facts being most useful. Thatis, the atlas goes beyond the "where is" use of an atlas.

I think the overall standard of design and cartography is very high. The atlas is very attractive and provides a wealth of interesting and useful maps, images, and information.

Initialy I was very impressed by it's visual presence,however upon closer inspection I discovered some glaring errors and omissions.To list a few. Beginning with page 68"Geology" the plate tetonics map,they have shown the subduction zones ajacent to the spreading zones-wrong! The subduction zones are at the plate margins,the symbol for "folding", a line with triangular "teeth" is used to indicate a subduction zone,the "teeth" are on the over riding plate. Then I looked at a map of a part of the country I have some familuarity with,California and Oregon in the western United States and found even more errors and ommissions.

"the heads" is NOT located near Port Orford Oregon.The map correctly showed the small town of Talent south of Medford,but where is Ashland Oregon? a CITY of over 18,000 people and world famous for it's shakespearian festivle. Also conspicuous by it's absence is Hollywood California and Monterey California,not exactly small unknown towns. I also noticed that while the Azores are shown on the map on page 552,the Azores is not listed at all in the index.

I have not gone over the atlas with a fine tooth comb,but if a causual examination has found so many errors and omissions,how many other omissions and errors are there?

I think they need to do a major re-editing and update of the atlas.For a Atlas claiming to be for the "21st century",and costing $125; they should have done better.

I was extremely impressed with the quality of the satellite photography and the immense amount of data provided. This will undoubtedly be the complete Geographical source for our family for years to come. I was concerned this would be another promotional package but it certainly is anything but. The beautiful colour, the immense amount of information, the wonderful layout are all to be complimented on. This is without doubt one of the most superior atlases available on the market today.