A Very Detailed atlas

this atlas is very detailed and helpful it marks places in great ways and makes clearly when one country ends and when another begins. and at the start of every contenent maps there is lots of interesting facts that you didn't know<br />5 out of 5

No punches pulled and no quarter given

From the 'Bulls*t States' of Alaska ( 'needlessly unspoiled' ) through France ( 'One Nation above God' ) and Vatican City ( 'The Catholic Disneyland' ) to New Zealand ( 'The Maori Wars - originally conceived as a trilogy but ends after the 1st installment in which the Maori resist British colonial rule' ) we turn page after page of razor-sharp wit and acerbic commentary on the motley collection of natione states that constitute our Dumb World.<br />If you loved 'Our Dumb Century' and wonder where all the major writing effort has gone from the Onion website then this book is the answer to a gap in your life. No stone is left unturned and no national custom, foible or skeleton is sacred from the Onion's historians.<br />

outstanding

Everyone who loves wine loves this book.
I have seen criticisms from other reviewers which are in one sense valid e.g. poor coverage of Austria.
The reality is, it is almost impossible to buy Austrian wine of quality in this country lately, or Hungarian etc etc.
The wine market has changed and until things settle down a bit, this book gives the critical coverage that any wine fan needs for the core historic areas.
The edition of this book that comes in 5 years time will be something that all wine lovers can use but until the world settles itself down, this is the best choice in wine books that you can make

Beck and all

A timely update to the first edition in 2003 with a new Zone 6 listing all the latest and proposed subway systems around the world. The extra Zone now includes hybrids like tram-trains, monorail or light rail and they all need maps. The other five Zones in the original have had their contents revised also.<br /><br />I think the beauty of the book is in looking at the way various transit companies have approached the problem of communicating (sometimes complex) information in a simple way for passengers yet each map has its unique points. The book's authors rightly trace the origins of the modern designed transit map to London Transport's Harry Beck. His genius was to discard the geographic location of stations and have route lines as either vertical, horizontal or at forty-five degrees. It's amazing to see how many maps of the dozens in the book still follow this general principal. <br /><br />However, creating a map that might look graphically stunning is not always enough. New York's MTA got Massimo Vignelli to design their map and it looks a visual treat but passengers weren't impressed and found it confusing so the MTA revised it. Vignelli's 1979 map and the latest 2007 MTA one are shown together on a spread in the book, two maps with the same information yet looking so different.<br /><br />This update has a few more train and station photos to fill the space that was frequently left blank in the first edition and there is a nice touch with a spread near the back that includes some fantasy maps. If I have a fault with the book it is that in the new Zone 6 section many of the maps are so small that I don't think they were worth including.<br /><br />I thinks it's worth pointing out that Transit Maps is not designed as a reference guide for travelers to cities around the world but as a celebration of the beauty that is inherent in these colourful diagrams.<br />

More a gimic than a map ....

We took this with us to Florida last week. Although it is a convenient pocket size, I didn't find the maps easy to read or particularly helpful. Local tourist places and the parks themselves all have abundant supplies of maps which were far more help and were free !! After the map had been opened and closed a few times it began not to close easily as the paper began to wear - wouldn't buy again.

Large Format, Superb Resolution Atlas

If there is just one Atlas you would like to own, then the DK Atlas is probably the best choice you will make. The print quality and resolution is simply superb, and the large format makes even the smallest of features and places legible. The atlas has an excellent index and the format is easy to understand.
This atlas is an invaluable reference for adults and children alike. It's hard binding makes it a book that will last years even with the roughest handling ( which it will probably get , if it is bought for a home ). A great buy ... get one today !

An excellent visual and outline review of world history

Please see my review of volume 1. The same qualifiers apply to this volume too.