Customer Reviews

Rand McNally 2008 the road atlas, United States | Canada | Mexico

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

 

 

Each year, I look forward to purchasing the newest Rand McNally road atlas. At last, I have purchased the 2008 edition. One nice touch this year--a plastic cover to help protect the normal soft cover.

Since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed this publication. This atlas has never just been a source of information about how to get from point A to point B. There has always been a certain amount of "romance." Even as a kid, I would trace a route from one place to another, and look for the special sites along the way--and imagine what they were like. Whether a state park, a national monument, a battlefield, the birthplace of someone special, I would close my eyes and wonder.

Even now, I still do the same thing.

But there are also many practical aspects to the atlas. You can go to a web site to get further information, including road construction sites. There are phone numbers for contact information about hotels and road conditions. For short hand estimates of how long it would take to get from one place to another, the "miles and minutes" map on the inside of the back cover is a favorite.

As my eyes lose a little of their power with each passing year, it's sometimes a challenge to read the small print.

Still and all, this remains, for me, a classic and a purchase made each year that carries a little extra pleasure with it.

The atlas is ok. Honestly I don't like it as well as the 1997 version. I bought this 2008 version to replace the 1997 one. It's very similar...of course, it is updated but the printing is darker and that makes it harder to read.

Great atlas, for cheap.

But the alternate columns in the index are shaded, making them difficult to read in poor light. Like in a car, right? Doh!

Wake up, Rand McNally: either lighten the screen, or ditch it altogether. It is, after all, about as functional as racing stripes on a car!