atlases and maps

This atlas is intellectually demeaning. Of its 352 pages, less than 100 contain geographical maps. No major cities are cartographed. The two pages on Western Europe encompass Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Monaco. The map is so poorly constructed that the island of Gibraltar is indistinguishable from the country of Spain. All 600,000 square miles of this topical part of the world are crammed into the same amount of space as the state of Hawaii. Further, instead of showing the arrondissements of Paris or the subway system in Manhattan, pages are devoted to such ridiculous topics as "fiber optic teledensity" and "global internet connectivity". Certainly these subjects are better covered in other publications, not to mention that they are far less likely to remain relevant than a map of Vancouver, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. My nephews are once again using our battered 1997 Rand McNally [$$$] road map for this information.

You will be amazed by the amount of information contained within this book. In fact it probably contains more useful information (about all the countries of the world) than say 50 other books put together. National Geographic photographs and maps are usually world class, as is this reference book. Highly recommended.

When my children started asking questions about other countries following last year's events, I thought that a good idea would be to buy a new atlas. After canvasing the selection at a local book store, probably 10 of so titles, The National Geographic Family Reference Atlas was a glowing standout. No other atlas contained as much data on as many topics. The maps are a perfect balance between what a child needs for school and what adults need on a regular basis. Stunning maps and depth of information make this a very worthy buy.