Times Atlas of the World : Comprehensive Edition

Rating:
Summary: great for finding towns, comparatively poor on geology
Review: If you are reading a biography of an artist and find that he lives in a small town in Scotland, this is the atlas where you're most likely to find that town. The maps are extremely detailed for towns and roads and such, especially in Western countries. The DK Great World Atlas, however, has far more interesting information about geology and day/night satellite photos that give you a much better idea of what the world is really all about. If I were getting a gift for a student, the DK atlas would be my choice (and it is about half the price of the Times atlas).

Rating:
Summary: great for finding towns, comparatively poor on geology
Review: If you are reading a biography of an artist and find that he lives in a small town in Scotland, this is the atlas where you're most likely to find that town. The maps are extremely detailed for towns and roads and such, especially in Western countries. The DK Great World Atlas, however, has far more interesting information about geology and day/night satellite photos that give you a much better idea of what the world is really all about. If I were getting a gift for a student, the DK atlas would be my choice (and it is about half the price of the Times atlas).

Rating:
Summary: Expensive, but worth it
Review: If, like me, you love and can spend hours poring over a map, then the Times Atlas will blow you away. A massive heavy tome (well it maps the whole earth after all!), it is meant to be laid flat on the carpet while the reader sprawls on his / her stomach to browse. The most important thing about an Atlas, apart from accuracy, is that it should be up to date and the Times scores high here. The maps are large, the colors gentle and easy on the eye, the print quality is superb. Some of the text is sadly a bit small for my aging eyes but the maps, which most readers will concentrate on are top notch. Perhaps a bit expensive for home usage, though I like to think that this one is a keeper; you need to amortise its cost over a decade or more. Small businesses and homes with growing children wanting to learn about the world will love this book. Worth a splurge.

Rating:
Summary: Help Arab Terrorists
Review: It is unbelievable to see that rich Arab terrorists have influenced National Geographic into changing the name of Persian Gulf to Arabian Gulf. What is next? Arabian Falls instead of Niagara Falls? Arabian River instead of Columbia River? Arabian Canyon instead of Grand Canyon? United States of Arabia??!! If these Arab terrorists cannot destroy it, then they try to change its name. In my opinion, buying this book is the same as helping Arab terrorists.

Rating:
Summary: Persian Gulf instead of Arabian Gulf
Review: It seems like Arabs money have been able to buy even these people from national Geographic. So the editors of the book has changed the name Persian Gulf which has been used for thousands of years to Arabian Gulf. WOW. I do not call this just a mistake. It is nothing but a bribary scandle to editors of the :Times Atlas of the World" and they should correct this intentional mistake quickly and withdraw all copies from the bookstores shelves as soon as possible.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but not the most current edition....
Review: Just as a point of information, while this is a superb work, a newer edition has been available for the last year in the UK and elsewhere. The newer edition, the 11th, was released in October 2003 and I do not believe it is yet available in the United States. If you are looking to spend this much money on an atlas (and if you like atlases, I highly recommend this one), you should order the 11th Edition from Amazon Canada (and of course, not receive free shipping). You will be happy to have the most up-to-date edition (with all the new features and political changes incorporated). The ISBN of the new edition is 0007157207.

[Update 28 December 2004] The 11th Edition is now available from Amazon.com (USA site)! Search on the ISBN above.

Rating:
Summary: The formation of Arabian Gulf?
Review: National Geographic Atlas has always been a great informational source. However, I was quite shocked by what I saw in the last edition (the 8th). I am sure most of those who have bought this Atlas or had a chance to look at it by now, have noticed the formation of a new gulf that never existed before, Arabian Gulf! It's sad how money can replace names even in the map (Arabian Gulf instead of Persian Gulf!) What National Geographic hasn't noticed yet is how its credibility has dropped among the intellectual crowd and many others are enraged by this act. I never thought history can be distorted, but with what I saw from National Geographic, which has lost it's credibility among those that understand the impact of this change, I am not so sure any more. It's unfortunate and humiliating what money can do!

Rating:
Summary: A required book for EVERY home
Review: No one claiming to be literate or interested in the world around them can be without this book. Parents of school age children should place this Atlas at the top of their list in aquiring volumes to improve their child's education. It should be within easy hand's reach. No one interested in world events, history or geography can afford to deny themselves the pleasure of its magnificent plates and charts. This is a required investment in knowledge.

Rating:
Summary: The finest reference world atlas produced to date.
Review: The comprehensive edition of the Times atlas of the world has been regarded by many as the finest reference atlas ever made. It has become a standard work of reference for decades now. The latest edition, the ninth, appeared in 1993 as a heavy single volume with a gleaming black cover, with a reprint with revisions released in 1994. The 123 plates are produced by the renowned Edinburgh (now Glasgow) cartographers of Bartholomew. The plates are characterized by sublime use of color, amazing accuracy, a balanced use of various scale sizes and projections. The various typefaces are sometimes so romantic that legibility suffers from it as a consequence. The atlas is mainly a set of world maps, without many thematic sections. This focus results in the largest world atlas index available to date: well over 210,000 entries, where each entry comes with its longitude + latitude coords; this makes this atlas the ideal reference work for names all over the world. The world is mapped at essentially

Rating:
Summary: The finest reference world atlas produced to date.
Review: The comprehensive edition of the Times atlas of the world has been regarded by many as the finest reference atlas ever made. It has become a standard work of reference for decades now. The latest edition, the ninth, appeared in 1993 as a heavy single volume with a gleaming black cover, with a reprint with revisions released in 1994. The 123 plates are produced by the renowned Edinburgh (now Glasgow) cartographers of Bartholomew. The plates are characterized by sublime use of color, amazing accuracy, a balanced use of various scale sizes and projections. The various typefaces are sometimes so romantic that legibility suffers from it as a consequence. The atlas is mainly a set of world maps, without many thematic sections. This focus results in the largest world atlas index available to date: well over 210,000 entries, where each entry comes with its longitude + latitude coords; this makes this atlas the ideal reference work for names all over the world. The world is mapped at essentially