Atlas of the World

**This atlas has nice satellite photographs, as well as political maps, and physical maps where topography is easily understood. It also has a large index, more than 100 pages. The first 142 pages of the book, are full of interesting facts: *Table of Countries with Area, Population, Capital, Annual Income. *List of cities with more than 900,000 inhabitants. *Overview of Oceans and Seas *Some amazing satellite images. *A list of all countries with their flag, a small map showing their location, and a paragraph general describing the political and economical situation of the country. (32 pages) * Star Charts * Solar System with some planetary data * Moon Phases * GMT Map * Earth Data * Continental Drift * Fault Lines * Map of Pressure and Surface Winds * Climate Regions (Rain forest, Monsoon, Desert, Dry Winter, Tundra....) * Average temperature map (January and July) * Average year precipitation map * A section on Climate Change and Global Warming * A diagram showing the Hydrological Cycle * Water Scarcity map * A table listing the longest rivers in the world (About 40 entries) * A world population map * Demographic information on populations in the world * Pie Charts on World Crop Production (General) * World map of urban density * World migration maps * Language Map * Religion Map * Global Peace Index Map * Maps and Charts on Energy (Balance, Consumption, Production, Oil Movements, Energy Reserves) * World map of mineral distribution (General) * A section on Employment and Industry (2 pages - a lot of information on each page) * A section on trade (2 pages) * A section on health (2 pages) * A section on wealth (2 pages) * A section on standard of living (2 pages) * 32 pages of city maps (2-4 cities on each page) -The information is very general, good to have, but I wish the authors would of went into more detail, of course that could not happen in one volume, the book is already large. -It also does not include a map of the ocean floors. **Overall an excellent atlas, I am happy I purchased it.

One sees a lot of VERY diverse reviews here. Luckily, some were positive, and led me to order this book. It's truly great! Of course one wonders why a $150 atlas would be selling for a massive discount here on Amazon ($30 when I bought it). Plus, the shipping was free when I ordered (which is a good thing since it's really heavy!) Well, at this point, I don't care why it was such a bargain. I'm just happy, period -- especially because not every bookseller is discounting it, as I write this review anyway. I'm educated enough to expect high quality from a reference volume like this. After all, I don't plan to ever buy another one in the near future. Well, to my eye, the maps are *well* above average. All the labeling is clear, shapes and lines are well-defined, the colors well-chosen, the printing excellent. I couldn't ask for more... but I got more, anyway! For instance: the satellite and other aerial images are stunning. The availability of diverse levels of detail, such as the city maps, allow one to pursue multiple geographical questions that might come to mind while browsing, all without having to get up and look for some other source. That encyclopedic quality extends to the inclusion not only of a lunar map, but indeed a chart of the solar system, and maps of the stars in the night sky from both hemispheres. Everything you need to put this one little planet in perspective! As for "life on earth," the Oxford Deluxe Atlas covers that, too -- not just the land itself. In other words, you can find maps showing population trends, economic activity, and other ways that human beings relate to the planet. That includes climate change, of course, and much more. Are there faults? I suppose that every individual has some notion of what constitutes a "logical" organization of so much data, so that it can be found without resorting to an index of some kind. For instance, I wanted to show a child where the "Continental Divide" is in North America. I did not see any easy way to find this phrase in the index, and was frustrated at first. But lo and behold, I discovered that there is a map of North America in which all its major watersheds are marked and color-coded! So, although there was no line marking the somewhat colloquially-termed demarcation line that I was seeking, there was in fact a map that showed the *meaning* of that term -- far better than I might have expected! In a sense, the book made me smarter by showing me the question that I should have asked. Is the binding a problem? No, not at this price! But I think, IF I had spent the full price of $150, perhaps I would have wished for a sturdier binding. As noted, I figure to own this for a while. I'd hate to drop it, which would be easy considering its size and weight. In the same regard, I am somewhat nervous about turning school-age kids loose on it. Don't misunderstand me -- the book is not a little wisp made of tissue paper! But it isn't as sturdy as a typical school textbook, or even a child's hardbound reading book. So you might want to give a couple of speeches to the kids and set rules for the book's treatment, to ensure its survival. After that, then throw caution to the wind and stop worrying. I mean, as an adult I like it a lot! But this publication would be wasted if were only ever used by grownups. Somebody besides me should be buying it, and setting kids free with it. Let them sit on the floor with it, and roam the earth at will. I did this as a child, with atlases that were nowhere near as grand! Just make sure to keep food, drink, and pets away from the book while it's open! I can't quite relate to the review that criticized the slipcase, of all things! What I care about is mostly between the covers of the book. Is the slipcase adequate to protect the book and its contents? It sure seems so to me. Geography being what it is, who knows -- maybe an atlas as "old" as this (two years) is outmoded already by some people's standards. But as others have noted, it was very current at the time of its publication, so I'm content with the data it contains. Above all, it is a visual feast. I opened mine, and after sitting with it and paging through it in awe for twenty minutes, I put it aside and had the sense that I had *already* gotten my money's worth out of it! I recommend it highly.

I wanted to update my old world atlas...I miss the days of being able to go to a bookstore and actually see and feel the book. Overall happy with lay-out and maps. However, the last 100 pages are with an index to all the cities in the world. Not sure I really need this. The book is so heavy and cumbersome, I actually tore out the whole last section and set it aside. Makes the book a little easier to handle. If I'd seen this, I probably would not have bought it, but will keep it at least for a while and may give it to the grand kids at some point and get a lighter book for myself.

I ordered this atlas when I took an online college geography class. I was frustrated with some of the aspects of the on-line program, and wanted a good Atlas that would save some eye-strain. This was certainly it. It has great detail, showing physical features and political boundaries nicely. Inside the front cover it has a great map index that shows the page where the more detailed maps can be found. There is a Gazetteer of Nations that shows the flags of each nation, a brief history, and statistics such as population and area. There are small sections discussing the climates of the world, and even a small but clear map showing dominant language families and predominant religions by area. In the back, there is an index of cities and towns in the world, which then show the country in which the town is located, coordinates, and the page. It's been a great help for me, and real joy to just thumb through!

I absolutely love this book. Great value for the price. The key index on the front and back inside covers and especially helpful in quickly finding maps of any part of the world. In addition to detailed maps with cities and roads, there are political maps, physical maps, imagery from space, and lots of statistics and information.

This is the kind of Atlas I've long wanted but could ill afford. Kudos to Amazon for making it available at a sensible price. Great photos, maps, text (but I have a few quibbles), high quality production, etc... It has very good sections of knowledge culled from the physical sciences with which any such reference must perforce be concerned. Now for a minor criticism: its section on "Climate and Global Warming" is overall good, but it relies too much on the IPCC's "findings" and also ignores the BIG culprit in climate variablity - our yellow dwarf sun. The IPCC has credibility problems with serious scientists, vide Ian Plimer, Patrick Michaels and others. For the casual user this doesn't matter, but to me it does indeed. Still, an excellent work. That said, I still think this a wonderful reference for the average user and even for the factually inclined, scientific types like me. If I had to quantify it, it would rate a 97, the deduction being for aforementioned criticism.

Beautiful Atlas. I had to get a replacement sent out because the first copy I got had bad printing. To Amazon's credit they sent me a replacement promptly. So this is a positive review of both Amazon and the Atlas. For my latest book, The Blasphemy Law, I used it extensively to work out the plot. I guess the only improvement I would make is add more maps and even more detailed but then I guess the price goes up. Overall it's great value for money and a must have for geography buffs and of course writers.

My third-grader had been using my 35-year-old Hammond Atlas - and, as hard as it is for me to believe, some of those places no longer exist... Some countries, like the USSR for example, have been carved up a bit. Some new names now apply as well. This Atlas is among the most up-to-date available - perhaps its strongest point. But as good as it is there are some things that could have been better. Another reviewer mentioned the small print - not a big deal for my eight-year-old - but a magnifying-glass comes in handy for eyes like mine...) One thing that surprised me - this atlas does not break the United States down by states - there's only a map of the entire United States - so my son still ends up using the old atlas... All in all this is a good Atlas - but if you're looking for something with individual states you might want to check into some of the others.

Clear and informative

Atlas bem elaborado com mapas atualizados, com conteúdos de geografia atuais, como ambiente, população, entre outros

It's a high quality atlas that gets used a lot.

地図だけでなくその国の情報も載っていて、見ていてとても楽しく勉強になります。

Atlante bello per carte e per non dedicare piu' contenuti all'Europa e/o agli Stati Uniti che agli altri paesi. Antille in straordinario dettaglio. Finlandia e repubbliche baltiche sottotono. Mancano quasi completamente le isole del Pacifico. Russia asiatica e Cina occidentale in scala ridicola. peccato anche l'imballo non sia stato scelto adeguatamente cosicche' il libro da quasi 90 euro e' arrivato con gli angoli danneggiati. Amazon la prossima volta te lo rendo!