Customer Reviews

Wiley/National Geographic College Atlas of the World

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

 

 

Having used many other atlases in years of teaching geography, this new NGS product has an excellent balance of thematic maps, regional maps, and data. While my other favorite, Goode's, has better thematic maps for teaching human geography, the National Geographic College Atlas excels in its clear and complete explanations of physical geography. de Blij does it again!

The "Wiley/National Geographic College Atlas of the World" is the same as the "National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World" with one exception: The former does not have the binding trouble that the latter has. The binding trouble happens when you get a location at the center of a two-page map. Then it is annoyingly hard--if not impossible--to see the location. This is because the hardbound binding is inflexible. For the same location in the Wiley edition, you can push down on the the pages and see the location, because the Wiley version is paperback.

I give the Wiley version four stars because it serves the primary purpose I want it for: quick reference. With 55,000 place names, it is easy to pull off my bookshelf and look up most locations. It has a "Geographic Index" section that allows you to zoom quickly to any area of the world. I recommend putting an adhesive post-it note or a paperclip on this section. I also recommend doing the same for the "World Facts" section, which serves as a quick reference for a country's capital, language(s), religion(s), and a few other interesting statistics. Each continent has special maps: satellite view, physical map, political map, natural-world maps (vegetation, climate, natural events [quakes, volcanoes, tsunamis]), human-world maps (population and language), and economic-world maps (land development, trade, economic development, energy usage, income). I won't list them here, but this atlas also has many global maps dealing with special things like energy, environment, and countries with nuclear weapons.

I do not give it five stars because I disaprove of its physical maps. I prefer physical maps based on elevation, not rainfall. Actually I presume that the Wiley's physical maps are based on rainfall. I am not sure exactly what they are based on. I am sure, however, that I prefer the levels of elevation displayed by the maps in my "Times Atlas of the World," which I think is the traditional basis for physical maps.

Speaking of the "Times Atlas of the World," it is the atlas you should buy if you want to feel some confidence in being able to locate relatively unknown places. But it is VERY bulky, and expensive. For in-depth reference, it is my choice of atlas.

This book is an excellent resource for students at teachers alike. It has a great balance of different map types and the level of detail is beyond anything I have ever seen in any other atlas. If you're taking Geography or any class about Regions and Nations in the world, this is the book for you.

This atlas has nice graphics and a sensible display of continents and countries in various keys: physical/political, natural, and human, for each area. It's adequate and an excellent reference tool with almost half the text taken up by the index, very complete. I like that it's fairly lightweight for such an extensive atlas, about one inch thick and 10 inches wide or so... it fits into a backpack. Soft binding allows the book to lie fairly flat so maps that have been spread across 2 pages are easily viewed. For the price, it's very adequate.

I purchased this as a gift. She is a huge fan of maps and searched for a good world atlas. "This book could not be more wonderful" were her words. Simply perfect.

I got this to replace a 35 year old edition. Really hurt to do crosswords with a book that old. This Geographic atlas is great for around the house, but would probably be inadequate for college, or more serious, work. All-in-all, good value for money.

I like the book for it's big pictures and ease of use. Complements my National Geographic maps well with its world facts summaries for countries and territories and geographic comparisons of oceans and continents.