Customer Reviews

DK Millennium World Atlas: A Portrait of the Earth in the Year 2000

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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This is a superb resource in the DK tradition. Coverage is comprehensive, Juxtaposition of maps with satellite images at the same scale is very effective, and immediately alters one's geographic understanding. The maps are beautifully rendered. My only complaint is that the satellite images don't quite reach the razor sharp resolution and stunning color of National Geographic's Satellite atlas. DK's satellite images seem flatter, with more noticeable pixelization and slightly muddier colors. On balance, though, this book is an excellent value.

Dorling Kindersley have reason to be proud of this release: a truly encyclopedic world atlas, with lots of highly varied and informative thematic content. Delivered in a luxury slipcase plus free wall map and cd-rom, this world atlas is about the largest that is currently available when speaking in terms of length x width x height (and weight!). The atlas is attractively designed and notably targeted towards family use. The 26-page thematic section may not seem large, but that is because most of the thematic content is spread out across the reference map pages, thus turning every reference map into an information sheet about that region, not just a collection of place-names and communication lines. In this atlas, every map is accompanied by a satellite image of the same region on the same scale, with inset maps showing interesting features. This noticably adds to the (uncomfortable) weight of the book. Other than that, this atlas is mostly just a bigger brother of the well-known Dorling Kindersley World Atlas. For example, it contains more or less the same index-gazetteer of place names (somewhat less than 80,000), which is the main disappointing feature of this huge book: competitors of the same size class usually have twice as many places names in the index. Another minor point is that some maps are in landscape orientation, which is awkward when not having the book on a large table. Its heavy weight will discourage people to take it along on holidays, but for home-study, this is without doubt the finest choice available. Each map offers interesting information on a variety of topics and highlights key features of the region accompanied with color photographs - the book contains hundreds of them. Conclusion: if you are looking for a book with many place names, then this is not your choice; but if you want an atlas to find out more about what's in our wonderful world, you certainly won't be disappointed by this fine release - it'll be, without doubt, the largest book in your collection.

I cannot compare with the Times and Geographic atlases since I ordered based on secondhand information, most of it gleaned from a tribe of female warriors and a South American river.

The satellite views are terrific, but it seems like the political maps could be either more legible or more dense. I may be wrong, but the color of the satellite photos does not seem consistent; all of India appears very dry in comparison with, say, the American Midwest.

Sometimes there is overlap between adjacent countries and sometimes not. When it fits, it should be included.

The major problem is lack of coverage of some regions. I am not surprised that heavily populated regions get more space, but why is Tuva (which they call Tyva) shown only on a map of all of Russia? All of Siberia, Kamchatka, everything north of Mongolia is cut off exactly at the border. Richard Feynman made it famous and there are plenty of geographical features. The region deserves at least one separate map. More cross-referencing would help; the tiny inset for the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific map should refer to the Ecuador map.

Tuva or bust.

This atlas concentrates on the physical world rather than on what man has done or is doing. Much of the book is dedicated to mostly green satellite images of the earth. There are few thematic maps and little statistical information. Individual country maps are surrounded with little photographs and some non-probing information laid out in magazine format. The arrangement is beautiful.

This is a beautiful atlas for correlating the natural geography of the land with political features as we know it. The level of detail allows for garnering the big picture of the world without being overwhelmed.

I have only one complaint and it is that the British names are still used for places around the world that are recognized internationally as something other. One example is Lake Turkana in Kenya that is listed as Lake Rudolf. This depicts the imperialistic attitude that the British still hold toward thier former colonies and the utter disregards the new countires have to self rule.

I thoroughly enjoy reading this atlas--it's absolutely amazing. If you're like me and won't be satisfied with some average atlas, spend the few extra bucks on this one--it may be the only atlas you ever need to buy. Totally amazing.