An Atlas of World Political Flashpoints: A Sourcebook of Geopolitical Crisis

Maps showing areas of current or potential conflict are accompanied by a description and historical analysis of each trouble spot

YA-The title accurately describes the contents of this volume, while the publisher's name describes the format and style. Designated geographically (e.g., the Russian-Armenian disputes are described under "Nagorno-Karabakh"), 80 regions are shown on a world map and then described in two or three pages each. The alphabetical entries include basic factual and unbiased descriptions of each area's social history, geographical importance, and the background of present or possible conflicts. The information is current as of 1992, and there are brief bibliographies, frequently of periodical articles, at the end of the sections. Very useful as a starting point for more intensive research or as an overview of the topic.
Susan H. Woodcock, Potomac Library, Woodbridge, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book provides fairly short entries in a standardized format giving the description, history and importance, and status of approximately 75 potential political hot spots throughout the world. Treatment is bare bones. If you are searching for a hot spot such as Bosnia, you would do best to consult the index first. The main body of text is arranged alphabetically by particular flashpoint, although criteria for inclusion are never articulated. Standard Maps on File -like black-and-white maps, with a touch of added detail, accompany each entry. The references at the end of each entry are extremely selective, generally citing works or magazines published in Great Britain. While nothing exactly like this work has been published previously, earlier works, such as the Strategic Atlas: A Comparative Geopolitics of the World's Powers (HarperCollins, 1992. 3d ed.) and Lawrence Freedman's Atlas of Global Strategy ( LJ 2/15/86) could be considered Cold War precursors, but this book is much more Third World in orientation. While it is interesting to browse through, it does not fill the large gap in the literature of borderland studies and world politics; much of the information can be found fairly easily in a number of standard current reference sources. Of some value to high school, public, and lower-division undergraduate libraries.
- Stephen W. Green, Auraria Lib., Denver
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.