Rating: 
Summary: Beyond maps-this is an awsome reference & resource book.
Review: The National Geographic Society has completely restructured its World Atlas for its 7th edition and in so doing has transformed the book from what was a fairly traditional, yet highly esthetic visual piece into book that remains high on esthetics yet soars in terms of it's usefulness as a resource and reference book.
The atlas contains the more traditional renderings that have for so long characterized this series. However, at the heart of this spectacular new volume are more than 75 state-of-the-art political and physical maps that draw on National Geographic's digital cartographic database to achieve the highest level of precision available in the marketplace today. In addition to sections pertaining to each of the seven continents, you will be pleased to find information about world tectonics, biodiversity and natural resources along with coverage of the solar system, the universe, and the world oceans. Additionally, an encyclopedic index of more than 140,000 entries lists every significant city and natural feature on the planet, and an improved system of map keys and locational devices makes it easy to navigate the book's wealth of information. The book also provides references to the NGS web site for visual updates and expanded access to updated databases.All of the wiz-bang technology notwithstanding, the real benefit to the National Geographic Atlas has always been-and remains-its focus on the human aspects of geography. Maps relating to various historical, political, archeological, social and natural resource and other aspects of the human face of geography abound. This has always ben a NGS strength and it is on full display in this Atlas. Completely redesigned, the "National Geographic Atlas of the World, Seventh Edition" will be a wonderful reference for your home or office library. Rich in facts, data and citations, up to date, aesthetically pleasing in the extreme and highly precise both visually and factually, it is a resource that anyone with school age children will appreciate-and depend on-- for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent or maybe the best altas!
Review: This altas has state-of-art satellite maps on continents, detail urban maps of countries, states and provinces as well as an excellent index. This is a very educational and informative book. As a geographer and a map lover, I really like this altas.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular and practical
Review: This atlas is an excellent balance between spectacular layout and user-friendliness. While still very, very large, the book is not as ungainly to handle as the huge Times atlas and I find the maps in the National Geographic Atlas to be easier on the eyes compared to those in the Times. The book has a quite satisfying introductory section, especially the part dealing with the universe and earth's relative position in same. As far as comprehensiveness is concerned, the maps and index serve all of my purposes, and I am very picky. If you need more detail, you probably should buy a road map for the area, especially pertaining to the individual states in the USA section. In ordering such a tome, I personally suggest the next-day delivery option as it minimizes the time the book spends in transit and the resultant bother of having to secure a replacement for a damaged copy. My own copy arrived in perfect condition but I did use next-day shipping. The National Geographic Atlas of the World is a worthwhile investment for any home or school and should give years & years of service for any map enthusiast.
Rating:
Summary: National Geographic Atlas of the World
Review: This Atlas is the best reference book I have ever had. Since I received the book 2 weeks ago I can't count anymore how many times I have flipped through the pages. The more I open the book the more I am amazed with how much details it has and the amount of information you can get from the book. The pages are just full with fantastic graphics with wonderful colours, especially the satellites photos which are just out of this world! Everytime I watch any TV documentary programs about travel or nature, as heavy and big as it is I make sure I have the atlas by my side so I can spot the locations mentioned.
Rating:
Summary: Very good and complete
Review: This atlas is very good at giving all the information, as recent as possible, but also giving information on countries and flags. It is very straightforward, and very easy to use.
Rating: 
Summary: White Dragon
Review: This book is about a young weyr leader who raises his runt dragon and shows the other weyr leaders that his runt dragon is as good as any other dragon on the planet, and even greater than most. Lessa returns in this book as a legendary weyrleader. I recomend this book because it is another of the yet, great books of the series of Dragon Riders of Pern from Anne McCaffrey.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully done but lacking in detail
Review: This is a beautifully done atlas but I wish more attention had been given to geographic details and a little less on "pretty".
Rating:
Summary: High Quality Maps
Review: This most recent edition of the NGS's Atlas is just as definative as the others have been. In addition to the usual extensive political maps, this edition also contains some very nice extra selections which include: Moon and Solar system maps, Galaxy maps, lessons on tectonics, and a history of maps. Not to forget the trumpeted satellite maps of each continent. I was hoping for more of the satellite maps- for instance, maps of cities and ports, but I guess we can't have everything in life, yet. Great to use if reading about far off places where names are not familiar. Just as usefull if reading about Zagreb, Croatia in Spokane, Washington as it would be to read about Spokane in Zagreb. Even if you don't have a need for near perfect maps, get this one for the great sat photos and the interesting supplements!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, but doesn't live up to all advertisements
Review: With a limited number of printings and a three-digit price, you expect great things from National Geographic's Altas of the World. And, for the most part, the book delivers. In lieu of a long review, I though I'd just come up with some pros and cons to explain why I gave the book the rating I did.
Pros: amazing quality of pictures/maps, city maps, intresting nation and political information, wealth of information, built-in bookmark.
Cons: not 400 pages like amazon claims (137 pages sans index), index is almost as long as rest of book, will not fit in any bookcase you own, poor binding for such an expensive book, hard to fit back in cover.
The last atlas I owned was a child's atlas from 1987. I bought the National Geographic version because I took it to be the diffinitive atlas. And it is. I'm happy with the 8th edition and I'm sure it will be a usefull reference for years to come. But given how few pages it is and how much money it cost, I'm not sure I would buy the 9th edition.
Rating:
Summary: A prized possession
Review: You don't buy this book because you need an atlas for your car, you do it because you love maps! A fine atlas, just what you would expect from National Geographic.
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