Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 4, 1993 TAG: 9312040095
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by DAVID HOLLYER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This is not your usual "coffee table" book, unless you have an outsized\ coffee table, because it's large - almost the size of a "Big Foot Pizza" box. it's crammed with 136 pages of colored maps and geographic information that you can hardly do without today. This time, the society has outdone itself, inadvertently, with the most magnificent atlas it has ever published.
I say "inadvertently" because, after completing its 6th edition in 1990, the Society thought that it could sit back and coast.
"When cartographers put the finishing touches on the Sixth Edition of the `Atlas of the World' in July, 1990, we heaved a collective sigh of relief," says Gilbert W. Grosvenor, President of the Society. "We had produced a work that we hoped would last for more than a few years. Clearly, that was not to be."
The political upheavals in the former Soviet Union and Europe are only part of the reason for this latest revision. Consider, for example, the addition of 20 new countries and the fact that now independent Ukraine changed more than 95 percent of its place names back to pre-communist names. That caused 14,000 changes in the 150,000-entry index. It also drove the huge staff of National Geographic cartographers half crazy producing 134 revised map plates for the multicolored maps that enhance this edition.
But there are more subtle changes one tends to overlook. Nearly 80 percent of place names in Greece have been changed due to a new system of transliteration . . . Nigeria has moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja . . . there are 31 new country flags, 20 from countries that once formed the U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia, and eleven others that changed their flag design.
The Atlas also takes note of physical changes that have occurred. Did you know that Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak, has shrunk about 10 feet over the past few years as a result of an avalanche at its summit? You'll find the correct new elevation noted on page 100.
The illustrations include satellite images and thematic maps that show climate, land use and industry. There are political, urban, regional and ocean floor maps.
Admittedly, this marvelous book is not inexpensive. The soft cover edition costs $80 and the deluxe hardcover is $100. This year, for the first time, you do not need to buy the Atlas directly from the Society's offices in Washington. It is on sale in bookstores.
If you want a single Christmas gift for the entire family, you could hardly do better than choosing this atlas. Unlike many "coffee table" books that get flipped through casually by visitors, you'll find that this one is in constant use. You may find youself identifying locations mentioned in the news; your kids may appreciate it even more for some of their school assignments. Truly, the latest revision of the National Geographic "Atlas of the World" is a noteworthy addition to any home library.
David Hollyer is a Huddleston reviewer.
by CNB