The Columbia Gazetteer of the World (3 Volume Set) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231110405 ISBN 13: 9780231110402

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Unmatched in scope, authority, and usefulness, The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer continues to serve as the standard source of information about the geography of the world.

This definitive encyclopedia includes:
* Physical descriptions

* Economic, political, historical, cultural descriptions--from natural resources to landmarks and key events.

* Population

* Latitude, longitude, and elevation

* Pronunciations

* Changed or variant names and spellings

There are entries on every type of place:

* The physical world--continents, regions, oceans,seas, lakes, lagoons, rivers, mountain ranges, valleys, rain forests, deserts, islands, and more

* The political world--countries, provinces, states, counties, regions, cities, towns, neighborhoods, historical and archaeological sites.

* And all the special places--from national parks and monuments to airports, harbors, dams, shopping malls, canals, mines, nuclear plants, and much more.

About this title

Review:

Saul Cohen, a specialist in political geography, University Professor Emeritus at Hunter College, former director of the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University, and a past president of the Association of American Geographers, is the man who headed the project, overseeing a team of 150 geographers in their task to recatalog the world, surpassing any other such reference in both authority and scope.

The Gazetteer does more the merely define and identify. For major locations, it provides history and context, data regarding modes of transportation, a report on current levels of economy, education, and medicine, and anything else of import. In Beijing, for example, the entry ends with the Beijing Zoo and its pandas, the Workers' Stadium and the Pan-China games held every four years, the Great Wall, Ming tombs, and the fossil bones of Sinanthropus pekinensis (a.k.a. Peking man) found nearby at Zhoukoudian. From À (a fishing village in Norway on East Moskeusøya of Lofoten Islands) to Zywiec (a Polish town on the Sola River, 40 miles southwest of Cracow, with a castle, hydroelectric plant, and brewery) the entries include information of political, physical, and cultural relevance, with latitude, longitude, and elevation, plus pronunciations and variant names and spellings.

With a total of 165,000 entries, separated into three sizable volumes, this revision was in dire need, considering the last edition was done in 1952, and a few things have changed in the world since then. Countries have collapsed and been reborn. There are new names for old entities. Economies, noteworthy structures, and political systems have altered. It was a mind-boggling task, and it's a boon to the world that it was undertaken, and with such professional standards. To say it's a remarkably fine and comprehensive compilation is like saying that ice can be chilly, or gorgonzola cheese tends toward the flavorful. After four years of research, culminating in 33,000 new entries and a revision of the rest, this ultimate reference of the places of the world is up to date, representing the world as it is at the end of the 20th century. --Stephanie Gold

About the Author:

This is the fully revised and expanded edition of the original Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World. Now the Gazetteer is ready to serve a new generation -- completely updated and including 25,000 new entries, this classic reference is unparalleled source of information about the places of the world.

Features:

165,000 entries, 25,000 of them new to this edition

physical, political, economic, historical, and cultural description

population data, latitude/longitude coordinates

name changes, spelling variations, and pronunciations

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0231110405
• ISBN 13: 9780231110402
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 3616
• Editor: Saul B. Cohen