Geography Books

Excellent book.

As a lover of maps, I especially enjoyed the maps of events that are not usually included in historical atlases, i.e., especially those about early America. These include the territories comprising Holland's and Sweden's settlements, as well as the maps surveying the Plymouth and the London companies, the exodus of those who disagreed with Puritans from the Massachusetts colony, and the 1840 resettlement of Indians in Oklahoma (by tribe).

Also singled out for praise is the Civil War map, which does well in showing the Union's progress during the war as well as their multiple (and successful) attempts to cut the South in two (first, on the Mississippi, second, through Georgia). The only criticism is for the map preceding that, "secession 1860-1861" (in which the colors for "free territories" and states that "seceded after April 14 1861" are so close they seem to be the same).

The battle maps of all of America's major wars of the 20th century (the Caribbean, Europe, the Pacific, Korea, Vietnam) are shown too, although not the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Historical atlases have long been prized reference tools for historians of the American West. They permit a wealth of information to be depicted on each page and the maps included in them have the ability to communicate not only stark spatial features but also a wide range of other types of historical detail. Francis Paul Prucha's "Atlas of American Indian Affairs" is a most welcome addition to this aspect of historical study. Long a leading historian of the Indian experience in America, Prucha now captures with great comprehension the spatial dimensions of both the historical and contemporary events of Native Americans.

This atlas consists of 109 maps divided into ten individual sections and presented chronologically. Collectively they illustrate quite well the westward movement of the Indian frontier in the nineteenth century and the continued importance of Indian ethnicity in the Twentieth. There are maps relating to tribal lands and culture areas, census information, land cessions, reservations, the Indian experience in different regions of America, the Indian wars, and cultural aspects such as Indian agency locations, Indian schools, and Indian hospitals. Prucha has kept the narrative in this book to a minimum--including only a short preface, introductory statement to each of the ten major sections, and an outstanding explanation of themes in explanatory references at the end of the book. The philosophy that less is more paid off in this book as the individual maps are generally quite easy to understand and pack a wealth of information. For example, I was especially interested to follow chronologically Indian population statistics as compiled in the census from 1890 through 1980, as well as urban Indian populations between 1960 and 1980. The growth and diffusion of American Indians throughout the continental United States during the period since World War II was especially intriguing.

For all that such a capable work as this has to recommend it, maps intrinsically have limitations. Only so much information can be displayed both in any given map and in any atlas. The question of what topics to cover, the amount of data to include, and how best to display it for ready interpretation are challenging issues. Overall, Prucha has done a commendable job of this.

A good overall reference work for spatial analysts and epidemiologists alike.

This book has not only outstanding photography of many locations throughout the world which are known for romance, history, and culture but also very good historical background information. It accomplishes all of this without being a history book. It is travel and the pleasure of exploring new worlds all at your fingertips! Enjoy it

Rich with full-color pictures, tables and detailed illustrations, these books are engaging and well thought out. Each page is dominated by photographs with several short text boxes which could encourage reluctant readers to read for recreation or research. Each book is organized into a few broad categories such as "The Living Planet" or "To the Stars and Beyond." These are then divided into subheadings. Each subheading receives two pages, so the information presented on each separate topic is brief. One helpful feature is the use of a "See Also" element at the top of each new topic, which references other pages within the book that the reader might find interesting. Each book also includes print, video and web-based resources for further study, an index, and a glossary of terms. This would make a great addition to a school, home or public library.

Did you ever wonder what the map of the world looked like when dinosaurs ruled? Or, how did it look when the swamps that eventually became rich beds of fossil fuels were living? Drawing from all sources of information available, Christopher Scotese's ambitious Paleomap Project delivers 20 stunning maps of how the early likely looked as far back as 650 million years ago, and how it might look as far as 250 million years into the future. The large, full color maps (plus 20 duplicate black-tracings for easy photocopying) are the main attaction. Each map shows the shapes and configurations of the continents, with the outlines of today's landmasses overlaid so that you can see how the tectonic plates have migrated over the ages. There is some brief information on each map, plus references listed, at the beginning of this spiral-bound book. You can view smaller versions of the 20 maps on the Paleomap Project website: http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm

This book simply has all there is to know about Israeli physical and human georgaphy as of the early 1980s. The hundreds of maps are wonderfully printed in color. These include a set called Israel 1:250,000 pages. Most of the labels are in Hebrew. This is not for you UNLESS you want to know all about Israel presented as map data displays.

This book should be on the shelves of every clergy person and every teacher in social sciences or humanities.

Actually seeing the shifting shapes and patterns of religious movements around the world explains a whole lot about global culture, barriers to be overcome -- and, sadly, conflict as well.

The data here come from many sources around the world and the authors do a good job of explaining where they got their facts and statistics. But, this is NOT a book just for clergy and teachers. Every double-page spread is planned to provide easy access for ordinary readers with fascinating secondary details sprinkled through the pages.

It's not necessarily designed for group study, but I would urge creative teachers in religious and secular settings to use it in that way. Invite students to select regions of the world or cultural groups to focus on through the week, then share their information with others at the next class.

After 30-plus years as a professional in traditional American news media myself, I'm well aware that our traditional methods for covering the world are shrinking in this new century. Newspapers, TV networks and other publications are cutting back on their global bureaus -- and they're shrinking the number of subjects that they cover, as well.

Just when we should be learning more and more about the diverse cultures around the world -- we have fewer and fewer avenues through traditional media to explore our world.

A huge "Thank You" to Joanne O'Brien and Martin Palmer. Their "Atlas" is a superb effort at making sense of the confusing world of faith.

I have not looked through the book completely, or deeply, but I can very assuredly say the atlas is extremely well considered and innovatively presented. Expect your expectations to be exceeded!

Although the Horn book called the pages overcrowded, I think the book is ideal for young or reluctant readers because there are so many pictures calculated to capture student interest. Short descriptions of religions in Egypt, Rome, and Mesopotamia lend to making comparisons and gaining a quick overview of the topic. The index lists 27 pages for Egypt, but some pages only mention Egypt in passing with no information about Egypt (example: p. 20 "In the Exodus story Moses and Aaron ask the pharaoh to let his Jewish slaves go free. When he refuses, God brings ten plagues down on Egypt, including frogs, boils, hail and locusts"). Includes maps and illustrations.