| Oxford Atlases | |
by Matt T. Rosenberg
Oxford University Press' new editions of The Atlas of the World, Encyclopedic World Atlas, Desk Reference Atlas, and The Pocket World Atlas are cost-effective additions to any home or library. However, you probably won't need all four.
The Atlas of the World
The Atlas of the World is the flagship of the Oxford series and is fairly inexpensive (suggested retail price of US $75.00) for that which it contains. Forty-seven pages are part of a section called "Introduction to World Geography" that contains fantastic information about population, the environment, geology, climate, vegetation, language, religion, minerals, trade, health, war, energy, and much more.
Eighteen stunning satellite images (almost all of major world cities and their surrounding regions) will delight and inspire even the least curious student of geography. A image of Naples, centered on Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples provides an amazing viewpoint and inspires thoughts of human and environmental interaction.
The 175 pages of map plates provide excellent coverage of the world that rivals most atlases of its size. In some instances, a two-page spread in the atlas yields two separate map plates (for example, a physical map of Africa and political map of Africa are on pages 104 and 105, respectively). Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America are each covered by both a physical and political map; although the physical map is an excellent overview of the continent, the political map is fairly barren, including national boundaries, major cities, and major rivers. The two probably could be effectively combined but for younger users, the two maps seem like a good choice.
There's a nice collection of over 100 city maps that often include a regional map of the city as well as a detailed core area map. The maps are very consistent and include English words when possible (i.e. in Tokyo, the map marks the "Nation Diet Building" (the Diet is the Japanese parliament). The city maps include an index of their own, immediately following the city maps themselves.
The detailed plates usually appear at a scale of about 1:2 million to 1:6 million. The most detailed (non-city) map is of Switzerland at 1:800,000. Unfortunately, all of the Oxford atlases spell Kazakhstan incorrectly, leaving out the "h."
With 75,000 place names, the gazetteer is somewhat limited but this atlas does a fantastic job of showing the "important" portions of the world, making it a great atlas for everyone's home, especially for students. If you're looking for an atlas under $100, this is a good choice.
The Encyclopedic World Atlas
The Encyclopedic World Atlas (EWA) makes a good companion to any world atlas. It's an alphabetical encyclopedia of basic geographical and historical information about every country and major territory on the planet. The EWA provides many paragraphs of text about the geography, climate, vegetation, history, politics, and economy for the major players of the world along with the map and flag of each entity. With 241 pages of content, the EWA is a thin yet excellent resource to have on hand for reports or just to obtain an up-to-date overview of the geography of a country, or any country.
Though the content is alphabetical, some countries appear in sections like "Pacific Ocean" (for the microstate island countries of the Pacific) or "Caribbean Sea." While this doesn't limit their coverage, it does make some countries a bit more difficult to locate (although if you look up Bahamas alphabetically, you'll be directed to the Caribbean section. Of course, smaller microstates like Dominica only have a few sentences of geographical description, these few sentences do provide good basic information. It's perennially difficult to find thorough information about the minor countries of the planet and unfortunately , the Encyclopedic World Atlas simply reinforces that fact. Several vignettes highlight topics like the Himalaya, Berlin, and Alaska and Hawaii.
I don't care too much for the country maps - many appear to be enlarged or reduced from another atlas - some just aren't as crisp as could be. However, the gazetteer is a good one.
The first thirty pages of the EWA provide an excellent regional atlas of the world and provide thematic maps of each continent's climate, land use, and economy. I do enthusiastically recommend the Encyclopedic World Atlas as a companion to a good atlas.
Desk Reference Atlas
Imagine the The Atlas of the World shrunk from its size of 11.5 by 15 inches down to 9.5 by 6.5 inches and you have the Desk Reference Atlas. It's a good atlas for one's reference shelf at work but it's a bit too colorful. The somewhat glossy pages and range of colors used to represent elevation on the map plates make reading the maps a bit more difficult than necessary. The color spectrum used by the plates is similar to the Goode's World Atlas but in Goode's, the pages are matte so the vibrant color scheme doesn't irritate the eyes as much.
This atlas is designed for looking up places in a hurry and not for browsing. The font size in the gazetteer is large and provides page numbers and alpha-numeric grid (i.e. Accra is on pg. 55, G4), making location of places you discover while watching television or reading easy to find. (The flagship Atlas of the World contains both latitude and longitude as well as a grid system, which is very common is large atlases.)
The beginning section of the Desk Reference Atlas is also a shrunken version of the "Introduction to World Geography" found in the large atlas. In the mini-atlas, it's called "The Earth in Focus."
Nonetheless, this handy atlas is a good one for people who can't be without an atlas and need one for the desk at work or in their locker at school. At $25, it's a bargain.
The Pocket World Atlas
The Pocket World Atlas is too large for a pocket and practically too large for a backpack. Its leather-style hardcover and gilded edged pages are too showy for a pocket atlas and at 4.5 by 7.25 inches, this is a large book. It's a good size for a drawer in a desk of a business traveler who doesn't know which country they'll be going to next. Sixty-four pages of travel information include basics for most countries of interest to a business person - currency, banking hours, time zones, etc. In addition, there are 20 city maps for 20 major cities (although San Francisco is included and Los Angeles is not - I suppose that's a good choice since Los Angeles really doesn't have a downtown and these are all downtown maps).
This is a cheap atlas (retail of $16) but if you need a tiny atlas, I think most would prefer the Desk Reference Atlas instead.
January 6, 2000
