Editorial Review

Amazon.com ReviewProduct Description
The only world atlas updated annually, guaranteeing that users will find the most current geographic information, Oxford's Atlas of the World is the most authoritative atlas on the market. Full of crisp, clear cartography of urban areas and virtually uninhabited landscapes around the globe, the Atlas is filled with maps of cities and regions at carefully selected scales that give a striking view of the Earth's surface. Opening with world statistics and a colorful, instructive 48-page Introduction to World Geography--beautifully illustrated with tables and graphs--this acclaimed resource provides details on numerous topics of geographic significance, such as climate change, biodiversity, energy, and landforms.

The popular satellite image section has been refreshed with stunning new images of Denver (clearly showing how the natural barrier of the Rockies affects population spread), Kabul (which shows in vivid detail how that city is encircled by mountains), and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. All census information and country descriptions have been updated to reflect the latest developments around the world. Completely new to this edition is a section titled "Will the World Run Out of Food?," which discusses world food distribution and how this has changed rapidly in recent years, based on data collected by Rothamsted Research, the oldest research station in the world. A new section on world shipping piracy explores the rise in piracy, especially off the coast of Somalia, and the effects on the World Food Programme. Maps throughout have been updated to include such new features as the World Financial Center (the world's third tallest building) in Shanghai, new international airports in India and South Africa, administrative changes in Iceland, Bulgaria, and elsewhere, new national parks in Denmark, and many more.

Providing the finest global coverage available, the Atlas of the World is not only the best-selling volume of its size and price, but also the benchmark by which all other atlases are measured.

Take a Look Inside The Atlas of the World

Topography of Asia [PDF]: Asia is the largest continent in size and houses over half the Earth’s population. The Great Wall of China in Asia is the only man-made super structure that can be seen from space.

Will the World Run Out of Food? [PDF]: Did you know that the world’s population is predicted to increase to 9 billion by 2050? Learn how the current rate of population growth is affecting our global food supply.

Satellite Image of Haiti [PDF]: This image was shot shortly after the catastrophic earthquake in January 2010. Port-au-Prince, the capitol and chief port of Haiti, is located just miles from the quake’s epicenter.

Reviews

A "Consistently Good" Atlas, May 15, 2010
Rand McNally's 2011 Road Atlas is the highest quality paperback road atlas currently available.

The atlas's maps strike a perfect balance between detail and legibility; even though the maps are loaded with information, they are still, somehow, incredibly readable.

The atlas is also made by a company that values customer feedback. Last November, I wrote to Rand McNally asking how they decide which cities to "bold" in their atlases. (I had noticed in earlier editions that a number of cities with as few as 5,000 residents were labeled in large bold type, while other, much larger ones weren't given bold labels. It seemed inconsistent.) I suggested that the company, instead, use bold type to indicate a city's population.

Rand McNally appears to have acted on my suggestions. In this new edition, the boldness and size of a city's label now corresponds to its population. In addition, all cities with populations greater than 5,000 now appear in bold type; this wasn't the case before.

Other changes I've noticed in the 2011 edition:
- Many more cities have been added to the atlas's state maps, especially in and around major metropolitan areas.
- Unincorporated cities and towns are now given different city "dots" than incorporated communities.
- Interstate exit numbers are now in green boxes. (This makes them easier to read and harder to confuse with mileage numbers.)
- The inset boxes around major cities are now gray instead of yellow.
- Elevation values for major cities and bodies of water have been removed from the maps.
- Construction areas have been updated.

There are also five new "Best of the Road" routes, if you're into that sort of thing.

All in all, the 2011 edition is a great update to an already great atlas.

Good atlas, June 5, 2010
Good atlas, worth the cost. Even though they come out with a new one every year, it is definitely needed for all of the road changes and updates. Recommend this product.

I wish I'd gotten the large print one, June 26, 2010
Much cheaper and actually more useful than a GPS (sometimes you want to scope out where you might go, not just get directions), a road atlas is a staple in our cars. Updating annually gives access to proposed construction locations (although it was off in places despite being only a month old). We took this on a recent trip through PA and New England. Alas, the maps a re a bit hard to make out once you get off the main drags in the more populated areas, like Southern Maine. I missed my old DeLorme Maine Atlas. I think the solution for when you are traveling about in the more congested states is to buy the large print one.

Gigantic!, October 18, 2010
In this day of GPS, I still like to have a map as a back up and also enjoy looking at the map while my husband is driving. I've purchased the Rand McNally road atlas in the past but was way overdue for an update. My only complaint is the size. Where in your car do you store such a behemoth and still keep it handy?

Road Atlas, August 8, 2010
I bought this atlas as a gift for my father who has a knack for viewing maps. The details provided in this atlas is really amazing. My father can visualize almost all of these countries roadways sitting in yet another totally distant country.
This serves far better than a GPS provided you are used to following maps by yourselves than being guided by a voice. It is real fun.

Fine atlas, updated., July 31, 2010
We've used the Rand-McNally Road Atlas for years; our mid-90s edition was out of date. The 2011 edition is exactly what we need - covers all territory where we drive with good detail, yet is a manageable size for in the car. This provides great coverage, with much lower cost and complexity than a GPS unit. ... Read more

Editorial Review

A rare and beautifully illustrated journey to fifty faraway worlds.

There are still places on earth that are unknown. Visually stunning and uniquely designed, this wondrous book captures fifty islands that are far away in every sense-from the mainland, from people, from airports, and from holiday brochures. Author Judith Schalansky used historic events and scientific reports as a springboard for each island, providing information on its distance from the mainland, whether its inhabited, its features, and the stories that have shaped its lore. With stunning full-color maps and an air of mysterious adventure, Atlas of Remote Island is perfect for the traveler or romantic in all of us. ... Read more

Reviews

Far from the madding crowd, you find the best gift book in years..., October 5, 2010
That impossible-to-please friend, that cranky relative, that coffee table begging for something more interesting than last Sunday's New York Times Magazine --- worry about them no more.

Here is your holiday gift, your birthday present, your living room's conversation-igniter.

And no worries that "Atlas of Remote Islands (Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot on and Never Will)" will be showing up on legions of gift lists. [To buy "Atlas of Remote Islands" from Amazon, click here.] Though published by Penguin, the biggest recognition the book has received to date is the German Book Office's October Book of the Month. The author, Judith Schalansky, is a German designer and novelist whose last book was "Fraktur Mon Amour, a study of the Nazis' favorite typeface.

Schalansky got interested in maps and atlases for the most personal of reasons. She was born in East Berlin; when she was 10, East and West Germany merged, "and the country I was born in disappeared from the map." With that, she lost interest in political maps and became fascinated with the basic building blocks of Earth's land masses : physical topography.

Fascinating stuff.

You doubt me?

Consider: Schalansky sees a finger traveling across a map as "an erotic gesture."

Consider: Schalansky disdains any island you can easily get to. The more remote the destination, the more enthusiastic she is for it. Like Peter I Island in the Antarctic --- until the late 1990s, fewer people had visited it than had set foot on the moon.

Consider: Schalansky believes "the most terrible events have the greatest potential to tell a story" --- and "islands make the perfect setting for them." Thus, the line at the start of the book: "Paradise is an island. So is hell."

The result? Fifty islands. The world's loneliest places, in lovely two-page spreads, with geographical information and curious histories on the left, and, on the right, a map of the hapless land mass set on a deceptively peaceful blue background.

Start in the Far North, at Lonely Island, where the average annual temperature is -16 degrees. In the Indian Ocean, on Diego Garcia, is a secretive British military base with a golf course where 500 families once lived. A hundred twenty million crabs begin life on Christmas Island; millions of penguins inhabit Macquarie Island. France tested its hydrogen bomb on Fangataufa, after which no one was allowed to set foot on it for six years. On Pukapuka, there is no word for "virgin." The Banabas hang their dead from their huts until the flesh disappears; they store the bones under their houses.

And, to give you a sense of Schalansky's lovely, ironic style as a writer:

St. Kilda, United Kingdom
There are sixteen cottages, three houses and one church in the only village on St. Kilda. The island's future is written in its graveyard. Its children are all born in good health, but most stop feeding during their fourth, fifth or sixth night. On the seventh day, their palates tighten and their throats constrict, so it becomes impossible to get them to swallow anything. Their muscles twitch and their jaws hang loose. Their eyes grow staring and they yawn a great deal; their mouth stretch in mocking grimaces. Between the seventh and ninth day, two-thirds of the newborn babies die, boys outnumbering girls. Some die sooner, some later: one dies on the fourth day, another not till the twenty-first.

Amsterdam Island, France
Everyone who stays on Amsterdam for longer than a year is examined by a medical officer from the south of France to check that he is coping with the long period of restriction of movement and the confined, purely masculine environment. No woman has visited longer than two days. At night, the men gather in the small video room in Great Skua to watch one of the porn films from their personal collection. Each man sits in a row on his own. The loudspeakers emit grunts and groans, and the air is heavy with the musky scent of the bull seals.

Are these stories true? The author is cagey:

That's why the question whether these stories are `true' is misleading. Every detail stems from factual sources...however I was the discoverer of the sources, researching them through ancient and rare books, and I have transformed the texts and appropriated them as sailors appropriate the lands they discover.

Transformed? Well, why not --- it's not like you're booking a ticket to visit any of these places. Just the opposite. Reading in your favorite chair, sipping a cuppa, you can conclude there's no place like home.

a physical book that takes you away, October 26, 2010
As a book lover you can become forlorn with the constant barrage of why physical books and the brick-and-mortar bookstore are obsolete in these days of digital book hype and the pursuit of immediate gratification in quick, small portions.

"Atlas of Remote Islands" is the refutation of those perceived realities.

I serendipitously came across this book as I was meandering through a bookstore...was arrested by the book displayed (tall, thin) and the sub title ("Fifty Island I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will"). Okay, okay, I'm posting this review on Amazon... but the book is so good that if your local bookstore doesn't have it, then buy it wherever you can!

Not only is the concept for the book just so cool.... it is also beautifully presented, each entry wonderfully laid out and completely engrossing. This is a book you curl up with in your favorite chair on a dark winter night with a hot cup of something in arms reach.

This book is exactly why the book - the physically opening the cover and turning the pages book - will never become obsolete.

Almost other-worldly..., December 20, 2010
This is an amazing, somewhat eerie, but certainly interesting expose about remote islands all over the world. A great aphrodisiac for people like me who are curious and filled with wanderlust...I loved it but wish the maps were more detailed!

Why Kindles can't do everything., December 27, 2010
This is a book you have to hold in your hand, page through, and imagine about. Then you put it on the shelf. Then you take it down and look at it again. Repeat.

Really, it's very beautiful, very inspiring, very mysterious.

Beautiful book!, December 26, 2010
This book is beautiful! The pictures are simple but gorgeous and the writing is so interesting! I love how everything throughout the book is on the same scale, really giving a feel for distances, times, and sizes. Easy purchase for a traveler or map-lover.

Recommended for any general lending library, December 17, 2010
Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will is a fine pick for armchair travel and geography collections alike. It blends history and science to create a story around each island: imagined realities for survival, possible rare animals and inhabitants, and more. The inclusion of color maps throughout enhances this unique presentation, recommended for any general lending library.

It only gets the second star for the gorgeous printing!, December 9, 2010
I'll try and make this simple: This book is a travesty- of information. Uncited, uninformative, boring. If you, like me, are obsessed with the mysterious far-flung remote locations of the world, and want to LEARN anything about them...this is NOT the book to buy. Each one-page entry consists of a random, vague, and more often than not interesting anecdote which (appears to?) describe something that may or may not have once happened near or in relation to the island. Enough qualifiers there? Accompanying each is an opposite page displaying some of the saddest examples of cartography I've ever encountered. I am also a major map enthusiast, and collect many of all different forms. These maps where incomplete, imprecise, and often failed to even cite locations the few times the corresponding anecdote actually mentioned one.
The counter to this, and its a small one, is that the book is truly beautiful. Gorgeous binding, printing, fonts, and color selections make for a terrific "object". And why not? They author is a typographer/typsetter, whose first book was on the history of a font! And she designed the whole book, so it makes sense that it would be aesthetically beautiful.
That said, she has absolutely no business even purporting to have any business whatsoever writing (or simply transcribing folklore) a geographical text. I had the highest expectations for this book and looked forward to it eagerly. Unfortunately it couldn't even hold my attention in the bathroom. ... Read more

Editorial Review

National Geographic Atlas of the World, Ninth Edition showcases the Earth in stunning detail, through a magnificent collection of world, continental, and regional maps that represent up-to-the-minute political geography. Throughout the Ninth Edition, state-of-the-art cartographic technologies and thousands of updates deliver accuracy and quality. Innovative new physical and thematic sections address the most compelling issues facing our world today. Preeminent scientists and experts in geographical specialty fields have consulted on all topics, to ensure that the maps, graphs, and text convey significant trends and findings relevant to modern science. Innovative design makes the wide-ranging content wonderfully accessible, resulting in an accurate, useful, and user-friendly reference to the world.

Map coverage in the Ninth Edition is more comprehensive and up-to-date than ever before:

� Newly generated regional maps reveal in great detail the geography of places in the news today, strengthening the reference aspect of the Atlas in its coverage of newsworthy developments, from conflict in the Middle East to global warming in North America.
� Dramatic, state-of-the-art ocean floor maps show more detail, more features, and more soundings than in any other atlas.
� Extraterrestrial maps chart the Northern and Southern skies, the Solar System, the Milky Way, and the Universe, with new maps of Mars and the Moon that denote physical features, spacecraft landings, and impact sites.

Twenty new thematic spreads illustrate crucial aspects of the human and physical world: population, urbanization, and their environmental impact, as well as human rights, health and wellness, culture, climate, technology, and many other topics. In this section, world maps appear in the same scale and projection to make it easier for the reader to compare layers of information. Plus, new highlighted notes called "connections" point out the interrelationships between topics.

The reference value of the National Geographic Atlas of the World, Ninth Edition is unparalleled, with the place-name index now exceeding 150,000 entries to incorporate the thousands of features covered on the new spreads. Simple, straightforward index design provides readers with ease of navigation in finding the places they want to explore.

This blend of mapping expertise, comprehensive coverage, and award-winning design places the National Geographic Atlas of the World, Ninth Edition in a class by itself.

Free gift: The Atlas of the World, Ninth Edition also comes with two free frameable map prints! This premium map is a two-piece, antique-styled map of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, reflecting current political boundaries. The two sheets can be mounted separately or together in one frame.�Dimensions for�each�sheet are: 11-1/2" x 14-5/8".

Reviews

Good, but....., November 7, 2010
As a dedicated cartophile I have collected hundreds of atlases, including every edition of the National geographic Atlas in the last 40 years. The maps continue to be superb, BUT the emphasis is overwhelmingly on the northern hemisphere and islands. There are detailed maps of the United States, Canada and Europe, but once south of the Equator there are none. This is an ongoing NGS fault.
South Africa, the Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires area, and southeast Australia are examples of areas where detailed maps would be appropriate.
Australia, the same size as the USA and more than twice the size of the European Union is covered by just one map. Perversely the most remotely populated areas of Australia (Cape York and top end of the Northern Territory) are covered in great detail on the edge of the Papua-New Guinea map. New Zealand and Papua-New Guinea, both a fraction the size of Australia, are mapped in far greater detail, and uninhabited Pacific and Antarctic islands receive detailed coverage. Maps of the areas mentioned above have been published by the NGS, just not in their atlases.
Many of the thematic maps at the beginning of the atlas are new, but some are too predictable. The maps of cell phone subscriptions, traditional phone lines and personal computers are almost identical. The map showing passenger flights totally ignores South America and the fourth busiest air route in the world between Sydney and Melbourne.
And just what is the "Mexico City effect" mentioned on the Natural Hazards map. It is not defined anywhere on the map or its caption.
Even the mighty NGS can make mistakes. On the map of the Arctic Ocean Floor, Alaska's Kenai Peninsula is labeled as Seward Peninsula, while the true Seward Peninsula at Bering Strait is correctly labeled.
Overall the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World is yet to be beaten.

Fantastic Atlas, October 21, 2010
I pre-ordered this Atlas months ago for my wife who is a world geography fan. It contains much more info then any other Atlas we've seen and is beautifully printed. Amazon prices this book at 62% of what National Geographic is currently charging. We're delighted with the content and the quality and expect to spend many, many hours exploring the Atlas. In addition to the detailed geographic content, this book contains detailed information about the solar system and the universe. The extensive oceanographic info is also very interesting and not readily available through other sources. It's big, it's heavy, it's beautifully printed and it's a bargain at Amazon's price. This is a book that any family will use as a reference for years and years.

Highly recommended!

Worth Every Penny, October 21, 2010
National Geographic has created a wonderful atlas in this edition. Interested buyers should take another look at the books dimensions, it's HUGE. The 9th Edition gives a good nod to the environment and the impact we as humans are making on the world. There are tables and graphs included which are easy to read and understand.

Included are two maps which you can frame and hang on a wall. They aren't huge, I'd say standard letter size, but are a nice compliment. The slipcase is strong and durable, as well as the book itself. While there are definitely other atlas' out there which cost less, none can match the style of the National Geographic Society.

Just Shy Of Superb, November 28, 2010
I've always had a soft spot for National Geographic's cartographic style. I used to buy dozens of old National Geographics at yard sales, take out the maps, and barely look at the magazines themselves. I'd stare googly-eyed at their atlases in bookstores, but never could actually afford them.

This ninth edition is actually a very minimalistic, classy affair, as far as contemporary atlases go. The emphasis here is almost totally on maps - after all, atlases used be books of maps, not books of satellite imagery, cultural data, and pretty photographs with the actual maps crammed in the corners. The maps are huge and sometimes overwhelmingly detailed, but nonetheless fairly easy to study and visually pleasing, without their aesthetic qualities detracting from geographic and political detail. The thematic spreads are also nicely done, and feature useful and readable charts and maps.

As you'd expect from an atlas published in 2010, this book features a number of larger-scale maps focusing on regions of environmental and political importance, such as the Korean Peninsula, the Amazon River basin, Greenland, and Pakistan and Afghanistan. Maps of Antarctica and the Arctic show some of the historic expeditions to those lands, the ocean floors are depicted, and there's even maps of the Moon, Mars, and Milky Way near the end of the atlas. Production values are impeccable, right down to sturdy binding, attractive slipcase, and silver cloth bookmark. The included prints are nice, but rather small and could have been printed on higher quality paper.

However, I agree with the previous reviewer who commented that this atlas pretty much neglects Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. Africa gets by with only 12 pages devoted to it, while spread after spread focus on the United States and Western Europe. To give one example, Warehouse Point, a tiny village in Connecticut, is included on the map of New England, but the entirety of Australia is covered in two pages. It's a flaw that seems to afflict I've ever owned, and I don't see it changing in the near future. Besides that, this is a very nice atlas. Perhaps not $175 nice, but a worthy investment at around $100.

Good Atlas, November 3, 2010
What is with the white cover? Everyone will be afraid of getting the cover dirty. The blue cover was better.
The thematic section at the beginning has been redone and is quite informative as is the Gazeteer at the end. New maps of hot spots around the world are very helpful, but the section on major cities of the world was sacrificed from the last edition
But the Persian Gulf has finally regained it's proper placename, instead of the Arabian Gulf of the 8th Edition.
Pricey but a decent atlas. ... Read more

Reviews

Finally! A manageable atlas that is easy to read!, June 17, 2009
A recent roadtrip with our old atlas made us wish we'd brought along a magnifying glass and it prompted me to purchase this Atlas. Granted, this one has almost twice as many pages as my old atlas, but the dimensions are the same and the spiral binding makes it very easy to handle in the car. As soon as it arrived, we compared the text size to that in our original atlas and we saw a definite advantage. Very nice!

Disappointing layout overshadows convenience and quality of maps, August 18, 2008
I agree that the spiral binding makes the large atlas more convenient to handle, but a *glaring drawback* of having each page a separate leaf bound together by a large plastic coil is that all the maps are split down the middle by more than an inch. When you're following a big highway and you've reached the edge of the left-hand page, it's relatively easy to find it on the right-hand page after the jump (over the page margins and the space the coil takes up), but if you're looking at local and city streets, forget trying to match them up quickly and easily and in lots of cases, at all. Plus, a large majority of the detailed inset maps (which I've always found very useful) are placed right in the center of the binding, so they get cut in half too, rendering them less readable and less navigable. Seems like no one at Rand McNally has actually used this version of the atlas...or else they might have noticed how frustrating and confusing the current layout is in combination with the spiral binding.

If you like road maps, this is the one for you, December 17, 2006
I have loved maps since I was a teenager. At one level, I just enjoy picking a state and seeing its geographical features and how I would get from one place to another. This Rand McNally Road Atlas is one that I have been using for over 40 years.

The 2007 version is top notch, like its predecessors. The maps that suggest how long it takes to go from one place to another are terrific; the suggested attractions that one might visit are very helpful; tourist and hotel information is very nice.

However, it is the state by state maps that are the central feature of this publication (as well as maps of Mexico and Canada and Puerto Rico). Anyone who is interested in how to get from Point A to Point B will revel in this work.

There are even road construction updates available online for those who buy these maps.

All in all, this is one of those "golden oldies" that merits consideration by those of us who want to know how to get from one place to another.

atlas shrugged, October 26, 2007
The large scale of this road atlas makes it easy to read, even in fading light. However, the sheer dimensions of the book make it a little unwieldly in a moving car, and the spiral binding makes following some highways from one page to the next a little difficult. It served its purpose, but the next time I get a road atlas I'll likely get a staple-bound book.

A large scale disappointment!, September 4, 2007
The "large scale" Rand McNally is not truly "large scale", only slightly larger print than the regular atlas. The AAA Large Scale Road Atlas makes this one look sick. The only redeeming feature is its spiral binding, but if you don't use it that will not matter. I plan to return mine!

Poor Execution, March 5, 2008
I got this Atlas thinking the large format would make map reading easier. Actually it makes map reading harder because states are broken up on multiple pages, and what I am looking for is usually on a different page than the one I am looking on. Trying to follow a highway across a state is irritating as well when you have to flip pages on the same state. Also the orientations of the map change on a seemingly random basis. Rand McNally really dropped the ball with this atlas. Not worth the irritation at all. I wouldn't use it even if it was free.

Husband loves maps, February 15, 2007
My husband had been using a Rand MCNally Road Atlas he had gotten back in the 70's. He loves maps. After he opened this spent the balance of the night looking through it. He thought the attention to details were Great!!!

best ever, June 26, 2009
this road map is the best i ever seen,and ive seen some as a professional truckdriver in europe,i am gonna use it in september when i visit the usa its gonna be a big help planning the trip great!!thanks will from the netherlands

Up to Date Atlas, August 2, 2008
Rand McNally 2009 The Road Atlas Large Scale: United States (Rand Mcnally Large Scale Road Atlas USA)

Great to have an up to date Atlas with many bonus features. The list of hotel chain 800 numbers is especially useful.

useful atlas, February 13, 2008
Replaced our old 1996 Atlas with this one. Very pleased with the product. Well made with its spiral binding construction. Compared to our older atlas, this one breaks a state down into multiple pages and gives way more detail than a single page state map. ... Read more

Editorial Review

What makes a place? Infinite City, Rebecca Solnit's brilliant reinvention of the traditional atlas, searches out the answer by examining the many layers of meaning in one place, the San Francisco Bay Area. Aided by artists, writers, cartographers, and twenty-two gorgeous color maps, each of which illuminates the city and its surroundings as experienced by different inhabitants, Solnit takes us on a tour that will forever change the way we think about place. She explores the area thematically--connecting, for example, Eadweard Muybridge's foundation of motion-picture technology with Alfred Hitchcock's filming of Vertigo. Across an urban grid of just seven by seven miles, she finds seemingly unlimited landmarks and treasures--butterfly habitats, queer sites, murders, World War II shipyards, blues clubs, Zen Buddhist centers. She roams the political terrain, both progressive and conservative, and details the cultural geographies of the Mission District, the culture wars of the Fillmore, the South of Market world being devoured by redevelopment, and much, much more. Breathtakingly original, this atlas of the imagination invites us to search out the layers of San Francisco that carry meaning for us--or to discover our own infinite city, be it Cleveland, Toulouse, or Shanghai.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Cartographers: Ben Pease and Shizue Seigel
Designer: Lia Tjandra
Artists: Sandow Birk, Mona Caron, Jaime Cortez, Hugh D'Andrade, Robert Dawson, Paz de la Calzada, Jim Herrington, Ira Nowinski, Alison Pebworth, Michael Rauner, Gent Sturgeon, Sunaura Taylor
Writers and researchers: Summer Brenner, Adriana Camarena, Chris Carlsson, Lisa Conrad, Guillermo G�mez-Pe�a, Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, Paul La Farge, Genine Lentine, Stella Lochman, Aaron Shurin, Heather Smith, Richard Walker
Additional cartography: Darin Jensen; Robin Grossinger and Ruth Askevold, San Francisco Estuary Institute ... Read more

Reviews

"San Francisco contains many more than eight hundred thousand living maps", November 19, 2010
The beautiful "Infinite City" belongs on any list of essential San Francisco books. Rebecca Solnit and her collaborators have taken a core sample of the endless layers of San Francisco history and laid it out in twenty-two brilliantly imagined maps and eighteen essays exploring the city's history, geography, demography, biology, and myth. "Infinite City" is vast enough to encompass the Coliseum, Coronet and Alexandria theaters; the Pipevine swallowtail, Satyr anglewing, and Orange sulfur butterflies; the Yelamu, Aramai, and Urebure peoples; the "McKittrick Hotel", "Argosy Book Shop", and Ernie's; Josephine McCrackin, Carrie Stevens Walter, and Barbara Eastman; Bechtel, RoboteX, and Jeppesen; Jimbo's Bop City, Ann's 440, and the Six Gallery; Acme Export Packing, the Pacific Far East Line, and Triple A Machine Shop; and the Richmond Branch of the San Francisco Public Library. The book itself is as lovingly designed as anything McSweeney's has published, proof that until we stop needing tactile pleasures, the screen will never replace the page.

Exciting journey through San Francisco's history, December 13, 2010
This is a lovely volume that speaks to the value of maps for keeping history alive. The University of California Press has done it again. ... Read more

Editorial Review

An intriguing collection of more than one hundred out-of-the-ordinary maps, blending art, history, and pop culture for a unique atlas of humanity

Spanning many centuries, all continents, and the realms of outer space and the imagination, this collection of 138 unique graphics combines beautiful full-color illustrations with quirky statistics and smart social commentary. The result is a distinctive illustrated guide to the world. Categories of cartographic curiosities include: • Literary Creations, featuring a map of Thomas More's Utopia and the world of George Orwell's 1984

• Cartographic Misconceptions, such as a lavish seventeenthcentury map depicting California as an island
• Political Parody, containing the "Jesusland map" and other humorous takes on voter profiles
• Whatchamacallit, including a map of the area codes for regions where the rapper Ludacris sings about having "hoes"
• Obscure Proposals, capturing Thomas Jefferson's vision for dividing the Northwest Territory into ten states with names such as Polypotamia and Assenisipia
• Fantastic Maps, with a depiction of what the globe might look like if the sea and land were inverted

The Strange Maps blog has been named by GeekDad Blog on Wired.com "one of the more unusual and unique sites seen on the Web that doesn't sell anything or promote an agenda" and it's currently ranked #423 on Technorati's Top 500 Blogs.

Brimming with trivia, deadpan humor, and idiosyncratic lore, Strange Maps is a fascinating tour of all things weird and wonderful in the world of cartography. ... Read more

Reviews

If you like maps, you'll love this book, October 31, 2009
Like the author, I like maps, but unlike me, he got bored with the standard variety. He began a web site with the most unusual maps he could find -- from which web site came this book.

It is a remarkable collection. There are maps showing California as an island, of what Africa might have looked like if Germany had won its wars, of countries that never were, of countries that wanted to be bigger than they were, of a proposed reorganization of the U.S. into 38 states, and many more. Some are scary, some funny, some puzzling, some enlightening. Each map has enough background to make it comprehensible.

In the process of enjoying the maps, one learns things. There are islands of Germany surrounded by Belgium. Before the introduction of standard time zones, railroad timetables were much more complicated than they are today. And did you ever wonder why part of Delaware's border is a curve?

This is one of those books that is a pleasure to browse through. One can read it bit by bit, learning something every time.

If you like maps, you'll love this book.

Good, but no replacement for the real thing, December 1, 2009
If you regularly read the Strange Maps blog and want to support Frank Jacobs with a few bucks, then this is the way to go. The book compiles the blog entries with nice large photos and un-cluttered text. However, if you're like I am, and like to look things up on the internet as you read about them, the experience of reading one of Frank's stories on the web is vastly different than reading it in a book. The book doesn't add anything to the content already on the web, and you miss out on the links to original sources and cross-references to other Strange Maps stories. If you or someone you know likes well-researched and engaging anecdotes about maps combined with the experience of reading such things in a book, then this one's for you. But if you just want to see some cartographic curiosities and pick up a factoid or two along the way, then perhaps the Strange Maps blog should be your first destination. Then you can decide whether it's worth is to shell out some money to have print copies of all the wonderful maps Frank has collected.

For Geography Lovers and History Buffs, October 30, 2009
The maps are both historical, fantasy based and several "what if" maps.
Ther is a map of the Land of Oz which is pretty cool. Several early American and colonial era maps have their conversation points. The photographs of some maps are small, and reading the details can be tedious at times. My favourite map is one showing what Europe would like like had Nazi Germany won WWII. Scary, yet very intriguing.

The future is also shown. There are two maps showing the moon walks of Apollo 11 and 12. A fold out map of Mars's moon Deimos reminds us that we are now mapping extra terrestrial locations. A map of Titan's (as of yet) unnamed liquid methane lake is just beyond amazing.

Daniel Padovano

What goes around comes around, December 1, 2009
Frank Jacobs's website has an honored icon on my Desktop; it's great fun to check what new and wonderful map he has come up with recently. All of his discoveries appeared first in print in a wide variety of publications, sometimes reprinted more than once. Jacobs then converts his map of the week to digital form and posts it on his website together with informative and amusing commentary.

This pretty little book collects some of his favorite maps and put them back into print again. As other reviewers have mentioned, the website is a living resource for anyone interested in maps. But it's very satisfying somehow to hold this book in the hand, partly to feel more in touch with the original version of the maps and partly to support Jacobs's efforts.

As an example of Jacobs point of view, this extract comes from a recent interview in "The New York Times":

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. To rephrase that cartographically: a map is worth a thousand statistics. One of the best examples of cartography with a cause are Dr. John Snow's mid-19th-century cholera maps. His cartographic juxtaposition of cholera outbreaks and water sources showed the link between a contaminated water supply and the prevalence of the disease. By eliminating certain pumps, cholera cases were reduced dramatically. Dr Snow's research helped create the discipline of epidemiology. So yes, maps and the particular way in which they present information can be very influential indeed.

"Another stark example is Dr. Minard's map of Napoleon's ill-advised Russian campaign, also discussed in my book. It is a marvel of data presentation, combining six different sets of information. One of those is the size of Napoleon's army, represented by 1 millimeter for every 10,000 soldiers. The tiny trickle leaking out of Russia compared to the massive arrow going in is as horrifying an indictment as any of the madness and human cost of war."

If you have any interest in maps (or even if you don't and would like to understand why others might be), stop by the website or even better buy this fine book as well. It's one of those books you'll lend out time and again, assuming your friends ever return it.

Robert C. Ross 2009

Step Right Up! See the World's Smallest Kingdom Here!, March 24, 2010
This is a Wonder Book, a collection of "cartographic curiosities" in the words of the author. It is to a conventional atlas what side shows are to the big top. Here you'll find the misshapen and the misbegotten, the tallest man and world's smallest flame eater, the five-legged animals of the cartographic kingdom. Frank Jacobs, the author, an English journalist, knows his stuff and presents it with a knowing smile. There are eighteen tent shows (chapters) where you'll discover over 100 maps, each with a unique story.

The most charming series of maps in the book are The Aleph Maps, a series of 19th Century anthropomorphic depictions of twelve European nations: Denmark as a figure skater, Russia as a bear, Ireland as a peasant woman, etc. Created for children as a way of making geography interesting, they are colorful, flamboyant and captivating. The map of Oz, which shows the boundaries of the surrounding counties, would make a fine playroom poster. For history buffs, a political cartoon in the form of a Civil War period map showing General-in-Chief Winfield Scott's proposed campaign route to subdue the Confederacy, is a winner. Titled "Scott's Great Snake," the road from Maryland to Missouri is illustrated as a great snake and Scott's proposal became known as "The Anaconda Plan." President Lincoln didn't buy it. But, as you will see, he does have an island named for him in the South Pacific.

Jacobs' scholarship is on display in his selection and description of maps used to illustrate the novels of Jules Verne. These show up in the second tent, "Literary Creations," and involve, in addition to Lincoln's island, the imaginary country Verne called New Switzerland. Jacob's scholarship here more than equals that found in the description of New Switzerland in "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places" (Harcourt Brace, New York, 2000). (However, I credit The Dictionary for including a map of The Marvellous (sic) Land of Oz which marks the spot where Alice's house landed and shows you where to find Wise Acres and Rigmarole Town.)

Inevitably, some of the maps Jacobs' selected can not be reduced to fit the page without making their fine print difficult to read without a magnifying glass. And you may suspect he chose a few of the maps more to pad out the book than for their intrinsic interest, e.g. the beef stake cut to look like the map of Brazil. But you can't help but be fascinated by many of his selections including the metro system map that shows you how to get from Vancouver to Auckland on the train by way of Prague. For sure, Jacobs provides a way of looking at the world that puts far more in perspective than oceans and land masses.
... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

The Finest Book of Wine Region Maps Yet!, November 24, 2007
Basically this is an indespensible text for anyone in the wine industry of wishing to expand their technical wine prowess. I am a Master of Wine student and this is one of the three cornerstones of my library including the Oxford Companion to Wine and the Sotheby's Wine Encylclopedia. The maps are a bit much for beginners but that is what the colorful Sotheby's maps are for. These maps highlight elevation and exposure as well as vineyard land and forested land, all are important aspects for advanced wine studies.

This edition expands upon the notable regions, including a massive increase in the US and Australian sections, Hugh Johnson giving a nod to the increasing popularity and success of these countries.

This should be one of the first three books purchased for any wine enthusiast.

The World According to Wine, October 27, 2007
At 400 pages, British wine experts Huge Johnson and Jancis Robinson have created their most exhaustive atlas yet, and a tremendous resource. The book is gorgeous - with a generous amount of color illustrations, photos, and maps, including 2 page spreads. All told there are 48 extra pages over the previous edition.

The 6th edition contains 200 maps, all revised and updates, including 20 new maps. The introduction contains essays on wine in the ancient world, vine types, grape varieties, weather, terroir, the wine growers calendar, how wine is made, etc. etc. Robinson has said this new edition took two years of concentrated effort. It was worth it!

Then the authors dive deep into wine regions organized by country. Each region or country covered has a colored map, an essay about the characteristics of the reason, vital statistics, and a few wine labels. France has the most with 55 regions featured, indeed, a quarter of the volume (100 pages) is on France. Italy features 18 regions. Spain 9. Portugal 6. Germany 12. United States 17. Australia 12. New Zealand 4. Other countries covered include: England and Wales, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Western Balkans, Bulgaria, Romania, Former Soviet Republics, Greece, Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, South Africa, China, Japan, and the rest of Asia. I find the information scant on Chile and Argentina, which is odd given their increased market exposure and rising excellence of wines.

The authors have expanded New World coverage, in keeping with expanded exposure and quality of the wine produced in these regions, for Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South America, and South Africa. These are additions, with nothing taken away from the previous fabulous coverage of Old & New World wine regions.

Since the first edition in 1971, the World Atlas of Wine has sold more than 4 million copies and I'm happy to add this new 6th edition to my library, especially at such a reasonable price. It's always a pleasure to look up some background information on tonight's glass of wine.

Note - this is the SIXTH edition!, November 29, 2008
The editorial notes for this listing refer to the 5th edition, but the listing itself is actually for the new, 6th edition. I own the 5th and have gone through the 6th in some detail. It is worth buying the newer edition if you have an earlier edition. The authors have not only added a couple dozen entirely new maps, but the format itself is nicer, in my opinion, and of course, the contents have been comprehensively updated. New editions of this book are not as frequent as the annual pocket guides (co-author Hugh Johnson's is excellent - Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2009: 32nd Edition (Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book). The 5th was published in 2001, and I would not expect the 7th edition for several years.

This is a favorite wine book, and, unlike ratings-focused books, not quite so readily replaceable by software and not particularly suited for mobile devices. A wonderful use of this book is to read about a region then go buy a few representative wines, which will help enormously in fixing the reference information in your mind as well as increasing the enjoyment of the wine itself. It's also a nice companion to wine articles in Wine Spectator and other magazines to supplement the tasting and travelogue information typical in such articles.

It is a shame that there isn't a "Look Inside" for this book. If you are unfamiliar with it, the World Atlas' maps are quite wonderful. Not just plain-Jane maps, but viticultural maps, with chapters and pages of accompanying commentary to help you understand the unique characteristics of each region as it pertains to wine. It is a delightful book to leave lying around, as you can read a page or two casually - each region stands on its own, i.e., this is not a book you have to slog through cover to cover.

The best wine atlas out there, December 12, 2008
While there many quality books out there that provide more detailed information about a particular type or style of of wine (Bordeaux, California, etc.), none approaches the scale and scope of this phenomenal book.

Now in its sixth edition (and the third edition I've purchased), The World Atlas of Wine, just keeps getting better and better.

If you are looking for an overview of the world of wine, information on the geography and provenance of different wines from around the world, this is the book you must have.

For instance, after returning from Italy a couple of months ago, I wanted to learn more about Italian wines, an area I understand less about than the wines of the USA or France, which I have studied and tasted extensively. I wondered about the difference between Barolo vs. Barbaresco in Piedmont, and the difference between Brunello di Montalcino vs. other Sangiovese-based wines from Tuscany. With just a few pages of reading and studying the maps, I learned more about these wines than I could have ever imagined.

If all you care about is a certain type of wine, there are better and more comprehensive books available to you. But, if you want to learn about the WORLD of wine, there is no better place to start than The World Atlas of Wine.

World Atlas of Wine, September 2, 2008
Great update to a reference work well-known among wine educators and consumers. The geographical context of the knowledge base about wine and winemaking is exceptionally well done and informative.

A Master's Secret..., September 10, 2008
I am a Master of Wine Student. I have own 5 editions of this atlas during my wine career. I thought I wouldn't need to upgrade to this new edition because, well, honestly, I didn't think this book could tell me any more than I already knew. Wow, I was wrong. The details of New World regions alone is reason to buy this book. The maps are always the BEST, but now they are more informative and more realistic of the wine world at large. You can also see the maps on the [...] site, but the book is still a great reference.

Fun and informative, October 12, 2010
I wanted a good book to take my rather modest knowledge of wine to the next level, and to put it on a more systematic basis. This book fit the bill. Also of the several dozen top titles I've looked at so far, this is my favorite just to read and enjoy. The encyclopedia type format is very convenient for reference, but the text is a lot more interesting than your typical encyclopedia. The maps are beautiful, detailed, and a useful learning tool for getting to know the details of the terroir. I often pick this book up just to browse, or to get a quick handle on a particular region or type of wine. This new addition adds about 20 new articles especially on southern hemisphere wines, reflecting their increasing importance. A truly great book on wine and rightly deserving of its reputation.

almost an encyclopedia, August 22, 2008
This is my third copy of World Atlas. Each one has been such a substantial improvement over the previous one that its purchase was inevitable. Great maps, witty, relevant text and the usual breath-taking photographs of wine country. (did you ever notice that no body grows wine in ugly places?)

Amazing atlas of wine, January 12, 2008
I absolutely love this book. However, the reason why I gave it only 4 stars is because this is the second time I've ordered it and it came without the CD. Otherwise, I find it fulfills all of my expectations. I often browse through it with my husband while opening a new bottle at the dinner table. This allows us to peak through sections of the book as desired. Most books this size make great coffee table props, which people don't even read. This one is meant to be read. Great text, great pictures, well organized!

rcarney, December 7, 2007
This is the book for those who wantthe in depth look at the world of wine. The maps and vineyard details along with the analysis of the various wines is extremely helpful. ... Read more

Reviews

Wouldn't want to go out with out it, August 22, 2006
There are two small atlases I consider to be absolutely indispensable. Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas is one of them. The charts in this atlas were well chosen. Each covers just the right amount of sky to give both a good perspective of the area you are looking at, and enough detail for star hopping with binoculars or finder scope, (stars are shown down to magnitude 7.6). Stick figures highlight the constellations to provide an easy and intuitive reference for what part of the sky the chart covers. An all sky view key of the charts is provided at the back of the book so that charts are easily located. The charts are well organized and very easy to navigate.

The charts are printed in color and are works of art in their own right. Not only is the atlas useful in the field, but it is a pleasure to browse through anytime.

The construction of the atlas is also very well done. It is spiral bound so that the charts open flat, making them easy to view. The charts are printed on good quality paper that looks as though it will stand up well even on nights when dew is challenging your ability to view.

Although it may seem like a small thing, a nice feature of the Atlas is a scale on the front cover from which one can construct a set of circles based on the field of view of each instrument you observe with. There is even a template showing the circles of a Telrad finder. It would have been even better if a clear plastic template with field of view circles had already been included, but it was easy enough to create my own set of circles.

Overall, this is an outstanding atlas for taking into the field, and I would certainly recommend it. As I said, I consider it to be indispensable; however, unlike others, I do not consider it to be the only quality pocket atlas out there. Another outstanding atlas is The Observer's Sky Atlas by E. Karkoschka. It is a nice compliment to Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas. I like the Pocket Sky Atlas for its big broad views of the sky and it's stunning charts. I like the Observer's Sky Atlas because it has some additional detail (see my review of that book) not available in the Pocket Sky Atlas. Both are ideal as field atlases, and I keep them both very close at hand when I've observing.

I hope you're not in a position where you can only buy one. Choosing between the two would be difficult. As I said, I keep both with me when I'm observing. But if you do have to choose, I would suggest the following. If you want the nicest looking atlas, go with the Pocket Sky Atlas. If you want a bit more detail and you don't mind giving up the glossy color pages and spiral binding, go with the Observers's Sky Atlas. But honestly, you really can't go wrong with either one.

Very Usable and Practical Atlas, May 7, 2006
Roger Sinnott's Pocket Sky Atlas fills a big void and vital niche- one that emphasises portability, usability and practicality. Everything in this little volume is extremely well thought out- from the quality of the book, the practical spiral bound layout, the scale of the star maps, clear and readable printing, intelligent and helpful labelling of stars and deep sky objects (you will appreciate the use of popular names for some DSO's), to a pure user friendly feel. There is even a helpful Telrad target scale and angular distance for quick estimations. Eminently suitable for the field, this is also a great planning atlas for astrophotographers and visual observers alike. For visual observation, this atlas shines when partenered with a Telrad finder (I really hate the flimisier Riger finder!).

The only place I think this atlas comes up short is if you are doing serious star hopping under the telescope. This is understandable given the scale of the atlas. I recommend Uranometria or similar atlases if you are a serious star-hopper.

Sept 2008 Update: I now have 3 copies of this Atlas! One I leave in my car and read it at restaurants during lunch break. The other is in my observing bag and yet one is one my desk at home. I love this atlas. This is perfect for astrophotography and weeknight quick sessions with my TV-85.

This little book stands out well to repeated field use. Mine is looking great after a year of extensive (and rough) use- no pages fallen off, no fade, no issues.

Pocket Sky Atlas, November 6, 2006
This atlas is thoughtfully laid out for use at the telescope in the field. The paper is a heavy dull-white stock that does not show reflection under a red light. Because the book is spiral bound, the pages lay flat freeing up your hands. No more trying to find a heavy object to keep the pages from turning.

Inside the front cover you will find printed a sample double page chart layout with a legend. Also printed is an angular distance scale and a Telrad bull's eye. I made a clear transparency copy of this page using an 8 �" x 11"sheet of overhead projector film by running it through a copy machine. I cut out the angular scale and then I cut the Telrad bull's eye in a long rectangle about 1" x 3" leaving the bull's eye at one end and using the other end as a handle to move the finder around the map. I put these in a small envelope and tucked it inside the atlas.

The contents page lists the best months to view the objects by R.A. range during evening, midnight and mourning and on which chart to find them. Towards the end of the atlas, there are four close-up charts of some of the most observed regions of the sky. The index is broken down by star name, galaxies, open and globular clusters, bright, dark and planetary nebulae. The Caldwell and Messier catalogs are listed separately. The back cover has the chart key for both north and south hemispheres. There are 80 main charts containing 30,796 stars to magnitude 7.6.

The introduction explains in easy to understand detail how the charts are labeled and arranged. The same chart legend appears on the first page of each chart as well as the R.A. range and best time and month for viewing. All the charts are printed in color on a white background for easy reading under a red light. A location guide to constellations and what the Greek star letters mean is also included.

Each page has the same basic layout as any good star atlas. The lines for the R.A and Declination are clearly marked. You will notice that a small blue triangle with a number inside is located on three sides of each page. These triangles point to the adjoining charts that make up more of that part of the sky. The number in the triangle indicate which chart.

There are two printing errors in the atlas on page 55 and on the close-up Chart C. You can download the printable corrected color pages from the Sky and Telescope website.
You can the cut and paste the corrected pages directly over the page in the book. I used spray adhesive.

Bottom line, this is a very compact and easy to use atlas you'll ever come across. It is very user friendly and a must have to "grab and go" with your favorite telescope or binoculars.
Book reviewed by Jack Fox, Richmond Astronomical Society

Best small atlas I've ever seen, July 4, 2006
This is not the first small-format 7th magnitude atlas to appear on the market. But it is the first that is actually usable. The creators have somehow managed to fit in a compact, affordable package an atlas which includes over 30,000 stars down to magnitude 7.6 with very little crowding or cramping. To achieve the compromise, the charts number 80, arranged in 8 gores (strips of sky from pole to pole), each one covering 3 hours of right ascension, the charts within ordered from north to south. This arrangement works well, as maps of the same season are in the same section. I would have wished the gores to be arranged in order of descending right ascension rather than ascending, but this is a matter of general principle; in this atlas it has hardly any practical effects.

The atlas is superbly useful in the field. It goes considerably beyond the traditional 6th magnitude atlas, revealing three times as many stars, making better use of 6x30 and larger finder scopes, and enabling the user to find bright asteroids and the planet Neptune. The colors used in the charts are not a problem under a red flashlight. Even the stick figures which depict the constellations are drawn so that they are readily distinguishable from the coordinate lines and do not interfere.

It contains a feature overlooked in too many small atlases. At the edges of each chart are the numbers of adjoining charts. Just go out into the field with an atlas that doesn't have them, and you'll understand immediately why they are important.

There are detailed charts of the Pleiades, LMC, Orion's sword, and the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. This last one probably should have been oriented vertically (portrait instead of landscape). At the expense of a couple galaxies on the western fringes, the chart would reach 6 or 7 degrees declination farther south--just about down to the star Porrima--to include quite a lot more galaxies, including M61.

It is small enough to pack alongside a pair of binoculars or in a car's glove compartment. The spiral binding is a useful touch. It allows the atlas to lie open flat without paperweights and also makes it easy to fold back and hold it in one hand. The pages are sturdy and dew resistant. The cover, however, should be tougher.

In places the charts seem a bit busy; this is due not to the scale, which is only slightly smaller than that of the Sky Atlas 2000.0, but to the occasionally lavish labelling. For example, what is the point of adding "Bode's Nebulae" to M81 and M82?

With such small pages, the area covered by each chart is limited. But the designers have managed the resulting problems well. The charts contain enough overlap that when an area of interest falls on the seam between two charts, one of them is likely to include the area in its entirety. The layout of adjacent charts on two-page spreads also helps.

To be sure, the Pocket has imperfections, but many of them are a compromise between competing considerations, and they are handled as well as in any small atlas on the market.

As a space saver, the compilers have omitted the lists of interesting objects. No problem, just buy a separate observer's guide and write out a list of your targets before going out for the evening.

For advanced observers, the Pocket is a great companion to Uranometria or the Millennium, use the Pocket for quick, hassle-free finds of ordinary objects and the big atlas for ferreting out the real challenges.

Users of binoculars and small telescopes have long faced a selection of 5th to 6th magnitude star atlases which show under 10,000 stars and range in quality from OK to poor. There is now no need to worry about the choice. Just get the Pocket.

Stop Looking!! This is the only atlas you will ever need!!, June 13, 2006
Finally!! A PERFECT atlas for amateurs with small or medium sized scopes (up to 8"), binoculars, or naked eye. Sky and Telescope has really outdone themselves with this one. It looks like they have really taken all of the comments about SkyAtlas 2000.0 into heart when designing. Constellation lines, good scale, telrad finder circles, very good index, etc. Pages are nice and heavy and take pencil and erasing really well.
Don't be intimitated by the fact that there are 80 charts. The layout makes sense, and it won't be long before you memorize your favorite constellations.
GET THIS!!!

just the perfect friend of every observer, July 2, 2006
As a professional astronomer, I have been surfing plenty of sky atlases, ranging from very simple to heavy and complete ones. This book is just great for those observing the heavens with thier own binoculars or telescope, as everything is in your hands, requiring just a little space. The choice to divide the whole sky in RA is a good one, as you have the season maps close each other. You have stars down to magnitude 7.5 and the maps are really accurate and a joy to look at. The milky way is reproduced with two different colours, accounting for the different star densities. You can quickly skip to any other map, thanks to the general index and indications given on each page.

Plenty of double and variable stars, as well as deep sky wonders complete this book, which is going to stay w
very close to my portable telescopes by now.

A great little atlas, March 7, 2007
I am an active amateur astronomer with several star atlases. I bought this atlas almost a year ago, and I have ended up using it more than any of my other atlases. The format is compact and convenient, it points out the major sky features very well (even providing outlines of larger nebulae), and is a great complement to a medium- to small-sized telescope. I even find this atlas makes interesting bed-time reading, helping familiarize myself with the locations of objects that I haven't commonly observed in the past, like carbon stars (cool, deep-red stars that are particularly beautiful in a low-power star field). The atlas is quite sturdy and has held up well. My only quibble is that in the edition that I have, there are a few small areas (roughly a half-inch in diameter) on a few of the maps that are blanked out, as if a small piece of scrap paper were in the way during printing. I believe this error may affect many or most copies of the first edition, but I am not certain about that.

Awesome Atlas, January 10, 2007
Since getting this last fall, I've only pulled my SA2K atlas out once!!!
For hunting down Messier Objects and brighter NGC's this is PERFECT! Great layout, great scale, and you can't beat the price or portability. Small enough to keep in your backpack, purse, bag, briefcase, whatever - never be afraid to go stargazing on your next trip.

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Atlas is now my FIRST reference, August 30, 2006
Having had it for two star parties now, it's become my favorite reference.

Well indexed and easy to read under red light, it is terrific for 90%+ of my needs. It sure beats dragging around a HUGE atlas at the telescope.

I highly recommend it for portable use. A large format star atlas is still a terrific tool, but the portability of this Pocket Atlas means it will be the one most used in my library.

Clear Skies!

If only it was bigger or smaller, August 18, 2008
This is a good field guide at the telescope. I like the layout and the information contained within it. Spiral bound is a plus, allowing you to lay it flat and not loose pages after a few weeks. However, I know it's a pocket book but its not! It's a little to big to be a pocket book and to small for easy identification of stellar targets. The size is just wrong! Bigger and it would be awesome, smaller and it would be very handy, as it is I use an old 1970s Patrick Moore book that is pocket size. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Streetwise Paris Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Paris, France - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map including lines & stations

This map covers the following areas:
Main Paris Map 1:14,000
Paris Metro Map
Map of France

There are more clichés about Paris than there are tourists at the Louvre, but the fact is that underneath each overused hackneyed cliché is a glistening kernel of truth. The City of Light, the City of Love and the City of Romance, familiar platitudes, but once you experience it for yourself you understand why. There is a je ne sais quoi allure to this city that beguiles, but never completely reveals what makes it so universally appealing. Artists, poets, writers, and composers have tried to define exactly what it is about this place, and yet they succeed only to a point. Perhaps it is as elusive as defining love, for to be in Paris entails experiencing love, about someone, something, some place.

There is so much to do - you know the big ones, the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Sacre Coeur, St. Germain des Pres, the Left Bank, the Right Bank, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysées, the Opéra- but don’t miss the fun of discovering the small ones, the ones off the beaten path. Nothing like taking your time strolling thru the turn of the century mansion that houses Musée Marmottan then enjoying a café and patisserie in the museums jewel box café.

Wandering aimlessly is romantic. Getting lost isn’t romantic. In fact there are few things that can drain the romance out of a situation faster than realizing that you’re hopelessly lost. So take your travel map and put it away if you want to wander, but have no fear that your wandering will turn into a lost odyssey. You can always pull out the STREETWISE® Paris Map and get yourself pointed back in the right direction.

Paris is not without faults. Sometimes people can be rude, but that’s the case anywhere in the world - be it a large city or small village. You get what you give. And in the case of Paris, as with any true love, you accept the flaws with the charms, the weaknesses with the strengths. In the end the true beauty of Paris will surpass any blemish. Life from a Parisian perspective is beautiful. But that’s another cliché, isn’t it?

Our pocket size map of Paris is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. The STREETWISE® Paris map is one of many detailed and easy-to-read city street maps designed and published by STREETWISE®. Buy your STREETWISE® Paris map today and you too can navigate Paris, France like a native. For a larger selection of our detailed travel maps simply type STREETWISE MAPS into the Amazon search bar. ... Read more

Reviews

Best item I bought for the trip!, April 18, 2004
This map got us everywhere we wanted to go in Paris for our 1 week visit. I began using it right off the plane when our shuttle driver didn't know where our apartment was. We used it to keep the rain off our heads, and put it down on dirty benches to protect our clothes. The metro map meant that we never took a wrong train. We spent most of the week on foot and every street we were on was in the map. Most of the items and guides I brought along were looked at in the room before we left every morning, but this map was always with us.

Great Map!, June 17, 2003
This map was an essential element of my time spent in Paris. It is perfect if you're going to be in Paris and need a very detailed street map while walking through the city. It doesn't cover many of the outer-lying areas, but it covers the heart of the city in-depth. I speak zero French and this map got me wherever I needed to go. I would recommend any of 'Streetwise' maps. I have used quite a few, both internationally and nationally, and have found them all to be extremely useful. In fact, whenever I know I'm going to be visiting a different city I buy one! Also worth the price because the maps are very durable, they're laminated and I've never had one tear on me.

Perfect companion, June 20, 2005
We recently embarked on a trip to Paris, and brought this and the Insight Fleximap of Paris. Streetwise was always the one being used. It folds out lengthwise so you don't have to struggle with it. We just found the area we needed and folded it to size. Perfect.

It also had most of the tourist locations we needed and was easy to use. We won't go back without this map. Since it's laminated, you never have to worry about it getting wet.

Also, you'll eventually end up navigating the metros when in Paris, and this was handy for that too. We needed to know where the various gares were, and thankfully this map makes them stand out in blue. You also have your arrondisements clearly noted.

I would recommend this to anyone.

Buy it, take it, use it!, October 15, 2000
Used it during pre-trip planning to research where to stay. Took it with us every day while exploring the streets of Paris, which can be confusing. Much better than a bulky paper fold-out map. Dropped our Streetwise while out in the rain but it suffered no damage because of its lamination. It also includes metro stops.

Be sure to get the "Streetwise" map and not the "Artwise" map. The Streetwise series includes an index of street names on the reverse, while the Artwise gives a list of museums & opening times. Index of street names is much more useful.

Also, the "Let's Go" people publish a similar type of map, but the Streetwise covers a greater area.

Good, but has its limitations, November 1, 2005
It's durable, and pretty convenient to use, but (1) it doesn't cover the entire city, and (2) some of the tinier streets on the Left Bank are not marked. If you're not planning on going to any outlying areas it's probably good enough, but if you think you might want to venture out farther, pick up a Plan de Paris par Arrondissement, and you'll never be lost.

A limited view of Paris, October 7, 2006
I bought this map, having read the previous reviews. And am returning it because it gives a much too limited view of Paris. It literally cuts out whole neighborhoods -- the north end of the 18th, most of the 19th and 20th, the 12th arrondissements(including Belleville, Menilmontant), most of the 13th, 14th, 15th arrondissements including Montparnasse, the Cite Universitaire, etc.

Fine if you want to get only to the hottest tourist spots, but totally inadequate if you want to visit the "tout Paris".

Hugely helpful, even if you're not going to Paris., October 13, 2001
Suppose you're a writer who's working on a story set in Paris, but you've never been there and don't have any particular prospects of getting there anytime soon. What can you do for authentic locations and directions? Get a couple of guidebooks for color, but for the geography, this is the map. It covers almost everything within the P�riph�rique, has a very comprehensive map of the nigh-incomprehensible M�tro system, and is generally the most useful aid to Paris navigation around. And it's durable enough to handle being used as a reference, too.

An Absolute Necessity!, October 16, 2005
I just returned from my first trip to Paris, and this map was the best money spent! I used Rick Steves' Paris book to identify places I wanted to go, and this map got me there. I would have been completely lost (literally!) without it. The m�tro map was super helpful, too. We stayed near the Eiffel Tower, and made it to Montmartre (which included changing trains twice) with no problem at all.

If you're going to Paris, get this map--it's a necessary, and infinitely helpful, travel companion!

What a great travel companion!, December 20, 2002
The physical properties of this map make it a very handy, durable guide to get you around the heart of Paris. Laminated plastic, fan-folded like an accordian, it opens and closes in a snap. It survived five days riding around in my hip pocket, looking none the worse for wear. (Don't keep anything else of value in your pockets though. I very nearly got my pocket picked outside the Gare du Nord train station, and my wallet was deep in my front pocket! My wife spotted the little blighter, he couldn't have been older than 10, and alerted me.) When we returned home, it became one of our favorite keepsakes from the trip.

Should be hand-out with your Airlines tickets!!!, April 30, 1999
This is an absolute must for any traveller to Paris. The folded plastic layout as well as the clarity and quality of the information contained is stagering. Makes it taking the metro and getting just about anywhere in Paris a breeze!!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Streetwise Manhattan Map - Laminated City Street Map of Manhattan, New York - Folding pocket size NYC travel map with integrated subway lines & stations - bus map

This map covers the following areas:
Main Manhattan Map 1:27,000
Manhattan Bus Map

Some people think Manhattan and New York City are synonymous, but technically they are not. Manhattan is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. The others are Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. It’s a persnickety detail, but detail is what STREETWISE® is about. For example, the architectural details drawn on the Manhattan New York map are in outline form. A solid drawing would obscure the streets surrounding the location, and therefore hamper the usability of the map. Only in unobstructed locations will you find a solid drawing.

You may not notice this or any of the many other details that combine to make a NY city map that has been called the best selling map on earth*. The STREETWISE® Manhattan Map is detailed from lower tip to upper tip. It is layered with information about sites and mass transit routes. The New York City Subway system is one of the most important and vital rail networks in the world. It is also the fastest and cheapest way to travel north-south in New York. Our Manhattan street map has the best designed diagram of the Subway system ever produced on a street map. An inset of Manhattan bus routes complements the Subway system. You are now prepared to travel the length and breadth of Manhattan. From shopping in SOHO, dining in the Village, working in Midtown, visiting the Met on the Upper East Side or strolling thru Central Park, you’re covered with the STREETWISE® Manhattan Map of NYC. From the Staten Island Ferry up to the rediscovered realm of Harlem, you can navigate like a native New Yorker with this pocket size Manhattan Map.

Good city maps, like the STREETWISE® map of Manhattan, will guide you in the right direction and directly impact your experience of New York. A good Manhattan map will also keep you grounded, relaxed and confident in your decisions about where to go and how to get there. Whether by car, train, bus or on foot you are confident because you carry the most knowledgeable travel companion when you carry our NYC street map, the best laminated Manhattan Map on the market.

Our pocket size map of Manhattan is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. The STREETWISE® Manhattan map is one of many detailed and easy-to-read city street maps designed and published by STREETWISE®. Buy your STREETWISE® Manhattan map today and you too can navigate Manhattan, New York like a native. For a larger selection of our detailed travel maps simply type STREETWISE MAPS into the Amazon search bar.

* Publishers Weekly January 2004 ... Read more

Reviews

My favorite Map, September 25, 2001
I discovered Streewise Manhattan in a New York City bookstore years ago. I acquired a copy, and it quickly became my favorite map of all. Its format and sturdiness made it easy to carry with me without the map breaking down, and it was so easy to read, and to locate everything I wanted. I used it for years, and then - sadly - lost it.

I returned to New York and checked various bookstores there, and no one carried copies of it anymore, so I was thrilled to discover it on Amazon, and promptly ordered a new copy. After getting used to the Streetwise maps all others seem like pale imitations.

don't leave home without it, February 24, 2001
I bought this guide when I first moved to NYC 7 years ago. I carried it with me every day as I got to know my way around. I could be adventurous when I was armed with my "steetwise" map because I could walk wherever I wanted and I'd use the map to find the closest subway no matter where I wound up. I continued to carry it with me in my bag every day as long as I lived in New York because you never know when someone will invite you to some new place after work and you need to plan your course for the evening. This guide helps you move around like you're a native and its so small and light there's no reason not to have it with you always. Note: the first one I bought had a couple errors in the subway stops near Central Park on the B and D trains, but I bought another one a year later and found no errors on it. (Now that I've moved out of New York, I even feel nostalgic when I see my old "streetwise manhattan". It served me well.)

The nonpareil of portable Manhattan maps, February 5, 2006
To the user whose StreetWise map didn't show the Chrysler Building: You'll be pleased to know that the Chrysler has been added to the latest addition!

I've been using this map since it first came out, and have given away more copies than I can count. I keep a map in each of two briefcases and one in my backpack. I use it several times a month to plot subway routes or to get my bearings in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

I've lived in NYC for thirty-six years, and this is the map I couldn't do without. Great product.

Sticking With The Best!, July 6, 2002
I live in upstate New York. I have the luxory of being able to visit NYC 2-3 times per year. I recently borrowed "Streetwise Manhattan" from a friend of mine for a visit to Ground Zero in late March. I was hooked. I can't tell you how comfortable I felt walking around knowing that I could refer to this easy to read, compact & durable map at any time. Easy to follow - clear depiction of any street, most landmarks as well as transportation lines. I liked it so much I just ordered the Streetwise for Washington D.C. for my trip this summer. You can be sure I'll have a Streetwise map for any major city I visit.

Incredibly useful, September 29, 2005
This map has been a godsend to me. Not only does it list popular sites, but it manages to fit the entire island of Manhattan on it. It's great for me, since I go all over the city and definitely need the uptown bits that generally get cut off. Also, having a bus map has turned out to be indispensable more than once. The only thing I could do with is a full subway map. While it does list the stops, it's very hard to see how they all connect and thus plan a trip via subway. But overall, this has been the best pocket map I've found of Manhattan.

Couldn't Live Without It, August 8, 2003
I bought this map before taking a trip to NYC. I was daunted by the thought of navigating around Manhattan, but this map made the whole place seem smaller and much easier to figure out. It was THE most valuable thing I brought with me on my Manhattan vacation! I really like how you can get an overall feel of the size, shape, and layout of Manhattan, and see how all the neighborhoods fit together.

I will be moving to NYC and am currently searching for an apartment in Manhattan, and I could not survive the apartment search without this map. It has been SO helpful. If you're thinking of taking a trip to Manhattan, do not leave home without this map.

Indispensible, March 3, 2005
This handy dandy Manhattan waterproof map was the perfect size to carry on my walking tour of Manhatten. It has every street, subway, attraction that you could ever want to see. AND if you use a dry erase marker you can mark out your path and later wipe it off. I will ALWAYS buy the Streetwise maps when I travel anywhere from now on. It was very easy to navigate, read, and comprehend. We never got lost or took a wrong subway. Every street is clearly marked. The only problem I had was figuring out if I was facing north, south, east, or west in the city. Once that was figured out, everything was a piece of cake. I used this map for 5 days in NY and it still looks new because of the laminate. No awkward paper folding, it's thin, and nearly weightless. This map is indispensible.

Take it from a New Yorker., May 15, 2003
I lived in Manhattan for 10 years, and I lived by this map. It's essential.

Excellent basic map, November 20, 2002
I have seen many tourists and visitors carry this map around with them in NY. It really does one thing really well, provide you with a barebones map of New York without going into excessive detail that may increase the time it takes to look something up. Streetwise features a clean layout, and a highly readable typeface. Subway stations and landmarks are colorfully pinpointed on the map, and are not crowded together. The physical quality of the map is excellent. It is laminated on heavy card stock, and folds up neatly when not in use. rkchin. more map reviews at http://www.nychinatown.org/bookstore/index6.html

Another satisfied user ..., April 28, 2003
This is the map to get - small enough to not make you look like a big dork if you need to do a quick "map check" while out on the streets and very easy to carry around, but with plenty of detail, and very easy to immediately read with important buildings marked. It's also laminated for durability.

This little map really increased our enjoyment of New York, and I can recommend it with confidence. ... Read more

Reviews

A beautiful and informative book, December 19, 2005
"The Map Book" provides ample evidence of Mr. Barber's and his colleagues' knowledge and love of maps. The finely detailed reproductions of the historical maps alone would be worth the price the price of the book, but the addition of the well-informed and entertaining essays which accompany each map imbue the maps with greater meaning and provide a window into the thoughts, traditions, and motives of the mapmakers and those for whom the maps were intended. One could open this book at any page and become engrossed from the history and culture represented by each of the maps.

With the physical dimensions and glossy pages of a coffee table books, "The Map Book" goes beyond most of the genre by being not only pleasing to the eye, but stimulating to the mind as well. This book never fails to catch the attention of my guests and I never fail to be pleased at the undeserved compliments given to me from my simply having and displaying the book.

Absolutely worth the wait... finally arrived and it's stunning!, March 12, 2006
This book just arrived in the mail yesterday! Wow! I never thought I would be saying this about ANY item that takes almost three months to arrive (we are in the 21st century are we not?), but it was worth the wait. The breadth of this book's coverage is amazing - the organization by year is really interesting - you can see the progression of maps (and the dozens upon dozens of invented uses of maps). Many of the maps featured in this book seem to be rare gems. And the paper and print quality are top-notch. Best of all, this book tries to educate while it's busy pleasing the eye, asking its readers thought-provoking questions (like showing a composite satellite image and asking "is this a map"?).

More than just a coffee table book, I am excited to finally own this visual feast! Very thought-provoking... being a geek is cool again! :-)

Nice coffee table book, January 14, 2009
This book blends a history lesson with interesting maps. Sometimes the maps leave you wanting more detail, but overall, it's an intriguing idea. I gave it as a gift to a map lover, and it was well received.

Better to behold than to read, December 29, 2005
This sumptuous volume of maps covers the topic from a broad perspective. The illustrations are many and pleasing to the eye. But the book seems meant to be displayed on a coffee table as it is almost too heavy to hold and read comfortably. The writing is pedestrian.

Perfect present!, January 1, 2009
I bought this for my husband for Christmas and he loved it. This is a huge recommendation, as he hates to read! It is a beautiful book with gorgeous and fascinating illustrations, perfect for map collectors and history buffs.

going blind!, November 18, 2009
I really looked forward to getting this book and wish I had read the reviews first. While I can enjoy the overall design of the maps, I certainly found my enjoyment lessened by the fact that I cannot read the print on most of them, even with a magnifying glass. This, in turn, lessened the appeal of the text. Just a mess, to be honest.

Didn't any editor notice the size of the print on the maps? Or are they sight-impaired?

I am just glad that I only paid $8 for this, used, including shipping.

Photos too small to be of any value. And the Empire is dead ., August 3, 2006
Mr. Barber was apparently so taken by the idea of putting together a collection of his favorite maps that he forgot that: 1) there are already more map books on the market than you can shake a compass at and a bigger book of maps is not automatically a better book, 2) his book, like all the others, was inevitably going to suffer from the same defect, namely reproductions of maps so reduced in size as to be unreadable, and 3) putting the primary focus on maps relating to the defunct British Empire may be patriotic to his countrymen but only serves to amuse the rest of the world.

Oh, and the proofreading provided by his publisher leaves much to be desired. That is unless the Japanese actually DID attack Pearl Harbor on December 3, 1941 !

Great gift for history buff, December 4, 2007
My husband loves maps and loves history. So, this seemed to be the perfect gift. As it turns out, I was correct. This is a beautiful book and lives up to the description that appears on the Amazon web site. He really is enjoying the book.

The Map Book, January 14, 2010
I bought this as a gift for my 8 year old grandaughter. It was way above her level but there was no way to look inside the book without ordering it nor was there any age recommendations for the purchase. It is indeed a beautiful book and maybe helpful to her in high school or college.

The Map Book, June 9, 2007
I gave this as a gift and the person who received it was thrilled with it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Amazon.com ReviewProduct Description
In this one-of-a-kind atlas, scores of archival maps and dozens of newly created maps trace the battles, political turmoil, and great themes of America’s most violent and pivotal clash of arms. From the Antebellum South to Fort Sumter, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the fitful peace of Reconstruction, National Geographic’s Atlas of the Civil War displays eye-opening maps—and a gripping, self-contained story—on every spread.

Eighty-five rare period maps, many seen here for the first time, offer the cartographic history of a land at war with itself: from 19th-century campaign maps surveying whole regions and strategies to vintage battlefield charts used by Union and Confederate generals alike, along with commercial maps produced for a news-hungry public, and comprehensive Theater of War maps. In 35 innovative views created especially for this book, the key moments of major battles are pinpointed by National Geographic’s award-winning cartographers using satellite data to render the terrain with astonishing detail.

In addition, more than 320 documentary photographs, battlefield sketches, paintings, and artifacts bear eyewitness testimony to the war, history’s first to be widely captured on film.

Look Inside Atlas of the Civil War

Click on thumbnails for larger images

Reviews

Good info - poor graphics, December 5, 2009
If you're a Civil War buff, student, teacher this book is a must - BUT many of the graphics, trying to look "of the period" are a bit obscure. The maps from the Natinal Geographic are better. Some of the "battles" were a bit more than skirmishes; still people died, were wounded and subsequent battles were often determined by these skirmishes.
To understand the war, you must have a fair knowledge of "the west" i.e. TN LA etc. This book does a good job with that.
The VA peninsula campaigns and Gettysburg are well described and fairly easy to follow

big, handsome coffee table book to be hefty both in its weight and its contents, December 25, 2009
Atlas of the Civil War: A Complete Guide to the Tactics and Terrain of Battle by Stephen Hyslop, Neil Kagan, and Harris Andrews, National Geographic Incorporated, 255 pages, additional readings, index, 2009, $40.00

Comprehensive is a word of which CWL is suspicious. National Geographic's Atlas of the Civil War A Comprehensive Guide to the Tactics and Terrain of Battle is pretty close to comprehensive though.

Organized as a chronological account with eighty-five rare period maps, this atlas offers the map maker's history of the American Civil War. Campaign maps surveying whole regions and strategies, contemporary battlefield charts used by Union and Confederate generals, commercial maps produced for a newspapers are the majority of the maps in the atlas. The key moments of major battles are pinpointed by National Geographic's cartographers using satellite data to render the terrain with astonishing detail in 35 maps created for the atlas.

In addition, there are over 300 documentary photographs, battlefield sketches, paintings, and artifacts bear eyewitness testimony to the war, history's first to be widely captured by photography. Users of William J. Miller's Great Maps of the Civil War: Pivotal Battles and Campaigns, Earl McElfresh's Mapping For Stonewall and Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War, the Atlas to the Official Records, the West Point Atlas of the Civil War, and the numerous online map collections of universities and libraries will be content with the depth and clarity of reproductions in this atlas. Those coming to Civil War era maps and map making for the first and second time could hardly do better that the National Geographic's atlas. Those looking for a large format nearly comprehensive book on the military aspects of the war will find in this big, handsome coffee table book to be hefty both in its weight and its contents.

Civil War, August 5, 2010
Great book and great service
The book was purchased as a gift for my son in TN (closer to the Civil War than I in CA)he loves it too...

Atlas of the Civil War, February 8, 2010
I purchased this book for my son -in-law who is a civil war buff.He absolutly loved the pictures and the maps. I also had a chance to look at it and was very impressed with the presentations.everything was well put together and very informative. I thought he knew everything there was to know about the civil war but even he was surprised. I would recommend this book and plan on buying the companion.

Very good, February 5, 2010
My only complaint is that I didn't realize it had a dustcover, I thought it was just a printed cover like you would expect on an atlas. Otherwise, was exactly what I hoped for.

typical ng product, February 4, 2010
this is what you expect from nat geo-a great product-i bought two-gave one as a gift-every american needs research material for the civil war available in their personal library ... Read more

Editorial Review

Streetwise Rome Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Rome, Italy - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map including subway & railway lines, stations

This map covers the following areas:
Main Rome Map 1:17,000
Rome Historic District Map 1:8,700
Rome Metro Map

As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It took hundreds of years to create the great Roman Empire, but it shouldn’t take as long to find your way around the ancient ruins that remain. With a STREETWISE® Map of Rome Italy, you have the ultimate guide to navigating Italy’s most famous and most historic city.

Throughout the city of Rome, past and present are intertwined as modern-day Italians and visiting tourists walk and drive through the remnants of one of history’s greatest civilizations. Whether it’s your first time or another return visit to your favorite destination, there’s always something new to see in Rome. A great map can be the key to discovering all the city has to offer.

Our STREETWISE® Rome Map provides a comprehensive and fully detailed map of Rome to aid you in finding your way to all there is to do and see in this great center of history and culture. From Vatican City to the southeast corner of Palatine, the STREETWISE® Rome Map covers the entire city in full-color, including graphic representations of the major buildings and historic sites. Our STREETWISE® Rome City Map is fully indexed, including streets, piazzas, gardens, and important places of interest. The STREETWISE® Rome Map also features a map of the Rome Metro system, including subway lines, railways, and the airport.

Our pocket size map of Rome is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. The STREETWISE® Rome map is one of many detailed and easy-to-read city street maps designed and published by STREETWISE®. Buy your STREETWISE® Rome map today and you too can navigate Rome, Italy like a native. For a larger selection of our detailed travel maps simply type STREETWISE MAPS into the Amazon search bar. ... Read more

Reviews

Very accurate and useful, September 3, 2004
I went to Rome with three guidebooks and this map. It was this map that was the most useful tool for negotiating the city. It is compact, yet very comprehensive, accurate and well marked. It was easy to find landmarks, tourist sites, piazzas, metro stops, etc., as well as even the tiniest streets in Rome. A big plus is the fact that the map is laminated - we were caught out in a heavy rainstorm, and this map held up admirably - the paper map we received from our hotel disintegrated. I would highly recommend this map to anyone travelling in Rome.

Streetwise Rome, August 17, 2004
There's no disputing the point that there are more complete, more dtailed maps. However, that misses the point. One does not ordinarily need microscopic detail in negotiating an unfamiliar city. What one does need is a broad outline of the city that can be speedily referenced to orient oneself. For this purpose (primarily that of the tourist), Streetwise is THE superior product. If you need detail, buy a Mapsco. If you just want to quickly figure out where you are, Streetwise is the way to go

Get the official Tourism Office map instead, October 20, 2003
You can find an official (and free) map and important extra documentation at the Tourism Office of all European cities you plan on traveling to. These offices are right at the Train station or Airport. Even your hotel concierge will provide you with a decent map.

In my experience, all Tourism Office maps were better than the Streetwise ones I had bought for my trip. Some of the flaws I saw:
- Metro lines not drawn out, just stations. It helps to see the actual metro line when you are looking for other stations along your line.
- Map is a bit too shrunk down for some cities: street names are too close together and hard to read.
- No vaporetto lines for Venice.

... but the map is better than nothing. I don't think you need it if you can spend the 5 minutes to stop at the Tourism Office.

Tried It and Liked It!, February 9, 2004
This map is accurate and laminated, which makes it indestructible. It is a good value and easy to read. I essentially walked most areas of Rome and found no errors...it got me back to my hotel every time. An excellent buy!

Very very small, September 12, 2005
This is an accurate although not completely comprehensive map of Rome (missed a few streets in the heart of the city). It is compact and durable, but the print is way too small for these 47 year old eyes (I do not wear glasses to read). Fortunatley, I copied and enlarged the map in sections before leaving, keeping the laminated original for backup. I would look for another.

Once you have the Streetwise and a metro ticket - you own Rome., March 20, 2007
The Rome Streetwise is great! It is light enough to easily carry around - big enough to read even with bifocals - and has ALL the streets on it, even the little narrow ones. It also has the metro stations clearly identified. So, with this in one hand and your metro ticket in the other - you can go anywhere you need to go in Rome to see ALL the major sites and most of the smaller ones too. You don't need a car or taxi in Rome - just your streetwise and a metro ticket. In fact, by looking at the Streetwise, we could see that many attractions were grouped close enough to each other that we could use the map to just walk from one to the other. (Ex: Spanish steps to Pantheon) I wouldn't go there without one of these.

The only map you need, December 24, 2007
Just returned from eight days of walking in Rome. This is the only map we needed to find our way to everything that was of interest to us. It seems that just about every street and alleyway is listed and shown to scale (which is not the case with the free "tourist" maps). Experienced the joy of just wandering around following our noses to one interesting area after another, always knowing that our trusty "Streetwise Rome" would come to the rescue when we wanted to reach a particular destination. We ventured to the Borghese Gallery, the Vatican, to Trastevere, Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Via Veneto, the Baths of Diocletian and from and back to the Termini Train Station. Including having the map out in the rain on several occassions, it still looks like new. The best thing is, it is only 4" X 8.5" when folded in your pocket and so easy to flip open to use (unlike so many other maps that you must unfold in several directions).
The map also has sketches of many of the sights you will be looking for to help you quickly find them. While we only used the Metro once, all the stations are clearly marked. If you want to spend less time folding and unfolding the map and more time enjoying the sights, you may find this product very much to your liking.

A great and sturdy map., February 7, 2007
This map is great. All the streets, sites, taxi stands and bus routes are right on there. It's the only map you'll need in Rome. It's even waterproof (or sweatproof - which proved to me more important!!!).

Streetwise -The handiest maps ever., April 1, 2010
I have field tested my copy.... Getting late in the evening, raining, wind picking up, tourists are cursing their free maps fom the hotel lobby. I also have become lost and disoriented. I quickly flip out my Streetwise map and orient myself in the right direction of my hotel in an instant.

Next morning, fair weather, I check my streetwise map again to plot my days perigranatsione....I never got lost once, and found things that I did not expect to see, thanks to the lovely 3D icons on my map.

Before you say that what I am saying is all blather, lemme say this. This was my third visit to Rome in bad weather and in good. This was my best visit ever. The same also when I visited Naples using a streetwise map.

Phil.

It's a good buy, November 20, 2004
All you really need to know is that the Rome map was clear, light, and compact. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Amazon.com ReviewProduct Description
With hundreds of dramatic, full-color, large-format maps produced by Europe's finest team of cartographers, the third edition of the New Concise World Atlas solidifies Oxford's position as the only publisher of regularly updated atlases at every desirable size and price.

Take a look at images from Oxford’s New Concise World Atlas
(Click on images to enlarge)

This section of the Milky Way is dominated by Sirius, the Dog Star, top center, in the constellation of Canis Major.	A map of Northern Italy and parts of France and Switzerland.
An up-to-date chart of the countries in the European Union, which includes total land area and population as well as year of accession.	A map of the southern tip of South America.

Reviews

Great for research, January 30, 2007
I bought this atlas because I wanted one as up-to-date as possible (in light of political boundaries and such), and wanted something to accompany a globe I have. There is a lot of useful information at the front of the atlas, so it's not just a book of maps. I use it for reference while taking classes for my masters (logistics and transportation) degree, and my stepson uses it for some of his high-school classes, as well. I think it's an atlas worth sharing with the family to learn geography.

Not All that Concise, But Still Grand, January 6, 2009
I probably didn't read the product description very carefully, and I assumed that this concise atlas would be much smaller than it actually is. It's really the size of a coffee-table book, much larger than I had originally thought. However, the atlas itself is wonderful. It has information about the universe and the solar system, interesting articles about geography and beautiful colored maps. We've consulted ours many, many times in the couple of weeks that we've had it. The pages lay nice and flat, so you can study a map without struggling to hold the book open. This is a great book for settling geographical debates or for teaching young children about our world.

Very Nice, April 9, 2008
I needed a really good World Atlas and I found it with this one. I use it all the time. It has a lot of really good information at the front of the atlas that has been most helpful when I am doing research. Use this atlas along with Google Earth and you don't need anything else.

Nice Book, But Missing Some Nice Features, May 23, 2010
I hadn't bought an atlas in a very long time, and a new one was way over-due. With all the changes in the world, my old one was pretty out-of-date. I finally decided on the Oxford one. I'm okay with it, but, while this one is a handsome book, has great maps and a lot of info on the planets, etc.., I really miss some of the features my old one had. My old atlas (a Rand-McNally) had cities/towns (and their population) listed with each map. For the U.S. it even listed zip codes for each town! With this new one, ALL the cities are listed in the back of the book, and there are no population stats. It's much less convenient than what I'm used to. I will keep it and use it, but I'm still searching.

Wonderful Book, January 7, 2008
This book is more than great. The color of it is very vibrant and the book is a great size. My dad was very pleased to have opened it on Christmas. It was well worth the money for sure!

MAGNIFICENT!, August 18, 2008
Wonderfully comprehensive. As a retired Army officer, I wish I'd had this decades ago. Buy it. You won't need any other.

J. Stephens
Spanaway, WA.Camera Soldiers: The Philippine Odyssey

CQI Specialist, April 6, 2009
We use this atlas as a gift for our program speakers; and they are always delighted with it because it is something they like, but would not necessarily purchase for themselves. It is just packed with information, whether it be for research, learning, or browsing. It is a stimulus to view things around the world. It is well designed and the graphics are so beautiful.

Its the Best !, February 18, 2009
This is a great buy! I bought this one reading the reviews on amazon and wasnt disappointed..Very excited and couldnt stop going through it..
Lots of valuable information and quality pictures and added to that not pricey at all !

political map of USA is missing, November 10, 2009
I was very disappointed when I saw the atlas. It has pilitical maps of almost every country in the world, but USA. I purchased that with my kids in mind so they know the names and locations of every state (or most of them) and I was very surprised when there was only physical map not political with every state in different color like other atlases have it.

A very pleased customer!, September 12, 2009
I was so very excited when I received my latest order from Amazon.
"The New Concise World Atlas". I am a genealogist & have discovered
"roots" to our families' trees all over Europe recently. Not having the
proper maps was extremely irritating. With the arrival of my new Atlas
I am now able to pinpoint countries & cities where our ancestors once
dwelt. Thank you...thank you! This Atlas is beautiful book, just as a
coffee table-type book. But it's contents are so accurate & easily found
from the indices within. I'd recommend to everyone who needs geographical
information or who is studying the subject. Great for students or the
whole family! I can now show my children and grandchildren where their
ancestors once lived. An excellent choice....5 stars!!!!
((ASIN ISBN 978-0-19-532015-2 NEW CONCISE WORLD ATLAS (HARDCOVER)))

Submitted by S.Davis-Campbell ... Read more

Editorial Review

Transit Maps of the World is the first and only comprehensive collection of historic and current maps of every rapid-transit system on earth. Using glorious, colorful graphics, Mark Ovenden traces the history of mass transit-including rare and historic maps, diagrams, and photographs, some available for the first time since their original publication. Transit Maps is the graphic designer's new bible, the transport enthusiast's dream collection, and a coffee-table essential for everyone who's ever traveled in a city. ... Read more

Reviews

a real treasure!, November 21, 2007
If you're like me, and enjoy poring over maps, you'll find this book a treat. If all the book had were reproductions of current urban rail maps, it would be worth at least 4 stars. But there's much more. There is a short history of urban rail from its earliest days, and then you have maps and text for about 200 cities around the world. You get narratives on the history of each system, but the emphasis is on the evolution of the transit maps themselves. For some cities, up to about 20 maps are reproduced, and some of these date back to the 19th century. There's a wonderful sense of the conflict between having maps that are aesthetically pleasing and maps that are pleasing to someone trying to find their way around.

The book is divided into 6 zones (rather than chapters), with the distinction based primarily on the evolution of the maps:
zone 1: 8 cities, 4 pages per city. Example: Paris, 17 maps dating back to 1900.
zone 2: 15 cities, 2 pages per city. Example: Boston, 5 maps dating back to 1926.
zone 3: 28 cities, 1 page per city. Amsterdam, 4 maps.
zone 4: 16 cities, 2 cities per page, usually 1-2 maps per city.
zone 5: 18 cities, 1-3 cities per page, mostly 1 map per city.
zone 6: 140? cities, about 12 cities per page, often without maps, very short narratives.

The one problem you'll have is that many of the original maps were very large, and so when the transit map of Greater New York is faithfully reduced to two-thirds of a page in the book, you'll either need remarkable eyesight or a very strong magnifying glass to make out details. But the book is not intended as a catch-all way to actually find your way around, but rather as a paean to maps--you're intended to enjoy looking at the maps, not using them for transit purposes. A real delight!

Beck and all, November 19, 2007
A timely update to the first edition in 2003 with a new Zone: 6, listing all the latest and proposed subway systems around the globe. This extra Zone now includes hybrids like tram-trains, monorail or light rail and they all need maps. The other five Zones in the original have had their contents revised also.

I think the beauty of the book is in looking at the way various transit companies have approached the problem of communicating (sometimes complex) information in a simple way for passengers yet each map has its unique points. The book's authors rightly trace the origins of the modern designed transit map to London Transport's Harry Beck. His genius was to discard the geographic location of stations and have route lines as either vertical, horizontal or at forty-five degrees. It's amazing to see how many maps of the dozens in the book still follow this general principal.

However, creating a map that might look graphically stunning is not always enough. New York's MTA got Massimo Vignelli to design their map and it looks a visual treat but passengers weren't impressed and found it confusing so the MTA revised it. Vignelli's 1979 map and the latest 2007 MTA one are shown together on a spread in the book, two maps with the same information yet looking so different.

This update has a few more train and station photos to fill the space that was frequently left blank in the first edition and there is a nice touch with a spread near the back that includes some fantasy maps. If I have a fault with the book it is that in the new Zone 6 section many of the maps are so small that I don't think they were worth including.

I thinks it's worth pointing out that Transit Maps is not designed as a reference guide for travelers to cities around the world but as a celebration of the beauty that is inherent in these colorful diagrams.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Comments from a transit fan and a map lover, December 1, 2007
As you can tell from the title, I was drawn to this book from two of my interests. This book is great! It gives samples of current and historical maps from transit systems all over the world, and it is a treat to look at. I have only two minor faults to find -- not enough to detract from the 5-star rating: 1. some of the maps are reproduced too small (I wish he had made the 1911 Brooklyn elevated map full page size, for example) or too dark (a Chicago transit map from the late 1940s is very hard to read) and 2. (very much my own personal taste) I wish he had included some historical maps from Philadelphia (he only has a current map of that city, one of my favorites).

One thing that does seem a bit strange: Although it is no surprise that the author, a native of London, writes in British English, it is rather odd that he seems to find it necessary to translate the *names* of American transit companies into British English, changing "transportation" to "transport" and "railroad" to "railway." Most people would, I think, leave the official names alone!

I hope the author reads this comment so he might be able to take it into account if he comes out with a revised edition -- I know this one has already been revised from the original.

Love it!, November 19, 2007
If you are a fan of rail transit systems, cartography, or functional graphic design, then this book is for you. It contains very up to date images of all of the greatest transit maps in the world. It also provides quite a bit of historical insight for the larger systems. The only thing I thing that would improve this book is if it were in a larger format. Then you could actually appreciate the maps even more. Considering some of the maps illustated are diplayed 6 feet high on subway station walls, any extra size bigger they could print this book, the better.

Finally - the search is over!, December 11, 2007
If you are a fan of maps, subway culture, city life, and mass transit (these things tend to hang together, I suspect), then this book is it! Jackpot! I have been searching for a book with this breadth and depth for nearly a decade, ever since I read the incomparable "Subway City" by Michael W. Brooks. Trust me, if you think diagrams, logos, and maps can be beautiful AND thought-provoking, then know that this is THE book to get.

Let me add a few other thoughts in addition to what other reviewers have already said. First, this book is a good example of why books still matter... that is, I have been searching the Internet for years collecting jpegs and pdf files of the various transit systems of the world; I've ordered transit maps and guides from various cities on ebay... BUT, here is all of it in one place! In this sense, the authors have provided a great service by bringing order to a chaotic jumble of information on the Internet.

The other piece I'll add is that this book (as all good books should be) is a mind-opener. As I've said, I've been interested in this very subject for years, but I never imagined there were THIS MANY subway systems in the world! Wow! How could I have known - I didn't have this book!

Dream fulfilled!, June 23, 2008
This book fulfills one of my top dreams -- to be more exact, I could not have dreamed of such a book! Reading maps and riding subways have been two of my favorite hobbies, and it is definitely awesome to see more than 200 cities' urban transit maps juxtaposed and compared in one book. Even better, the author gives detailed introduction to the history and includes many interesting anecdotes of those storied urban transit systems such as Berlin, Chicago, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, and Tokyo. I use this book to remind my boy about the cities and places we ever visited, and teach him how to use a transit map to quickly find a route to any destination. We have been enjoying it so far, and I believe lots of fun will continue to flow out from it.

Great Book, January 10, 2009
I bought this book for my son who is autistic. He is fascinated by trains, subways, trollies, and buses. He loves to look at the maps of various transit systems and memorizes the portions of the systems he would like to ride on. This was absolutely the perfect gift for him.

Impressive Collection of Subway Maps Smartly Organized and with Illuminating Context, April 25, 2008
I took one look at the evolution of the BART maps in the two pages devoted to San Francisco's transit system and knew I had to purchase this soft-cover coffee-table book. A writer with an obvious passion for cartography, Mark Ovenden has put together a most intriguing and idiosyncratic design history book examining the maps that depict the world's transit systems. This is not an in-depth book for urban planners or for anyone interested in the workings of a transit system for that matter. Rather, it looks specifically at how transit system maps have been designed to meet the needs of commuters and travelers alike. For travelers especially, these maps often represent the first impression of the geographic breadth of a city. Instead of organizing the maps in alphabetical order of the nearly one hundred cities included, Ovenden cleverly breaks down the maps into six zones. On one end is Zone 1, which covers the eight most elaborate metropolitan systems, all with extensive histories and maps that evolved in style over time.

Particularly fascinating is the evolution of the New York subway from the intricate 1905 map that places Manhattan on its side to the nearly unreadable 1948 version to the austere, straight-angle design by Massimo Vignelli in 1972 to the current version that attempts to minimize the inevitable clutter. The other Zone 1 cities are predictably Berlin, Chicago, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo. On the other end of the spectrum, Zone 6 itemizes maps for relatively new systems or those still in development. Thumbnail maps are provided for these cases. In between the two zones are cities with subway maps that look surprisingly similar in their diagrammatical design, a likely intentional decision based on usability ease. Consequently, Ovenden gives good reason for not making topographical accuracy a top priority. Maps become unwieldy and inevitably more difficult to read in a hurry. He supports this reasoning by lucidly sharing key aspects of urban transportation history that have culminated into a general preference for the angular, Beck-style diagrams. Map enthusiasts will find this all quite enthralling.

An essential reference for urban rail enthusiasts, November 21, 2007
"Transit maps of the world" by Mark Ovenden.

This unique atlas contains at least one map of every urban "mass transit" system in the world. That includes heavy rail (subways/metros), light rail, elevated rail, monorail, and even some streetcars, trams and trolleys. Suburban/commuter rail is included only for a few large cities that have no subways.

Most of the maps come from official sources. For the more important networks there are both modern and historical maps. For each city there is a broad description of the network and the metropolitan area served. But the emphasis is as much on the widely varying designs of the maps as on the transit systems that they represent. Most are diagrammatic, using straight lines rather than geographically scaled curves.

Five Stars - Super! But hear out my nit picking., December 21, 2008
I'm not going to echo what countless others have said about this book. It's five stars all the way and a joy doubtlessly not just to those of us who share the author's perverse fascination with transit maps but also to a somewhat wider ken. In short, if you've made it this far and are for whatever reason curious about this book or wondering if it's for you, just GET IT. You'll be glad you did.

That said, like a true pedant, I'm going to harp upon some things that I think could have been improved. This is all nitpicking nonsense. I'm telling you that it's nitpicking nonsense, so don't yell at me for nitpicking since you've been warned in advance that picking nits is exactly what I'm about to do.

Basically, the British author has in his mind that the epitome of metro diagrams is Harry Beck's london underground and its subsequent improvements. Yes, it's an excellent diagram and system and a key touchstone (perhaps the key artifact) in metro mapping. However, to judge everything else against this standard often misses the point and negates contributions from other areas.

For example, the author rather perversely notes/compares the Seoul map to London's while apparently being blissfully unaware of the obvious Tokyo influence on the Seoul map. Indeed, the author's familiarity with Asia seems to be very thin - the examples chosen for Tokyo are particularly poor and in many ways atypical (I cringed when I saw the short lived "oedo-line-circle-centered" map included in the book). There are far better Tokyo metro/transit diagrams in wide circulation with far more interesting features that would have been of interest in the book. Amazingly, the author goes out of his way to berate a Tokyo chart which shows stair location in stations, even though as every Tokyo residents know, location of such is vital to making the most of your commute. London Underground, arguably, despite its history, the worst major metro in the world, would have a LOT to learn from Tokyo if it only had the sense to stop navel-gazing (and yes, I live in England).

Next, some monumentally interesting maps are not included. The author seems to know a bit about the Moscow Metro and gushes about it enthusiastically. While the Moscow metro has heavy use, it badly fails its users - its monumental station entrances, while architecturally interesting-ish, wastes commuters time.. so much so that I think the author could have done better than to gush as he did. However, beyond that, I'm in shock and awe that the author could apparently know so much about the Moscow metro and yet he couldn't be bother to include a diagram of the (admittedly speculative) "Metro 2" in there. "Metro 2" (look it up in wikipedia if unfamiliar) is a fascinating story, and its diagram would have fit perfectly in the book, regardless of whether it exists.

Pyongyang's metro deserved far better treatment than it got in the book. I know the author had to pick snd choose, but this one and its maps and associated stories are far more interesting than some of the more routine ones that got more coverage. That said, given that the author doesnt seem to have any particular knowledge of Asian metros, maybe this is not a bad thing (though look me up for version 2 and maybe we can improve the asian metro coverage!)

Finally, the author pays too much homage to the idea of "pure" metro systems because of his pro-London Underground biases. Of course, my views are contrastingly biased with the fact that I think the Underground is horrible. A "pure" metro by the standard of the book and apparently certain transport enthusiasts, is one that is self-contained (by which i mean no particular links to other systems), is (ideally) entirely underground, and doesn't use interoperable rolling stock and equipment. In other words, the "pure" metro is the london underground system with its claustrophobic cars and decrepid stations. It takes a good ten to fifteen minutes to get from a east coast mainline train at king's cross station to an ammoniac-steched underground train at the same station. What, ideal, exactly, are we celebrating here?

By comparison, it takes no time to get from, say, the Odakyu, Keio, and many other rail operators in Tokyo to that city's metro because of smartly designed inter-running. This is what should be celebrated - not some arbitrary aesthetic of a "pure" metro that just happens to be well exemplified by the author's favourite london system.

Ok. Enough carping. It's an excellent book. And actually, this is a true story--I was reading it while flying first class on an airliner for a four or five hour flight accross america. The title of the book is prominent and I, being a true connissur, would spend several minutes looking at most of the maps. The flight attendant was convinced that I was reading it because I had nothing else to read. Repeatedly he brought / suggested to me several magazines that he had on offer. Finally, I had to explain to him that I actually liked the book and I wasn't reading it at a glacial pace just because I was bored. He didn't get it.

I suspect you will, however, if you've made it this far in my review. Highly recommended.


... Read more

Editorial Review

Streetwise London Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of London, England - Folding pocket size travel map with London Underground map including tube lines & stations

This map covers the following areas:
Main London City Map 1:20,000
London Underground Map - London Tube Map

London is one of the most popular, populated and accessible cites on earth. People love London. And why not? Londoners are charming and helpful, and their city operates on such a high dosage of civility that it could be considered an art form. London is an urban oasis where you can search out cutting edge design, cuisine, fashion, chic neighborhoods, or traditional culture.

When visiting London, be prepared to walk. Whether its basic window shopping, advanced people watching, or the rewarding task of locating restaurants and museums, London is urban roaming at its best. Days can be spent just visiting London's neighborhoods, each with its own character, atmosphere and unique offerings.

The STREETWISE® Map of London UK will enable you to go anywhere in central London. The detailed and indexed depiction of streets, tube stations, sites and hotels will enable you to spend more time making new urban discoveries than less time complaining about disorientation. Say you choose Mayfair, for its refined and cultured demeanor. Take an afternoon stroll wandering through Berkeley Square, Grovesnor Square and Green Park then finish with an espresso at Rochaux’s cafe. You’ll briefly feel exclusive. Wander the back alleys in Soho and you will never know what or who you’ll run across. The very trendy Covent Garden is dense with human interaction packed into a small area. Walk up to Bloomsbury with its literary heritage to be amazed by the vast holdings within the British Museum.

The original city of London is the square mile of the city center, now the financial center as well. Immerse yourself in history and architecture with its many fantastic buildings beginning with St Paul’s Cathedral on the western edge and ending at the Tower of London to the eastside. Hike over the Thames on the Tower Bridge to see the Design Museum and the HMS Belfast.

You are now on the South Bank dominated by Waterloo Station and its surrounding shopping and dining area. The London Eye will provide an interesting overhead perspective of greater London. Come back to earth and walk the Thames along Queen’s walk pedestrian path and you'll be rewarded upon finding Gabriel’s Wharf, the Tate Modern, the famous wobbly Millennium Bridge and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Walk South through Hyde Park and you encounter Knightsbridge. It is one of London’s most fashionable neighborhoods, the home of Harrod’s (the Vatican of department stores) and Beauchamp Place, one of London’s most fashionable shopping streets. If shopping is not on the agenda, there are museums like the Victoria & Albert, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum. South of Knightsbridge is Belgravia. This area has long been the aristocratic section of London, rivaling Mayfair in grandeur and tranquility.

Our London street map is fully indexed with streets, concert halls, hotels, museums and galleries, parks, points of interest, shopping areas and transportation terminals. A separate inset map of the London Underground, the Tube, is also included to facilitate your travel around the city.

Our pocket size map of London is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. The STREETWISE® London map is one of many detailed and easy-to-read city street maps designed and published by STREETWISE®. Buy your STREETWISE® London map today and you too can navigate London, England like a native. For a larger selection of our detailed travel maps simply type STREETWISE MAPS into the Amazon search bar. ... Read more

Reviews

An awesome travel companion, November 14, 2002
During our eight days in London, this map was our constant guide. Laminated in plastic, and fan folded, like an accordian, I carried it in my hip pocket. I could whip it out and open it in two seconds. My 51 year old eyes had no trouble reading the print. All of the information you need for locating and navigating the Underground is also included on the map. When finished with the map, you can snap it shut, and tuck it back in your pocket, again in about two seconds. We developed true affection for this helpful map, and it is now among our keepsakes from the trip.

There are much better options, September 11, 2003
I ordered "Streetwise London" based on reviews such as "must have" and "don't go without it."
Luckily, I also ordered "The London Mapguide" because I found "Streetwise London" a big disappointment... The map is from the early '90s. The size is handy, but too small to legibly show enough detail to be much use.
"The London Mapguide," for about $1 more, shows tube routes and stations, bus routes, and lots of other useful detail and it will also fit in a big pocket.

For central London it's a great tool!, March 24, 2003
A week in London, and this map was with me on every outing. The Streetwise Map is a great help in navigating Central London, but if you want to go beyond "Zone One" on the London Bus and Underground system, this map will be of no help at all.

Convenient design, but inadequate detail, November 19, 2003
The Streetwise London map is very convenient if you limit yourself to central London and only need to find important attractions and/or streets of major or moderate significance. But many smaller streets in central London are NOT even named on the map and are not listed in the index. This was definitely a problem for me in finding smaller hotels, restaurants, etc. and lesser tourist attractions. In addition, the map includes some decent subway information, but nothing about buses. The reason for these inadequacies appears to be that the map is not detailed enough for there to be room to label the smaller streets and lesser tourist attractions. In summary, I suspect that this map will work better for first-time visitors than for repeat visitors.

Fabulous tool for walking tourists, May 11, 1999
I have seen their Amsterdam, Paris and London maps. They are unparalleled for the walking tourist. Laminated to protect from weather and trifold to fit your coat pocket. Shows mass transit route maps and overlays stops on street map.

A Useful And Durable Map Of Central London, August 30, 2008
I have used many Streetwise maps throughout Europe, and they remain my favorites overall for ease of use and utility of information presented. Some have criticized this map as only being of central London, and that's true: that's also why the official name of the map is "Streetwise London Centre City." Certainly maps covering more of London exist, but they would be illegible if reduced to this size. Likewise, more detailed maps exist, but to retain the convenient size the area of map coverage would have to be greatly reduced.

All maps are designed for a purpose, and in this case the purpose is for touring central London's major streets and attractions, and for that purpose this map excels. It is an excellent balance of comprehensive information and good legibility and should suit most tourists well. The map was revised this year (2008) and contains current information in my experience. I had no difficulty finding popular (e.g., Buckingham Palace) and less known (e.g., The Dali Universe) destinations alike with this map. Although I had several maps with me, after a day or so this was the one that I reached for first. The map does have an inset map of the London underground routes and stations, and the stations themselves appear on the main map as well. I recommend the "London Underground" map by Streetwise as well if you plan on making use of the tube a lot.

I have used many brands of maps all over the world, but for ease of use, legibility, and durability, I prefer the Streetwise series of maps.

The Most Useful Map, January 12, 2008
We just returned from nine days in London and I have to say that this map is the most useful thing we brought with us. It's laminated so that it didn't get ratty like our tube map. (There is also has a tiny tube map on it.) It was easy to slip in the front pocket of my swing pouch and it's small enough so that we didn't look so much like tourists unfolding a giant map when we had to consult it. The map had all the tiny streets in Covent Garden, the City and other areas, so I'm not sure what another reviewer had a problem with. As for covering all of London, maybe you'd need a different map if you were visiting the outer neighborhoods, but for all of the major and minor tourist attractions, this was more than adequate. It's like expecting a tourist map of New York City to cover the outer reaches of Queens and Staten Island. They're technically New York City but the majority of attractions are in Manhattan and the nearest parts of the boroughs. I would definitely buy this map again and I have already purchased a Streetwise Paris map for our upcoming visit.

Yes, its a map, February 27, 2003
Could stand to cover a bit more area. Don't plan on using it outside the center of London.

Streetwise London, November 5, 2006
Very good map for the first time traveler...It is waterproof & will fit in your pocket..Many small streets are not listed & the Mass-transit system needs work...If you use the underground, don't buy this map...

Used every minute, February 7, 2010
I spent three weeks in London with a group of students studying abroad. This was by far the most useful map anyone had. Big enough to read and small enough to tuck away in a purse pocket. We did a lot of walking and every little alley was on it. I'm going back this summer and might take two, because my students always wanted to borrow mine. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Oxford's Atlas of World History is the result of years of intensive work by a specialist team of scholars, editors, and cartographers. It presents the story of humanity in its physical setting, from the emergence of the earliest hominoids to the present day. Truly international in scope, the atlas incorporates the latest research into Asian, African, and Central and South American history, as well as the traditional core of North American and European events.

The Atlas includes sections on the Ancient World, Medieval World, Early Modern World, Age of Revolutions, and the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Each section opens with an introduction that highlights the main socioeconomic, cultural and religious themes of the period, followed by spreads of maps, text, illustrations and captions that discuss specific regions and eras. Spreads depict everything from hunting in Africa in 10,000 BC to the kingdoms of Southeast Asia in the earliest years of the millennium, the decline of the Byzantine Empire, the growth of the Atlantic economies in the 18th century, and standards of living since 1945.

The Atlas features some 450 vivid full-color maps illustrating the major themes and events of world history, 100 photographs, 60 diagrams and hundreds of thousands of words of explanatory text. Unique for such an atlas, the entire work is thoroughly cross-referenced, allowing the reader to move backwards and forwards in time or across the world from region to region, following themes or lines of inquiry across pages.

The new edition brings the Atlas into the 21st Century and up to the present day. New and updated maps and illustrations cover a wide range of evolving subjects such as population changes, international trading, urbanization, political and economic developments, literacy rates, the concentration of world languages, and many more important and always timely subjects. Coverage of Africa, South Asia, Eastern Europe, and every other part of the world is revisited and updated, making this the most up-to-date atlas of world history available, in addition to being the most complete.

A comprehensive index of more than 8,000 entries includes numerous alternative name forms used over the centuries. The Atlas of World History closes with a bibliography that provides a booklist for suggested further reading. Equally well-suited for a general audience and students of history or international relations, the Atlas of World History continues Oxford's presence as the premier publisher of world atlases. ... Read more

Reviews

Excellent but see below, September 21, 2002
This atlas is great for looking up those events, both momentous and not-so-momentous, to get a quick grasp and overview of the situation without getting bogged down in some more detailed and ponderous history. If it weren't for John Haywood's Atlas of World History, I would say it's possibly the best one out there in relation to features and price. However, I have a preference for the Haywood volume because I found his writing style more interesting, not to mention the fact that his book is less than half the price of O'Brien's volume. While I would not wish to base a decision just on price, I would point out that I preferred either of these two books to the Hammond atlas, which is even more expensive, and the Times atlas, at almost twice the cost, and the Dorling-Kindersley, which, although a superb atlas, is still 20% higher.

While I'm at it, I'd like to say something about O'Brien's Atlas of World History, published by Philips. I mention it here since no matter how I search, I can't find this atlas listed anywhere, but this is a really superb atlas, and I think exceeds even the present volume in terms of quality and features. So if you can find this one, I'd also pick up a copy. Because it's so good, I'd also like to discuss it here.

All the of the big 5 or 6 major atlases out there have their strengths and weaknesses, and their pros and cons, I've discovered, and this one is no different. This one has one terrific feature that's worth mentioning specifically. At the end of the book O'Brien includes many fine articles summing up the state of the world since 1945 for the major areas and countries of the world, and for topics such as demographic changes, the growth of population, civil rights and women's rights, health and disease, transport and trade relations, the breakup of empires, and so on. O'Brien discusses in the introduction that this atlas was motivated partly by the upcoming millenium year, and because it seemed like such a timely point at which to assess and sum up much of the changes and progress that had accrued during the last half century or century in these articles. O'Brien did a great job in this area, and it's one of the book's many strengths. Overall, an excellent atlas given all the outstanding features, and I'd actually give it 4.5 stars if I could.

Since I started writing this review, I've discovered (through having purchased both books), that the Philips volume and the Oxford atlas are exactly the same book, just by different publishers. The only difference that I can find is that the Philips book is somewhat larger format. I'm comparing them right now, and the Philips book is about 1 inch wider and about 2 inches taller than the Oxford volume. This means the fonts for the paragraph text and the print on the maps are somewhat bigger and easier to read. They both have exactly the same--312--number of pages, and the publication dates are in 2001 and 2002, so they're very close there. However, I just noticed that the Philips book on the copyright page says "This edition published for Borders Books," so it looks like a re-issue of the Oxford volume, only in a slightly larger format.

Well, it looks like I just bought two copies of the same atlas. Hopefully my little review will keep you from doing the same! Anyway, whichever atlas or version you decide to get, happy atlas buying and reading!

Historical overview with maps and relevant text, April 5, 2000
The Oxford Atlas of World History was purchased for a High School library collection, but would serve as a wonderful historical reference for any personal collection. The maps are clear and the text is lucid. Not only does the Atlas provide the requisite information on ancient civilizations, it also provides data on changing populations, health trends, particulars on the status of women, etc. The Timechart is very helpful, delineating, as it does, what was happening when on different continents and in the areas of science/technology and arts/humanities. An up-to-date book such as this which provides an overview of history in a pictorial format, at an affordable price, is a valuable resource for both library and personal collections. It allows the reader to follow historical trends, understand boundary disputes, track the course of wars and revolutions and follow along on voyages of discovery. Charts and illustrations support the text. Portraits or photographs of important individuals, places and works of art or architecture help the reader visualize people and places. I highly recommend this Atlas.

I Rate and Compare World History Atlas Books, December 14, 2005
As a reader I like to have quick reference books at my finger tips including a new version of the Oxford English Dictionary about 3500 pages long - that I use almost daily. So I decided to add a "history atlas". In the process of doing my research I read the other amazon.com reviewers and then made three trips to two large book stores to actually look at the books and get a better feel for which was the best. I ended up buying the Oxford Atlas of World History. Here are my picks and rankings.

Listed by My ranking, #1 is the best, #2 is a creative alternative but no substitute.

1. Atlas of World History, Oxford University Press 2002, 368 pages, $57.80, 13.5" x 10.3" x 1.62" ranked 46,632 on Amazon.com. Hands down winner - professional - good text descriptions, outstanding maps and drawings, covers most things from the cave man forward. Negatives: Big and heavy. If you want to save a few dollars buy the "concise" version.

2. Creative alternative: The Penguin Atlas of World History, Penguin Books 2004, $11.20, just a paperback sized, just published, 304 pages. Surprisingly impressive, lots of text and pictures mixed together and it is easy to carry around. A nice quick alternative but it will be printed in two volumes.
.
3. Timelines of World History, DK Publishing 2002, 666 pages, $27.20. 10.0" x 1.6" ranked 25,800 on Amazon.com. Second with lots of value but in some ways not as comprehensive.

4. National Geographic Almanac of World History, National Geographic 2003, 384 pages, $28.00, 9.6" x 7.8" x 1.17" ranked 24,426 on Amazon.com. Similar to but less impressive than Oxford books. More text, narrower coverage, fewer maps and drawings.

5. DK Atlas of World History, DK Publishing, 352 pages, $35.00, 10.96" x 14.66" x 1.28" ranked 10,716 on Amazon.com. My last place book seems like a giant comic book. I love the DK travel books but this seems like one step beyond DK's area of expertise. Superficially it is similar to the Oxford book and it is cheap, and some might like it but it tries to be politically correct and fails.

6. Oxford Dictionary of World History, Oxford University Press, 704 pages, $7,66, pocketbook sized, sales rank 330,000. Mainly terms, people, and dates but has a few maps also. Limited use but an alternative. I prefer the new Penguin book but this is the best history dictionary to buy.

Superb world history atlas but..., February 22, 2003
This review pertains to the 312-page Concise Edition of the Oxford Atlas of World History with the ISBN 019521921X. The larger original edition has 352 pages and the ISBN 0195215672.

The book is a variation of one of the best (and perhaps *the* best) "atlas of world history" tomes. However, this scaled-down version's text is just not as easy on the eyes as that of the full-size book. The map and text content are the same for both books so the concise version is certainly a real value at about half the price. The Concise Edition does omit the glossary but I do not consider that an essential feature of the original book. The larger original version came out in 1999 (and was reprinted in 2002). The Concise Edition is merely a reprint of the 1999 book and I can find no updated data. An advantage of the Concise Edition (besides the lower price) is its physical handiness; the original is quite close in size to the big Hammond Atlas of World History. Nevertheless, I like to casually browse through atlases so the increased eye-friendliness of the larger type and map detailing in the big version is well-worth its added expense and clumsiness for my purposes.

The Concise Edition is indeed legible and would be OK for just occasional reference but not protracted reads, in my opinion. It is really a 5-star book but I rate it at 4 stars because of this truncated size. I am returning my Concise Edition and keeping its big brother. Both editions are still available from Amazon at the time of this writing.

Atlas?, March 27, 2006
I've bought this atlas after reviewing all the options available on Amazon. This one was apparently the best one in terms of map quality and information available within; I have not seen any other atlas referenced by other reviewers so I will not make comparisons here.
I give it only 3 stars because I think an atlas should have LARGE, DETAILED maps in detriment of text (which is available in other types of publications). This is not the case here, where maps are small, and do not cover important aspects or interesting facts (e.g. battlefields); text however is more than adequate, and steals actually space from maps.
It is excellent for all the people who need an introduction in history, but for those who are looking for in depth maps and cartographic details, forget it - look somewhere else, though I'm not sure (at least from other readers' point of view) you can find something better.
Next time I'll try (and recommend this to you too) to browse the book in store before buying.

The Best World History Atlas Book Anywhere, December 27, 2004
The Oxford Atlas is the best of all competitors. It is full-size, high quality ink and paper, 368 pages and covers most areas of history from the caveman to the present time. I am not speaking of the concise edition but of the full-size edition. The ISBN number is #0195215672.

This book covers about 2,000,000 years of history from the origins of humanity to the year 2000. The Atlas is the result of over three years' work by internationally renowned cartographers, an expert editorial team and specialist academic consultants.

The story of humanity from a cartographic perspective, March 9, 2003
The affordable price tag of this set of maps paired with its applications to both home and school library patrons will earn it a place on many a home bookshelf as well as libraries: Atlas Of World History, Concise Edition is the result of over three years of intensive effort by a team of academics and editors, and presents the story of humanity from a physical, cartographic perspective. Five parts correspond with the five eras studied by world historians today, making for a particularly accessible set of maps.

A must for the history fan or an educator, July 23, 2009
This book is not your ordinary historical atlas. This atlas has highly intelligent commentary that accompanies the maps. The quality of the commentary places it far above other intelligent historical atlases, such as the giant Dorling Kindersley atlas of world history.
It has thematic maps and commentary, such as on modern economic trends.
The maps have very good accuracy of boundaries. The atlas is comprehensive attention; it does not only concentrate on Europe or the United States.

Recommended Atlas, August 23, 2009
Was looking for a good yet comprehensive historical atlas to pick up to have a newer one on hand (for self and kids). Looked through many varieties at indy and big box bookstores and decided on this one. It has many, many maps of cultural, economic, linguistic, religious, and sociopolitical events beyond the scope of general history and geography that most atlases cover. Simply put it had more to offer than its similar competitors.

Recommended.

A great book at a fair price, September 10, 2007
A great book at a fair price.

It is also my favourite among all history atlases. It is the most comprehensive and all-around user-friendly. The gazeteer is a great addition and is probably worth the extra dollars for this version. It also happens to be very international, and while many claim to be international they seem to me to be eurocentric. Each area of the world has a parallel writeup in each section of the book, though obviously somewhat more is written about areas with more written history.

Some honest opinion coming from someone who dives really deep into history- I find, despite the length, it really only glosses over each part of history. Not much depth. The writing style may not grasp your attention and is vague in feel, contributing to me not feeling a lot of depth. The maps are great. However I must say the inclusion of some seems questionable, though they can be interesting all the same.

In terms of build quality, the pages and binding are great. The coverguard is very prone to tattering/bending etc. and the cover will suck in ANY moisture (I mean it this book will take the slightest water droplet or grease from anything and it will stay in the cover). Which isn't a problem for most as most use the coverguard.

When you set it to its paces with the other books, though, it is more comprehensive, well-balanced, alluring, and is a must-have if you don't already own a 300+ page world history atlas. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Streetwise London Underground Map - The Tube - Laminated London Metro Map - Folding pocket & wallet size metro map for travel

This map includes the following:
London Tube Map

Travel gracefully throughout London with the STREETWISE� London Underground Map. The entire London Underground is depicted on this easy to use, easy to carry map. Move through Mayfair, streak under SOHO, or pulse past Piccadilly with incredible agility, confident that you know where to go and how to get there using STREETWISE® London Underground Map.

Like all STREETWISE� maps, this map of the London Underground is laminated to last and formatted to fit conveniently in your shirt pocket or purse.� Parks and tourist attractions are also shown which is unique for a map of this type. Whether you're on your first trip to Great Britain, you're a frequent visitor, or you're luckily enough to live here, this map is invaluable.

The STREETWISE® London Underground map is one of hundreds of detailed and easy-to-read maps designed and published by STREETWISE�.� For a larger selection of our detailed travel maps simply type STREETWISE MAPS into the Amazon search bar.� And don't forget to check out our regular STREETWISE� London map.� It's the number 1 best selling London travel map on Amazon.com ... Read more

Reviews

Underground Map, April 24, 2009
I have very limited time in London on an upcoming trip, so I want to waste as little time as possible traveling between points. I love the size of this Tube map -- don't want to be weighed down with heavy guidebooks either! The size will make it easy to pack -- though it also makes the map a little harder to read, especially with older eyes.

timmuse, October 15, 2008
Didn't get wet, fit in pocket, accurate, handy, what more could be wanted. I marked it with a fine point sharpie to find stuff.

A necessary purchase while traveling through London, October 9, 2008
If you're an American traveling in London, this map is indespencable. If you ask someone in London how to find something, you'll quickly realize that we speak American, not English, and their answer though thoughtfully and politely given, will be a struggle to understand. This map is indestructable and holds up in nasty London weather, has all the stops and routes for the Tube which makes affordable inter city and airport travel easy, and list all the spots you wish to see on you're trip. Good map. I'd buy it again if I didn't already own it.

Instead of small and convenient... it's tiny!, July 15, 2010
Ordered this map for multiple travelers on our London trip because it is (1) laminated (indestructible) and (2) offered "hot spots" as opposed to the publicly available tube maps which make no reference to landmarks. I was not disappointed on those two points. However, I was a little confused when I bought it that the ~ 8" x 3" size was folded, and that it was going to be roughly the size of a sheet of paper. It is not! That is the FULL SIZE of the map. Fold it in threes and it is the size of a credit card. So it is TINY by map standards, and that makes it difficult to read for older eyes. Otherwise, couldn't be happier with the purchase.

great map, June 4, 2010
This is a great product at a great price. Folds to fit in pocket or wallet. Will definitely use on upcoming trip. Paper maps you get in London generally rip real easy. Also it's been updated for 2010 so you're getting the latest info.

The Tube In A Nutshell, August 30, 2008
This is a great map of the London Underground system. It is small enough to be folded and put in a wallet (it is scored to make folding easier), but laminated and extremely durable. It contains all tube stops in the system, and has a map key and very small information box on the back; best of all the price is right. Don't go to London without this mini-map. I also recommend the "Streetwise London Centre City" map to go with this indispensable product.

Excellent Underground Map, May 8, 2008
Very sturdy, folding map of London Underground. Lots of famous landmarks are highlighted to help find which lines & stops you will need. Laminated to stand up to lots of use. Price can't be beat. ... Read more

Editorial Review

A modern atlas demands not just state-of-the-art cartography but a vast array of information organized clearly, efficiently, and above all, usefully—and that’s what the Family Reference Atlas provides: more than 1,000 maps, illustrations, and photographs; more than 400 charts and tables; and 30 global thematic spreads displaying key facts and figures on everything from biodiversity and the distribution of natural resources to world health and education, global Internet connectivity, and conflict and terror hot spots.

A comprehensive index makes it easy to pinpoint more than 40,000 locations all over the globe. Need to know the population of Brunei, what the weather’s like in San Juan in March, or how to use metric conversions? These answers and thousands more are at your fingertips. Readers learn about the planet itself—landforms, the biosphere, continental drift, environmental change—and the human world’s many dimensions, from political, religious, and economic data to population trends and the effect of globalization. The atlas even reaches beyond Earth to explore the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. ... Read more

Reviews

Family Reference Atlas a gem, November 27, 2009
This atlas is a beutiful compact version of National Geographic's bigger atlases, still with many thematic maps on up-to-date topics as well as covering all parts of the globe in impressive cartographic detail. 14 pages of maps and illustration on Space alone present a great visualization of our universe. And as in all of their atlases, I love the quick-find key to the maps on the inside covers (in addition to the extensive index)!

Deluxe Atlas at Fair Price, December 21, 2009
As an atlas collector, this one rates well. This is a beautiful book with a fantastic durable cover. It's content is current (including newer countries such as Kosovo), providing the reader the necessary information on not just each country of the world, but also territories and every U.S. state. In comparison to National Geographic's Collegiate World Atlas, it does not provide the same cartographic detail as that slightly more compact atlas, but makes up for it with easy-to-read country bio information, including flags. A great buy!

VERY GOOD BOOK FOR LEARNING GEOGRAPHY, January 14, 2010
TO LEARN THE WORLD WE ARE LIVING
FROM NATURE TO CULTURE
FROM EARTH TO SPACE
FROM NATION TO OCEAN
WORTHY TO SPEND TIME WITH THIE BOOK

Not what I ordered, September 19, 2010
I ordered the Third Edition but instead I received the Second Edition...the receipt even said Third but the book is definitely Second. I was/am not happy about it. I would like the more current edition. I emailed but never got a response about it. The book I received is in good shape and shipping was pretty fast. I just wish it was what I ordered/payed for...still want. ... Read more