New State of the World Atlas

Maps provide information on recent history, religion, the media, health care, arms deals, drugs, refugees, and more

Called "a work of cartojournalism" in Kidron's introduction, this handy-size (7 x 912) thematic atlas is well known to students and librarians alike as an innovative source of information on a variety of social, political, and economic subjects. The fourth edition contains 50 new or extensively revised two-page world maps covering such au courant topics as AIDS, literacy, the greenhouse effect, endangered species, the quality of life, postal service, privatization, and the drug trade. (The third edition was published in 1987.) The maps, which are computer-generated, continue to be colorful, inviting, usually well designed, and prone to cutesy symbols (e.g., padlocks represent countries holding political prisoners) and titles ("Funny Money," "First Bite of Cherry," "The Bureaupolists"). Reasonably detailed explanations of each map, along with source notes, appear at the back of the book. As with past editions, the atlas makes no attempt to hide its basic ideological bias--that nation-states often act contrary to the best interests of their populace. Libraries that have made good use of previous editions as well as such comparable works as Neil Grant and Nick Middleton's Atlas of the World Today (HarperCollins, 1987) and Gerard Chaliand and Jean-Pierre Rageau's Strategic Atlas ( LJ 9/1/85) will want to add this to their collections, both circulating and reference, if funds permit.
- Kenneth F. Kister, author of "Best Encyclopedias," Tampa, Fla.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.