New Century World Atlas

Hammond style themselves 'mapmakers for the 21st century' and not without justice. If they take this vocation seriously, they'd better prepare for frequent new editions, as it is as difficult now to speak of nation-states and national boundaries without saying 'at this moment' as it has been at any time since the breakup of the great European colonial realms. To their credit, the editors of this atlas seem to have worked hard to avoid a Eurocentric or America-centric set of visuals. Of the introductory sections 'Interpreting maps', 'World reference guide', Global relationships', and 'The physical world', the most gripping portion is p. 21's representation of population distributions as tiny lights against a dark earth. The regional maps themselves are well detailed for an atlas at this price point. I use the Hammond as my quick-look atlas, close to the elbow but far from the coffee table. It's portable enough to double as a travel atlas. All in all, solid value.