Hammond Atlas of the World: Second Edition

Presents accurate topographical and political maps for each area of the world, and includes information on climate, environmental concerns, population, agriculture, and industry

Overall, the Hammond is a strikingly beautiful atlas. The design is fresh and the organization clear. The Hammond has greater success than Oxford's Atlas of the World and the Macmillan at combining shaded relief with hypsometric tints (see "Scouting Expedition," p. 42). But the clarity and beauty of the Hammond maps comes at a price. The atlas provides fewer details for roads and transportation networks than some of its competitors, and its two-page spreads are not separated at page gutters, which makes parts of some maps hard to read. The index is large (110,000 entries) and detailed but fails to provide latitude and longitude for its entries. More troubling is the number of errors and omissions. For instance, Mecca and its variant spelling, "Makkah," are missing from the index, although both appear on the reference map. Though Hammond uses a limited number of scales, these still vary as appropriate to the area covered. Despite its flaws, this is among the first choices for a moderately priced reference atlas.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Beginning with an essay on the evolution of cartography from 2300 B.C. to the computer-generated techniques of the 1990s, this new edition of the Hammond Atlas proceeds to clear explanations of map projections and a user's guide. The inside front cover provides a visual index to the atlas, and the inside back cover provides a time zone map. A quick reference guide serves as a gazetteer to countries, continents, territories, possessions, and other major geographical areas, providing square miles and kilometers, population, capital or chief town, and location in the atlas.

The main text begins with maps, charts, and graphs illustrating global demographics, energy production, pollution, gross domestic product per capita, literacy, and life expectancies. Fifteen pages of exceptionally clear maps illustrate the earth's surface and the ocean floors in three-dimensional relief; these are followed by individual maps of distinct geographic regions, divided by continent. Two pages of statistics (for example, elements of the solar system, major ship canals, principal natural lakes), a five-page table providing population for countries and major cities of the world, and a 96-page index to approximately 117,000 places and geographic features conclude the atlas.

For the most part, the colors and symbols used throughout are clear, well designed, and easy to decipher. New to this edition is the combination of political map data with computer-generated relief maps. Varying bands of color, called hypsometric tints, are used to indicate ranges of elevation. Bathymetric tints delineate ocean depths. Perhaps because of the tinting, new symbols are employed to indicate features, such as national parks, which used to be identified by colors. As a result, some of these features, such as Badlands National Park, are somewhat more difficult to locate. Others, including national grasslands and seashores, have been dropped altogether. Problems with the previous edition regarding maps that were placed side to side, thus necessitating rotation of the atlas for reading, have been resolved. All of the maps face up and down.

Of course, this new edition updates political changes and the boundaries of places in the world. There are 167 new political maps, including the Nile River Delta, Oslo, and Vatican City, that show selected areas in greater detail. Particularly helpful (in both editions) are arrows on the borders of each page which point to pages that continue the geographic area a user may be studying.

This is a superior atlas for quick look-ups and armchair travel. In comparison to other recent atlases, such as The DK World Atlas [RBB N 1 97], Hammond provides more geographic detail, is easier to use, and will probably appeal to a wider cross-section of readers. Reader's Digest Illustrated Great World Atlas [RBB F 1 98] is a good resource to have in addition, since it is easier to copy (gutters are not so tight), and is more appropriate for younger patrons. Schools, public libraries, and academic libraries should strongly consider purchase of the new edition of Hammond.