Hammond Compact Peter's World Atlas [Hardcover]

Arno Peters (Author)

Book Description

Series: World Atlas | Publication Date: May 1, 2002

Available for the first time in the US, the Hammond Compact Peters World Atlas is a distinct alternative and enhancement to all other atlases. It is the first atlas ever to depict countries, continents, regions and their relationships to each other according to true land mass. Information reflects current United Nations statistics. Excellent for geography and global studies classes. Features: 43 True Scale topographic country maps that accurately depict relative area. 246 fascinating world thematic maps containing 40,000 individual pieces of factural information on nature, man and society that give a comprehensive overview of the world's physical features, resources and challenges, as well as the cultures and economics of its residents. Comprehensive index with unique, easy-to-use single reference.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The philosophy behind this unique atlas is clearly stated in the introduction: "We have come to accept as 'natural' a representation of the world that devotes disproportionate space to large-scale maps of areas perceived as important, while consigning other areas to small-scale general maps. There is nothing 'natural' about such a view of the world.... Yet, until now, no atlas has existed that provided a picture of the world undistorted by varying scales." As a remedy, this publication offers 43 full-color topographical maps using a scale based on Arno Peters's projection. Each double-page map depicts 1/60 of the earth's surface. Detail maps of more densely populated regions have been deliberately omitted as contrary to the intent of the atlas. Another innovation is to use shades of green and brown to represent vegetation or its lack rather than elevation. The maps are fully indexed using a page number and letter code for location rather than the usual grid references. The second half of the atlas explores "nature, man and society" through 45 subjects displayed in 246 thematic world maps that vary in size by topic from double-page spreads to eight per page. The text on these smaller maps is minute, so a magnifying glass may come in handy. Topics range from population to religion, agriculture, human rights, and the natural environment, using statistics obtained from the UN and other international organizations. In the spirit of rethinking traditional geography, Peters's proposed new decimal grid is shown on the endpaper, dividing the earth into 100 decimal degrees east-west and north-south, a system that would replace the Greenwich system of 360 adopted in 1884 at the zenith of Britain's power. Recommended for all reference collections as an informative and thought-provoking alternative to other compact atlases.
Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Claiming that atlases that use inconsistent scales (for example, showing North America and Europe in detailed, large-scale maps and the rest of the world in general, small-scale maps) present a distorted view of the world, this atlas depicts "each country at the same scale and at its true size in relation to the rest of the world." In addition to the geographic maps, more than 240 thematic maps provide information on vegetation, industrial products, the status of women, and other topics. Some readers may have trouble seeing the hue ranges on the thematic maps. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Hammond World Atlas Corporation (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843718323
• ISBN-13: 978-0843718324
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,570,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Novelty, April 3, 2003

By 

a geography instructor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hammond Compact Peter's World Atlas (Hardcover)

It should be noted that there is considerable controversy surrounding the so-called "Peters" projection/atlas. Arno Peters announced his "new" projection in 1973, but it was actually first published in 1855 by James Gall and is referred to by cartographers as the Gall Orthographic Equal-Area Projection, or now occasionally as the Gall-Peters Projection. Gall considered this projection to be a novelty with no practical value. What this projection does is show area accurately, but it distorts shapes, directions, and distances.

The real strength in the "Peters" atlas has been in its PR. It has received great marketing that stresses its comparison to the inaccuracies of the essentially defunct Mercator projection (which is accurate for direction but not for area, shape, and distance). So basically Peters' supporters are promoting a map that is overall no better than the one they seek to replace, even though the Mercator is not used anymore.

The truth is that neither the Gall-Peters nor the Mercator is ideal or very useful in today's day and age. The Mercator was at least ideally suited for maps used in exploration, but modern technology has consigned it to the history books. The Gall-Peters only provides interesting looking maps, but like Gall said it is merely a novelty. There are far better projections available for atlases, for example the Robinson's projection that the National Geographic Society and others have adopted.

As for this particular book the text gives the typical marketing hype promoting the Peters projection, but it is visually a well-done book that does a very good job at displaying Gall-Peters maps if you have an interest in them. As a college geography instructor I find this book useful as a teaching tool and utilize it in a map lab by having students compare the maps in it to those of other projections to try to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each projection. It is for the visual quality of the maps in the book and that this book is a useful tool for showing the inadequacy of the Gall-Peters projection that I give this book 3 stars.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 21st Century Global Perspective, August 14, 2002

By 

Thomas M. Martin (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hammond Compact Peter's World Atlas (Hardcover)

All cartographers make choices and tradeoffs when they map the world. The Peters projection tries to give a more accurate perspective of area and scale than more traditional maps. One glance at a Peters projection and one is immediately struck by the size of Africa, and this is just one reason why this projection has earned a reputation as a postcolonial map.

The Peters Atlas is a special treat for those who have an appreciation for this projection. It's an amazingly inexpensive two-part atlas with separate sections for equal area physical and global thematic maps. It's also an interesting alternative to other inexpensive atlases, like the DK Concise/Compact Atlases of the World, which use a more traditional projection system and annotate political and regional maps extensively. The Peters Atlas contains only maps; rather than factual tables or map annotations, it relies on thematic maps which provide global comparisons at a glance.

To be perfectly honest, when I viewed both the Peters and DK Concise Atlases at a local bookstore, I bought the DK Atlas for my niece who is going to college this year. I wasn't planning on buying another atlas for myself, but I ended up buying Hammond Compact Peters World Atlas for myself. Bottom line...I like the Compact Peters Atlas better than the DK Atlas that I bought for my niece, and I think you will too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great material, January 5, 2011

By 

Smiles - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hammond Compact Peter's World Atlas (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my father as a present. He loves maps and this fit him perfectly! THere is a wealth of interesting information-and at a good price.