Atlas of the World [Hardcover]

Oxford University Press (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003 | ISBN-10: 0195219864 | ISBN-13: 978-0195219869 | Edition: 11th Pkg

Ten years ago, the first edition of Oxford's Atlas of the World was met with praise for the incredible beauty and accuracy of its maps as well as for its wealth of geographic data, and it only collects more accolades with each edition. The New York Times Book Review called it a "veritable encyclopedia of geographic and demographic information, profusely illustrated with multicolored maps and graphs," and Library Journal exclaimed that the newest edition was "a splendid achievement in geographical reference." The additions and improvements continue with an 11th Edition that boasts several new features. A Glossary of Geographical Terms will be an enormous asset to those unfamiliar with geographical jargon, and still more of the latest statistics will be collected in the colorful Introduction to World Geography section-providing abundant information on global issues such as climate, the greenhouse effect, plate tectonics, agriculture, population and migration, and global conflicts. Reflecting our turbulent and ever-changing planet, the 11th Edition will also highlight several key Regions in the News, keeping the atlas in step with current events. National Parks and Game Reserves have been added worldwide, and the overall precision and clarity of the entire book has been enhanced with redesigned map spreads. Laden with outstanding cartography, a revised Gazetteer of Countries, and nearly 70 sharp maps of the major cities on each continent, the Atlas also bears the distinction of being the only one of its kind that is updated annually to reflect the changing world around us. The recent dissolution of Yugoslavia, changes to provinces in Indonesia, refined name forms in Africa, alterations to administrative areas in Russia and Ethiopia, and dozens of other upgrades make this the most reliable atlas on the market. Providing the finest global coverage available, the Atlas of the World sets the standard for international atlases, living up to its reputation as an "indispensable reference," granted by NBC's Weekend Today Show.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The only world atlas updated annually, the fifteenth edition of Oxford's Atlas of the World offers exceptional value at a reasonable price. Full of crisp, clear cartography, it contains maps of 69 cities and nearly 100 different regions around the globe as well as striking satellite views of the Earth's surface.

Take a Look at the Stunning Illustrations in The Atlas of the World
(Click on images to enlarge)

Topography of Europe

Topography of Africa

Topography of Southeast Asia

The landmass Pangea and today's continents. Learn more about continental drift

A diagram of faultlines in the earth's crust. Learn more about earthquakes

---

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The latest revision of Oxford's highly acclaimed Atlas of the World is as up-to-date as can be in the post-September 11 world. "Site of former World Trade Center" says one caption on an updated map of lower Manhattan- and Baghdad has been added to the 67 maps of major cities around the world, including Moscow, Lisbon and Jerusalem. Statistics on the U.S. have been updated from the 2000 Census, and a new Gazetteer of Nations offers easy reference. But the heart, and strength, of this atlas remains the hundreds of colorful, beautifully detailed maps, conveying not only topographical features but also disputed boundaries, railways and principal roads. This is an indispensable reference for students as well as anyone interested in the state of the world, from population statistics to the environment and our impact on it. It will provide hours of happy, fascinating browsing.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (T); 11th Pkg edition (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195219864
• ISBN-13: 978-0195219869
• Product Dimensions: 14.7 x 11.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the gold standard - but the best value for money, November 11, 2005

By 

Boris Bangemann "boyse" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atlas of the World, 12th Edition (Hardcover)

This is the best atlas you can get in this price category. The gold standard of world atlases - The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World - will cost you three times as much as this one.

The features of the Oxford University Press's "Atlas of the World" are quite similar to the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World. It has the same user-friendly overview over the maps contained in the atlas ("Key to the World/European Map Pages") on the insides of the front and back hardcover. And it has the same comprehensive index of names in the back, featuring not only the location of a certain place on the grid of a map, but also the place's longitude and latitude. As a bonus, there are 16 pages with stunning satellite pictures of - among others - cities like Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Sydney and Naples with Mount Vesuvius.

The main difference is the size of the two atlases: The Times Atlas is 19 by 13.3 inches, the Oxford Atlas is 15 by 11.3 inches. The bigger-sized maps of the Times Atlas allow greater detail.

If you still have small kids in the house who love to thumb through your books, this atlas will be your best choice. In its price category it is absolutely a 5-star book.

344 of 363 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE GOLD STANDARD, October 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Atlas of the World, 10th Edition (Hardcover)

In choosing a world atlas for my family, I looked at all that were available: from Oxford, National Geographic, Rand McNally, Hammond, DK, and other publishers. This new edition of the Oxford
Atlas of the World is clearly the gold standard. Just published, it is of course the most up-to-date atlas available. More importantly, it is accurate and detailed, exquisitely produced (a joy to look at)and very readable. Unlike other atlases, for example, the maps do not run into the gutters. The introductory section containing informational maps and data (country population, income, products,languages, etc.) and stunning satellite photos is virtually a book in itself and worth the price of admission. And for all that one gets, the price is more than reasonable. This is more than a reference book--it's a good read. I highly recommend it.

241 of 253 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ultimately disappointing, January 3, 2004

By 

R. Fusillo (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atlas of the World (Hardcover)

At first glance this is a beautiful, almost spectacular, book. Lots of color, dramatic aerial photos of the earth, and a large section devoted to topics ranging from the earth's history to modern population shifts.
But as a reference book it falls short. There are a lot of maps, but there is really less there than meets the first look: a lot of space is taken up with a narrowing down of detail - one map shows the hemisphere, then another an area of the hemisphere, then another a detail, of sorts, of the area. And often a detail of the detail. The cost to the reader is a lot of redundancy, and that very few countries get a full, detailed, page of their own. And many of the larger maps, especially, are quietly inaccurate. Towns are shown in the wrong places, major towns are missing at the expense of smaller ones. For a representative example: on map number 147, Statesboro, Georgia, which is 23 miles north of the I-16 expressway, is shown south of it; one of the largest cities in the hundred miles north of Atlanta, Marietta, is not there at all, but Roswell, 13 miles away, is shown at Marietta's location. Similar problems abound in other places.
As a geographical reference it lacks any claim to completeness: hundreds of towns that are shown and indexed in my forty year old Encyclopedia Britannica World Atlas are not in the new Oxford at all. There are over 84,000 listings in the old Britannica, Oxford claims 75,000, but quite a few are duplicates, because the same city appears on several of the various sized maps. Elkhart, Grapeland, Latexo, and scores and scores of other Texas towns that made it into the Britannica forty years when they were much smaller, are nowhere to be found in the new Oxford. They may be comparatively small towns, but a good atlas should show such things: I don't need an expensive coffee table book to find Dallas three times. And even when a town makes it, it gets short shrift: the Britannica index told us the county, state, and population of Creede, Colorado; the Oxford lists it merely as Creede, U.S.A.
Unfortunately, the Britannica appears to be out of print, but if you have one, don't replace it with the splashy Oxford, even tho it does have pretty pictures of the earth from outer space.