National Geographic Atlas of the World - Ninth Edition

Myself and all of my guests are 'wowed' by this volume. The level of detail and world facts are simply astounding. I would love to have a child to give this to as a gift; they could get lost in this atlas for hours at a time.

Was just okay-considering we had at one time, the NG atlas...there were more bent corners on it & it appeared to be more used than I expected... Still does the job-to find the world at your fingertips...

National Geographic has created a wonderful atlas in this edition. Interested buyers should take another look at the books dimensions, it's HUGE. The 9th Edition gives a good nod to the environment and the impact we as humans are making on the world. There are tables and graphs included which are easy to read and understand.

Included are two maps which you can frame and hang on a wall. They aren't huge, I'd say standard letter size, but are a nice compliment. The slipcase is strong and durable, as well as the book itself. While there are definitely other atlas' out there which cost less, none can match the style of the National Geographic Society.

I've had the new atlas for 60 days and find myself looking something up every 2-3 days. It's really been fun looking up remote places like Palmyra Atoll, Kerguelen Island, the Fly River and other obscure places I read about.

And now I've found an interesting use for the password protected online atlas as well. The online Atlas gives you high-resolution access to all the Atlas map plates. You can print, copy or email maps or portions of maps. I expect the online Atlas to come in handy for school projects.

If you've read through the reviews you'll know the Iranians are upset about the "renaming" of the Persian Gulf. OK, since I'm at work, I'll log in to the password protected Atlas website, pull up Plate 75 and take a look. The Persian Gulf is labeled "Persian Gulf" but underneath it in parentheses is the label "Arabian Gulf". Apparently "Arabian Gulf", even in parentheses, is an affront to Iranian pride.

I want to be fair on this so I decided to check out some other atlases at my local bookstore to see how they handle the Gulf label. Most of the atlases use the term Persian Gulf by itself, but several prominent, highly-rated Atlases use the label "The Gulf" with no Persian or Arabian modifier, so there is legitimate debate in the cartographic world about how to refer to this body of water. For nationalistic reasons the Iranians want it only to be called the Persian Gulf, but I suspect the other countries bordering the Gulf would disagree. Most people will continue to call it the Persian Gulf, and the NGS Atlas appropriately uses that name as the primary label.

However, Iran does not own the Persian Gulf, and if a different name is now used by millions of people, then you have to admire the NGS for including both labels and not bowing to pressure from any political group, unlike the Atlases that meekly call it "The Gulf". I sympathize with the Iranian's anger over what they perceive to be psychological warfare by the Arabs, but I would still prefer to know if an alternate name is in use locally, and that is what the NGS atlas provides. Geographic names evolve, and the NGS continues its strong history of providing up-to-date cartography.

The new NGS World Atlas is among the top two or three World Atlases available, and the discounted price from the store makes it a relative bargain, especially when you consider you also get an online Atlas that mirrors the printed edition.

I for one feel the maps in the NGS World Atlas are as accurate and beautiful as you will find anywhere and now they're available online as well. This is a great family resource.

I had no idea how big this book turned out to be now it sits on my shelf just for decoration rather than a useful reference. I will be more careful the next time. I am very disappointed with this purchase.

My dad is BIG into flight simulator and asked for some world maps for Christmas to plot out his flight plans. Other than just a generic world map that you hang on the wall, I didn't know what to get him because I felt like he needed detailed maps on a regional scale as well possibly larger and smaller scales. This has it all. Everything. For example, the section with United States has a 2 page spread of the entire United States, and then 2 page spreads of each region in the United States. It also has world population maps, astronomical stuff, basically maps that portraying global data or natural patterns. It's a massive book that probably weighs around 20lbs. It comes with a cover that you slide the book in then the book itself has the same cover with blue metallic embellishments. There's a blue satin ribbon bookmark that's attached inside the book (I'm sure that there's a proper name for that), and it comes with a world wall map. One side of the map is modern, and the other is an old world style map. The pages are thick and satin - not too glossy or matte.

This was a really nice surprise for my dad considering that he was asking for a cheap folding map of the world. He said that this was the best Christmas gift and the best Christmas he's had in a long time I think because he loved the pomp of receiving such a beautiful reference book. It really made him feel legit and he's building a special stand for it in his flight simulator room because it has an air to it, and I think he feels he must accommodate it. My dad said that he was the type of person who would enjoy reading through the facts that were in the book. Also, my dad immediately googled it, and enjoyed telling me that he'd just received a book that retailed at $200. This made him really happy, and he works really hard, so it made me really happy. I think you have gauge your audience, but I do feel like this is a great gift that will display nicely, and make the receiver feel very special.

I had no idea how big this book turned out to be now it sits on my shelf just for decoration rather than a useful reference. I will be more careful the next time. I am very disappointed with this purchase.

My dad is BIG into flight simulator and asked for some world maps for Christmas to plot out his flight plans. Other than just a generic world map that you hang on the wall, I didn't know what to get him because I felt like he needed detailed maps on a regional scale as well possibly larger and smaller scales. This has it all. Everything. For example, the section with United States has a 2 page spread of the entire United States, and then 2 page spreads of each region in the United States. It also has world population maps, astronomical stuff, basically maps that portraying global data or natural patterns. It's a massive book that probably weighs around 20lbs. It comes with a cover that you slide the book in then the book itself has the same cover with blue metallic embellishments. There's a blue satin ribbon bookmark that's attached inside the book (I'm sure that there's a proper name for that), and it comes with a world wall map. One side of the map is modern, and the other is an old world style map. The pages are thick and satin - not too glossy or matte.

This was a really nice surprise for my dad considering that he was asking for a cheap folding map of the world. He said that this was the best Christmas gift and the best Christmas he's had in a long time I think because he loved the pomp of receiving such a beautiful reference book. It really made him feel legit and he's building a special stand for it in his flight simulator room because it has an air to it, and I think he feels he must accommodate it. My dad said that he was the type of person who would enjoy reading through the facts that were in the book. Also, my dad immediately googled it, and enjoyed telling me that he'd just received a book that retailed at $200. This made him really happy, and he works really hard, so it made me really happy. I think you have gauge your audience, but I do feel like this is a great gift that will display nicely, and make the receiver feel very special.

WOW! I entered this review under 5 star because everyone seems to so love this atlas. I bought it based on the reviews. In years past I have owned the Times Atlas of the World and been very happy with it. I am sorry today on receiving the National Geographic Atlas that I purchased it. I think the maps are great. What I find to be annoying are the page label plates- 2"x4" on each map page- , identifying what you are viewing. They consume an 8 sq. inch place on each page that would better be left to a more discreet label and they cover up important information on the map.
BACK TO DESIGN SCHOOL. The probably well paid designers and editors did not have what I want in a map in mind when this was composed. I want maps. Not obvious identifiers on every page. Leave that to a discreet label and an index and table of contents.
I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!

I have both the 7th and 8th editions of this book, as well as recent editions of most of the other major world atlases.

In my opinion, this latest (8th) edition blows away the competition (_and_ the National Geographic's own 7th edition).

Having bought and owned world atlases for almost 50 years, I strongly recommend this atlas for home, school, or library use. I find this latest edition exceedingly accurate, especially in the areas of the Middle East (*despite* the protestations from certain _very_ organized political factions <ahem>).

Magnificent satellite photos, along with revised and improved political and geo-physical maps, set this one apart from the rest. Much of the "supplemental" map sections of the previous edition are expanded.

Regarding the reviewer who indicated that the 7th edition is "cloth-bound": well, the 7th edition (that I own) actually has a *cloth-textured* dark blue *paper* overlay on hardboard. The internal hinges are "binders' mull" (cloth) _but_ so are those of the plastic-coated covers of the 8th edition! Both editions should hold up very well. The main difference in the covers is the aesthetics, and the 8th edition is indeed quite pleasing in that department.

I most highly recommend the 8th edition of this atlas, and you certainly won't go wrong if you purchase it from the store.
A great addition to the panoply of atlases, and a huge treat for addictive map lovers!

As one would expect from National Geographic this is a very well constructed atlas. The maps are true to National Geographic's high standards and serve the user very well. Each continent is depicted in several maps showing smaller and then larger scale. The maps close in on more specific detail that give the casual user and the serious geography student fine detail on the countries of the world. Accompanying the maps is the detailinsets National Geographic has been placing on their maps for years. THese tell little sidebars about a country, a city, or even bodies of water inform the reader about a certain fact that is useful to know. The book is large enough so that the reader does not need to strain eyes to get the details of a map.

It is an expensive atlas, and is already out of date (South Sudan is not depicted on the maps of Sudan), but in this day in age, atlases oare more often out of date than not. There is a gazateer in the back portions of the book plus inserts about each country in existence at the time of publication. Using this atlas will enable the events of the world headlines to be placed in context and perspective. I'm guessing the next edition is already in the works.

I recommend this atlas for anyone who wants to know where cities or mountain ranges, or rivers, or any physical entity may be. One could spend hours reviewing its contents and still be able to come back time and again to learn even more.

I got this for my son just to have... honestly it was on a massive sale discount when I got it, so that had an influence on my willingness to pay what I paid for it. The book is massive, and each "page" in the tally is actually a full 2-page spread so it has roughly twice as much content as you'd expect from the page count. It has a good 15 or so "pages" of educational content before it delves into the maps, and the three are plenty of tables, graphs, etc. after the maps. It's very detailed and information-rich.

Wish I had read the dimensions of this HEAVY book.It's so cumbersome to look up something in the index and then lay the book down on the proper page to find what you're looking for.Worried about a classmate in CA.with the wildfires and tried to find her city and it wasn't even in the atlas.How good is that?

I've always had a soft spot for National Geographic's cartographic style. I used to buy dozens of old National Geographics at yard sales, take out the maps, and barely look at the magazines themselves. I'd stare googly-eyed at their atlases in bookstores, but never could actually afford them.

This ninth edition is actually a very minimalistic, classy affair, as far as contemporary atlases go. The emphasis here is almost totally on maps - after all, atlases used be books of maps, not books of satellite imagery, cultural data, and pretty photographs with the actual maps crammed in the corners. The maps are huge and sometimes overwhelmingly detailed, but nonetheless fairly easy to study and visually pleasing, without their aesthetic qualities detracting from geographic and political detail. The thematic spreads are also nicely done, and feature useful and readable charts and maps.

As you'd expect from an atlas published in 2010, this book features a number of larger-scale maps focusing on regions of environmental and political importance, such as the Korean Peninsula, the the store River basin, Greenland, and Pakistan and Afghanistan. Maps of Antarctica and the Arctic show some of the historic expeditions to those lands, the ocean floors are depicted, and there's even maps of the Moon, Mars, and Milky Way near the end of the atlas. Production values are impeccable, right down to sturdy binding, attractive slipcase, and silver cloth bookmark. The included prints are nice, but rather small and could have been printed on higher quality paper.

However, I agree with the previous reviewer who commented that this atlas pretty much neglects Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. Africa gets by with only 12 pages devoted to it, while spread after spread focus on the United States and Western Europe. To give one example, Warehouse Point, a tiny village in Connecticut, is included on the map of New England, but the entirety of Australia is covered in two pages. It's a flaw that seems to afflict I've ever owned, and I don't see it changing in the near future. Besides that, this is a very nice atlas. Perhaps not $175 nice, but a worthy investment at around $100.

I love maps, globes, and atlases. I own a Hammond Atlas, Rand McNally Atlas, Oxford Atlas, Times Atlas, and others. My favorite has always been the National Geographic Atlas and the latest edition still is.

But the truth is, the NG Atlas has been going downhill since the 7th edition. Like the 8th edition it only contains a map of the Pacific Ocean showing detailed currents. (The 7th and previous had these maps for all the oceans.) The ocean floor maps in the 9th have the continents blacked out, which makes them ugly and confusing.

The 2-page section on the various map projections, and why they are used for certain areas, that was in previous editions is gone.

The thematic maps are generally interesting but some contain questionable information that bolsters an alarmist view.

The biggest fault is that they no longer provide web updates. This atlas shows Sudan as one country; it is now two countries. The two previous editions provided web sites where one could download an updated insert for such changes. This lack is a major downgrade in quality.

But as far as I am concerned, it is STILL the best atlas available and the only one I would fully recommend.

I'm a big fan of maps and charts and this is a great source. Very large layout, that takes in the sweeping areas of whole continents, with lots of detail available as you "zoom in" to areas you like. Well worth it.

After some years, this edition of the NGS's Atlas is still a solid entry. 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. Also very useful to a student of economics, demographics, energy resources and other statistical topics is a section that shows these subjects across the globe in a very easy to understand format (color coded with some pictograms). On the topic of the much advertised satellite maps of each continent that National Geographic boasts in this edition: although interesting, I was hoping for more of the satellite maps- for instance, maps of cities and ports. Now that the traditional atlas has to compete with the amazing "Google Earth" and other map programs online and off, National Geographic will have to provide us with much more in this regard to justify the price we pay.

This Atlas is great to use if reading about far off places where names are not familiar. The index and paging system provides an easy to use reference system, so you can find where you're looking for by name, or by geographic region. Just as useful if reading about Zagreb, Croatia in Spokane, Washington as it would be to read about Spokane in Zagreb. For actual travel and navigation, you'll still need to go to AAA or the gas station and get a real driving road map however. I would put this atlas on the shelf of any student in history, international affairs, politics or military affairs.

National Geographic have compiled the most comprehensive blue-print of planet Earth and its surroundings. (the moon, mars, milky way etc) The book is well designed aesthetically and practically, beautiful in it's complexity but organized in a way thats easy to follow. it doesn't get any better than this.

Most guests at my house notice the giant blue book pretty quickly and have shown nothing but amazed impressions.

I definitely approve of this (honestly) hefty purchase. It's worth it

This is a wonderful full-color book on the geography of the world.

The atlas has the following features:

- a map relief for all the major mountains

- green fonts for forestry

- highlighted waterways

- the ocean major currents

- bays highlighted

- the Isles of the Pacific i.e. Palau, Manihi, Lialtuka, Hiya Oa,

Santa Cruz, Kosrae

The North and South Pole is highlighted together with the

East and West Antartica and separate reliefs for the oceans.

The coloring is spectacular. This book would be perfect for the

student in your house.

This atlas like previous NGS editions is a treasure trove for map lovers everywhere. Sure, there will be minor quibbles but overall this atlas is the best current one available. Now, I offer my minor quibble ... please NGS, restore the largest city maps in future editions.

In December 2004, National Geographic (NG) updated the Persian Gulf plate (Plate 75) to accomodate the controversies surrounding the place-names used in the 8th edition.
Here is my understanding of the changes made:
1. The term "Arabian Gulf" in parenthesis has been deleted. Instead, there is a small note that reads: "Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is also referred by some as the Arabian Gulf."
2. Persian names of all Iranian islands are used. (Kish instead of Qeys, Lavan alone instead of adding Sheykh Sha'eyb in parenthesis)
3. Deletion of "Occupied by Iran (Claimed by U.A.E.)" in reference to the islands Abu Musa, and Greater and Lesser Tunbs.
These changes already appear on the website ([...]) and will apply to further printings or editions of the NG Atlas. Also, on the password-protected website for NG Atlas owners, there is a "brief summary of the historical origin of the term Persian Gulf". There is also a note on the place-naming policy of NG. (The online update feature is great - you can download and/or print updated plates and put them in your atlas. This not new for NG Atlases, except that they used to send updates by mail.)
Overall, I am impressed with NG's response to this situation. I am also very impressed with the quality of the atlas and its contents, except for the outermost/superficial binding paper. I have had the atlas for about 6 months, and with moderate use, the paper around the bottom of the spine has frayed. The binding itself is intact, though.

Advantages : Details of locations and information marked in maps, see view, all surface of pages are map, Weight low,

Disadvantages : Not colours for see the topographic relief, Scale of maps in Central America, South America, Africa and Oceanía very small. Maybe for Asian maps is necesary larger scales for China and India.

I think that for the future editions will be better more large scale maps and no index paper pages (the index for example in a CD support)...

National Geographic retains its reputation as one of the finest mapmakers of the world with the seventh edition of their atlas of the world. The maps look the same as the sixth edition, but a fully updated section of urban area maps has been included. Again, color usage is very sparse, but the relief shading has improved. What really makes this atlas more valuable than its predecessor is the thematic part. A large number of topics are elaborately treated. With the 140,000+ index, this atlas remains in the top 5 of best atlases ever produced.

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.

The 8th edition is not as well organized as the 7th. In the previous edition, information about countries and states were in their respective continent section. The 8th edition has grouped them all together at the end of the atlas in alphabetical order. Someone at National Geographic has determined that the new edition no longer needed separate maps for England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, just an overall map of Britain and Ireland, which was also in the previous edition. What happened to all of the city maps, temperature data and and major cities of the world? Finally 8th edition has a cover that is inferior to the other 7 editions, paper vs cloth. I think I will keep my 7th edition.

The National Geographic Society (NGS) Atlas of the World is an "evolutionary" rather than a "revolutionary" publication. Besides updated boundaries, etc., compared to prior editions it makes much better use of shading to indicate topography and has more detailed city maps. I buy an atlas primarily for the maps, and it's the maps that make the NGS Atlas superior to all others.

The traditional NGS "look" sometimes seems dated compared to the flashier colors and trendy graphics employed by some other publishers. However, the more I study the maps, the more information I find in them. A few years ago I did a comparison of this NGS with the most recent edition of the much more expensive Times Atlas of the World for a professional geographer's meeting. I was amazed to find that many of the NGS maps of North America had more than twice as many place names and named physical features as the Times Atlas. I also found the NGS Atlas maps equal or superior to the Times' maps for parts of the Middle East and northeast Asia with which I'm familiar (frankly, I found the 10th Edition Times Atlas inferior to the prior edition in several regards; for example, the elevation colors are far less discernable and detailed city maps have been virtually eliminated). Despite contrary opinions by some other reviewers, I judge the National Geographic Atlas maps to be far and away superior in content and sheer volume of information presented to all the other "high end" atlases published by Oxford, Hammond and DK. In fact, I couldn't justify recommending any of the other atlases (except possibly the Times, which, I admit, does offer fantastic detail for village names in the rural plains of India where I hope to never visit) to a library.

The National Geographic Society Atlas of the World is a great investment for travel planning, tracking current events, studying geography and history or just reading maps for pleasure. I recommend it highly.

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.

My mom viewed this book at Barnes and Nobles before Christmas and fell in love with it. Their price was too high, I thought, and was already used and not sealed, so I found it on the store for a great price and had it shipped. She is thrilled with it. The layout is so nice and large making it easy to find what you're looking for and the index is huge!!! Actually, I think anyone would love it that likes to know where things are happening in the world. Mom watches the news and looks up where the action is taking place in her new book. She's already taught me a lot I didn't realize about where countries, cities, etc. are located!!!

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.

Map out your academic studies or armchair travels with this incredible book --- without a doubt, the most up-to-date, comprehensive atlas we have ever seen. This seventh edition puts a changing world, in 140,000-plus entries, in everyone's hands, and boasts state-of-the-art satellite imagery and the work of more than 50 cartographers, designers, editors, researchers and indexers. (The mountain, valleys and other landscape features were digitally painted over a period of a yea by one staff artist!) Expensive? You bet. But much cheaper than a trip around the world. But if you have to go, just don't try and pack it in your luggage; the book weighs close to 15 pounds!

I found the quality, accuracy, and ease of this atlas underwhelming for the price. It's the most expensive atlas out there, but has nothing on Hammond, Oxford, or Goode's--all of which are half the price. Don't be fooled by the big marketing campaign. NG might be powerful, but it doesn't make the best atlases.

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 the store 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.

I'm not impressed. The misspelling of South Pole on page 4, the printing errors throughout the early signatures, the sources for the climate data add up to a vote of no confidence. If you can't get "South Pole" right, why should I trust that unfamiliar place names are spelled correctly? I'm returning my copy.

I looked at a lot of different atlases before I purchased this one. I loved this one because it had the most maps and best colour. I didn't want an atlas that had too much encyclopedic information. If you are after an atlas with fabulous maps, then this is the one for you!

We know of National Geographic Society's pell-mell rush to recognize the Russian anschluss of Crimea on its "authoritative" maps of the Black Sea. One wonders: Is NGS already preparing a draft of its upcoming 11th edition with new borders -- just in case, of course -- for the Baltic States, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia? Political maps are just that -- political. But NGS's precipitate accommodation of lawlessness was unseemly, to say the least.

The eighth edition was the last to have North America on the cover. The ninth and tenth edition covers now feature Africa, Middle East and Europe. It is no longer politically correct to have America on the cover.

The eighth edition was the last to have North America on the cover. The ninth and tenth edition covers now feature Africa, Middle East and Europe. It is no longer politically correct to have America on the cover.