Rating: 
Summary: Hands down - the best world atlas
Review: As a map junkie all my life, this is the one I go to when I need a fix. Others may have a better feature here and there, but for overall cartographic satisfaction, detail, and tons of data, you can't beat National Geographic's.
Rating:
Summary: The best World Atlas. Period.
Review: Being an outdoors enthusiast with an appetite for cartographic excellence, I find it quite easy to state that this is the finest atlas I have ever seen. I routinely browse all the "latest and greatest" atlases on the market (and they do have some strong points), but for sheer quantity of information (that amazingly does not overwhelm the eyes), accuracy and aesthetic beauty (the shaded relief is magnificent) the National Geographic Atlas of the World 7th Edition is head and shoulders above the rest. This atlas is literally like the internet; I lose track of time while I journey throughout the globe. The atlas also has character; something the other atlases continue to miss.
Rating:
Summary: The best World Atlas. Period.
Review: Being an outdoors enthusiast with an appetite for cartographic excellence, I find it quite easy to state that this is the finest atlas I have ever seen. I routinely browse all the "latest and greatest" atlases on the market (and they do have some strong points), but for sheer quantity of information (that amazingly does not overwhelm the eyes), accuracy and aesthetic beauty (the shaded relief is magnificent) the National Geographic Atlas of the World 7th Edition is head and shoulders above the rest. This atlas is literally like the internet; I lose track of time while I journey throughout the globe. The atlas also has character; something the other atlases continue to miss.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the easiest and most fun to look at and use.
Review: I also own what may be considered the definitive world atlas - that of The Times. The Times atlas has shaded colors for elevations and greater general detail than that of the National Geographic Atlas.Still, for me, I find myself picking up the National Geographic Atlas way more often. Why? Simply put, it's just the most enjoyable to look at and easiest and most fun to use. I like it better. A great work.
Rating:
Summary: Great to Spark Interest and Become Immersed In
Review: I do not teach geography but I use it everyday. The National Geographic Atlas is not a desk top reference, it is for exploring. It is a waste of time to say one atlas is better than another, much as it is to say one car is better than another. It all depends what you intend to use the atlas for. I have owned a Goodes and several CD-ROM atlas packages for years, these are an excellent desktop reference. The National Geographic is great to spark interest and become immersed in.
I remember as a child going to the library and opening the huge National Geographic Atlas to find something and getting lost. Since then I looked forward to being able to afford the book. The excuse I used to purchase the atlas was my elementary aged son asking for more maps of the world to look at.
The graphics are excellent. The use of satellite images is a high point of the book. The use of false color images (Most satellite photos are presented this way.) is very well integrated with standard cartographic images. In the future this is where many geographics publications will move to.
CD/DVD based atlas texts are good for quick checks, but you can be limited by the size of your monitor. To look at it another way, the National Geographic Atlas of the World is a lot cheaper than a 27 inch LCD or plasma monitor.
Rating: 
Summary: dollar for dollar not the best atlas
Review: I found the quality, accuracy, and ease of this atlas underwhelming for the price. It's the most expensive atlas out there, but has nothing on Hammond, Oxford, or Goode's--all of which are half the price. Don't be fooled by the big marketing campaign. NG might be powerful, but it doesn't make the best atlases.
Rating: 
Summary: A good way to explore the earth
Review: I have always enjoyed maps, atlases and geography, above and beyond the little I got in school. The National Geographic Atlas was the successor to my dated (and beat-up) 1985 copy of the Hammond Citation Atlas, which I spent long hours looking over in the days when there was still a Soviet Union. I am glad to have something so current that it even shows the splitting of the Canadian NWT to create the new territory of Nunavut in 1999. The satellite imagery is certainly a good summary of overall surface detail, something that no "physical" map will provide, but most of what there is to read is in the selection of principally political maps. National Geographic has taken the approach of presenting "chunks" of landmass roughly chosen to include certain countries, states or regions, and one often finds a given division shown on numerous maps at numerous scales--European countries, for example, might appear in their own maps, in maps of Europe, and at the edge of a map of Asia. In this regard, the cartographers do well to keep all the details at the peripheral areas that are shown for the ones the map is "supposed to" depict. This serves to create a continuity that draws one's attention from place to place, which is how the one earth really exists, after all. Most notably missing from this Atlas is topographic indications, though the shading of relief and numerous elevations allow a person to perceive the general lay of the land. Being American, I naturally have a bit of trouble with the use of metric measurements for altitudes and soundings, but after reading off enough peaks I was already familiar with, I formed a usable enough reference frame in my mind. One feature of the Hammond Citation that is missing from this otherwise more extensive atlas is the coupling of thematic and political maps. I had grown accustomed to having land use and mineral information in the context of the more detailed maps. The National Geographic Seventh Edition presents all of the thematic maps for the entire world in the opening section, making a person flip back and forth. Another difficulty I'm still adjusting to is the sheer size of this book. I find myself needing to stretch a fair distance beyond my typical range to get from a position at the bottom of the page to detail at the top. All in all, however, this Atlas contains a wealth of well-thought-out and consistently presented data on the entire earth. It is sure to be something I'll use for quite some time, as I continue to feed my appetite for facts, big and small, about our terrestrial home.
Rating:
Summary: Best general atlas
Review: I have both the 7th and 8th editions of this book, as well as recent editions of most of the other major world atlases.
In my opinion, this latest (8th) edition blows away the competition (_and_ the National Geographic's own 7th edition).
Having bought and owned world atlases for almost 50 years, I strongly recommend this atlas for home, school, or library use. I find this latest edition exceedingly accurate, especially in the areas of the Middle East (*despite* the protestations from certain _very_ organized political factions <ahem>).
Magnificent satellite photos, along with revised and improved political and geo-physical maps, set this one apart from the rest. Much of the "supplemental" map sections of the previous edition are expanded.
Regarding the reviewer who indicated that the 7th edition is "cloth-bound": well, the 7th edition (that I own) actually has a *cloth-textured* dark blue *paper* overlay on hardboard. The internal hinges are "binders' mull" (cloth) _but_ so are those of the plastic-coated covers of the 8th edition! Both editions should hold up very well. The main difference in the covers is the aesthetics, and the 8th edition is indeed quite pleasing in that department.
I most highly recommend the 8th edition of this atlas, and you certainly won't go wrong if you purchase it from Amazon.
A great addition to the panoply of atlases, and a huge treat for addictive map lovers!
Rating:
Summary: Great maps
Review: I looked at a lot of different atlases before I purchased this one. I loved this one because it had the most maps and best colour. I didn't want an atlas that had too much encyclopedic information. If you are after an atlas with fabulous maps, then this is the one for you!
Rating: 
Summary: Check the year on atlases!
Review: I ordered an atlas for a friend for Christmas and I was sent a 1963 atlas for ($). Not really a solid value considering it's almost half a century out of date! It is beautiful however and the service was fantastic. It's just not what I was expecting, and with an atlas the year is very important information. That should have been the first thing in it's description!
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