Historical Atlas of the World

Atlases of world history are not normally friendly for the non-expert, but this one is better than many. It starts from the growth of civilization and ends into the 1990's. It charts the rise and decline of major civilizations and focuses on major conflicts of world history. The actual maps are well illustrated and generally easy to understand. The paperback version is easy to handle with only around a 100 pages. There is a good index at the back and the contents are also clear. A few of the maps are complicated and require quite a bit of concentration to grasp. Another thing lacking is explanatory notes which would have really increased the usefulness of the map. Despite these, I believe the atlas should be part of the library of any school/college history deparment and any individual with an interest in world history.