National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World

With more than 300 maps, charts, graphs, flags, and illustrations, National Geographic has captured a complete portrait of the world in one compact, highly accessible, and value-priced volume. Pulling from its vast resources, National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World provides up-to-date, thoroughly indexed, political and physical continental maps, as well as new world thematic maps covering the structure of earth, tectonics, climate, oceans, population, religion, energy, and economy. Informative, intriguing, and incredibly easy to use, this volume is the ultimate geographic reference for every home and office. National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World visually portrays the important aspects and issues of the current world in an appealing arrangement. Each continent-and the United States-is mapped with political boundaries and corresponds to a comprehensive place-name index of more than 10,000 towns, cities, and countries across the globe. Likewise, full-color physical maps enhance and enrich readers' understanding of the Earth's natural features, such as mountain ranges, lakes, plains, deserts, and rivers. Country profiles provide flags and valuable facts for all 192 independent nations of the world. Key information is provided about time zones, metric conversions, and geographic terms. With state-of-the-art maps and an accompanying index that makes seeking new facts quick, easy, and fun, National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World is a great value and the perfect reference tool.

This title provides a limited sampling of the beautiful maps in the more comprehensive National Geographic Atlas of the World. The Concise Atlas is printed on the same heavy paper stock and at the same size as the larger atlas, but in a paperback binding. While this seems a remarkable bargain at first, the atlas's binding makes it difficult to see map details that run across page gutters. It also raises questions of how well a large-format, softcover book can stand up to reference use. This title is worth considering if you want to supplement your collection with a few large maps but can't afford one of the large atlases. But it's not a good choice for reference use.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.