The World: Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (Rand McNally) [Hardcover]

Rand McNally and Company (Corporate Author)

Book Description

Series: Rand McNally | Publication Date: September 1995

Ideal for family use, this new atlas is a complete source for homework assignments, and is also a richly authoritative reference for home or office. Stunning photos and comprehensive geographic information combine to present all the world's countries in a logical, alphabetic sequence. A state-of-the-art reference map of each country accompanies facts on religion, ethnicity, population, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The heart of this atlas is a 280-page gazetteer of the countries of the world, with an overview of maps, text, photos, flags, charts, and graphs touching on the history, politics, land, economy, and people of each country. But the extras are good, too, with sections on the universe, the world's longest rivers, highest mountains, most populous countries, and more. These information tables are followed by 16 pages of beautiful maps, offering a view of the world's geography, topography, and political divisions. More than just a collection of maps, The World: Afghanistan to Zimbabwe provides a picture of the countries and natural forces that compose our world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Rand Mcnally (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0528837737
• ISBN-13: 978-0528837739
• Product Dimensions: 14.8 x 11.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Travel > Africa > Zimbabwe
  • #28 in Books > Travel > Asia > Afghanistan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adams, July 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The World: Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (Rand McNally) (Hardcover)

This is a wonderfully concise reference book. The book offers "at a glance" facts which give a quick overview as well as text synopsis of the people, economy & land and history & politics. Each contry is represented with at least one map, most also offer scenic pictures,and population & ethnic group pie charts. To be complete, the book begins with facts, pictures and graphs about the solar system, the earth, continents, volcanoes, lakes, population, etc. Of course, there are also detailed maps of the world and each continent.

Our family has found this book usefull for writing school reports, planning vacations, and just enjoying learning more about the world. It's a very complete book I recommend for every household library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great source book, September 11, 2005

By 

R. Rowe - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World: Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (Rand McNally) (Hardcover)

We have several world atlases - this is nearly always the first one we turn to when we want basic maps, facts (population, size, income,...) and a bit of cultural and political history. I hope they soon come out with an updated version as this one is nearly 10 years old (but we still rely on it heavily).

5.0 out of 5 stars Slick and Thorough, August 17, 2010

By 

Herbert L Calhoun "paulocal" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World: Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (Rand McNally) (Hardcover)

This Rand McNally entry is not just in step with the times, but surely is the trend setter. It is a rich, beautifully rendered gazetteer, chuck full of information traditionally found only in the likes of the "CIA's Handbook."

However here in full color from "Afghanistan to Zimbabwe" (that is literally from "A to Z") the world is laid out before your eyes in full living color. Many of the topographical pictures and graphs in the intro section, are in three-dimensions.

The book begins with a summary of the world (called World superlatives and Information) containing the information we seek most: the highest mountains, longest rivers, etc.; then by continents and oceans; and finally with 208 pages of country entries provided alphabetically.

It is much richer than even the UN's country index, as principalities did not require full UN recognition to appear as an entry in this book. As a result, it contains a kind of cultural equality and symmetry that is not just pleasing to the eye but also to one's sensibilities.

Each entry includes the flag of the nation, the capitol, languages, peoples, politics, economy and land. Inset maps orient the entries either with respect to the globe itself, or if small enough, with respect to being considered within the continental U.S.

Maps of the country's internal regions are given, showing broad topographical features and relative distances between major cities.

The narratives are economical but information packed. For my purposes, this book is hard to beat. Five Stars