Customer Reviews

Rand McNally Goode's World Atlas 21st Edition

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When my father began work at the University of Michigan in 1932 toward a PhD in geography, he bought a copy of the then-new _Goode's_, the standard of geographers then as now. As the years went on he bought successive editions, giving me his old copies. I still have the first of these, a "revised and enlarged" edition of 1933.

I grew up with maps. I remain fascinated with them and use them (and create them) constantly in my work. That old _Goode's_ is one of dozens of atlases on my shelves, and one of eight editions of this title that I have owned. The newer editions of it are the atlases I refer to most frequently. When I need more detail I try the massive and wonderful _Times World Atlas_, or turn to various geographic software packages I own. But nine times in ten I quickly find what I need, clearly and attractively presented, in _Goode's_. When I must travel to do my work and can take only one atlas, it is _Goode's_.

Despite its compact and handy size, _Goode's_ does not compromise on coverage and detail. In fact, it is better on both counts than the great majority of "coffee-table" atlases. The key to this is that _Goode's_ is a just-the-fact atlas. There are no pictures, the text is brief and to the point. Fundamentally this is a map book. Color, shading, and standardized symbols are used effectively convey information. The density of presentation is chosen judiciously, packing as much information as possible in each map without making it necessary to squint through a magnifier. The gazetteer is excellent and comprehensive for an atlas of this size. Introductory material includes a nice introduction to cartography and map projections. There is a superb section of global thematic maps, analyzing many particular features of the physical and social landscape, and specialized thematic maps for each major region of the globe. This is an atlas with everything that is necessary and nothing that is not. No other atlas can come close for general utility, let alone value.

The only other atlas I have ever found that could compare in any way with _Goode's_ is the beautiful first edition of _The Oxford Atlas_, compiled in Britain after World War II when the economic conditions made skilled work astonishingly cheap. Unfortunately, the _Oxford_ has gone far downhill since then.

If you want a good desk atlas for reference, this is the one.

The only resources I have found to be better than my Goode's World Atlas are electronic resources that are specialized (Nasa World Winds is my favorite). The maps and tables in Goode's are handy references for many different needs. The paper and ink make for a visually appealing image, and the size makes details easy to see. I have used this atlas for several university classes, many personal inquisitions, and I even use it to teach my children about the rock they live on.

I wanted an atlas that would help me place and better understand places I see in the news. Unfortunately, the maps in this atlas are not as detailed as I had hoped. On the other hand, there are a lot of data that help to make up for this. If you want good detailed maps, though, look elsewhere.

This is an inexpensive Atlas . More suitable for grade school or early high school users. I was really interested in a more substantial and higher quality publication. I bought the New National Geographic Atlas, and am well satisfied. Thanks for your prompt service, as always.

We're very pleased. Clear maps and easy access to the country one is seeking. We use it frequently - looking up places that family members are travelling to. Beautiful reference. Phyllis, Euclid, Ohio

This atlas is the standard for Geography 101 in campuses across the country. It sets the standard because it is affordable and extremely useful in geographic exercises. In truth, it is primarily a North American atlas, but that is because it is written for and marketed to North Americans. There are still more than enough maps of other world regions to assist you in Geography 101 or to assist you in monitoring the world news. Granted, an intense study of total world geography would require an additional atlas. That said, I purchased this atlas for a geography course in which it was instrumental. Since then, I have used it in more advanced geography courses and in my daily life. While I would prefer it to be printed in a bit larger format, this size is more affordable to students. I will keep this atlas to assist in lifelong learning.

If you need a decent map of Ireland, New Zealand or anyplace else this isn't the right atlas. Tiny maps require a magifying glass to look at with only the most major cities shown. This is more useful to scientists checking weather patterns. Was useless to me needing a decent map of the British Isles. One 8.5 x 11 inch page covering the main isle of Britain including Ireland and the other lesser isles. I had expected at least one full page for Ireland and was greatly disappointed.

I really like this atlas and I can foresee using it in my classroom when I start teaching in a couple of years. It is full different maps and data. It is very thorough in overall continent and the maps show a large amount of detail. There are some negatives to it though. Rivers and other points of interest are hard to find for the most part. Some parts of the world aren't shown in much detail as far as a larger scale representation. Overall, I think this is a good atlas that I will use for many years (or until a new edition comes around). I would recommend it.

In a world whose national boundaries change nearly every few months (which is a slower pace than a decade ago), this atlas does a very good job of displaying its content. The maps are easily read and show enough cities and features to make this a standard for both high school and college geography courses. It also has resource maps of the continents showing the economics and population trends in our world today. I bought this for my daughter after viewing it in the library and feel that for the money it offers the best deal available in its price range.

I bought this to use in our document processing center to use with MapInfo and for manually plotting cities (when there are just a few) in Visio. Best part for us is that there is a huge list of cities with longitude and lattitude already given, which helps us plot those cities in MapInfo even if they are not included in our data sets. Great update - worth getting.