I'm delighted to say that by using this info I came across that TLCAW is the perfect combination of a convenient price and incredibly stupendous data. And is also renowned as one of the best atlases ever published due to its unusual accuracy.

Along with this "advisor", I had to set my final word because this kind of publication should become a "world consultant" for the owner and, of course, your "investment" should be guaranteed with an outstanding product. What's more, I had previously checked info from another The Times Atlas when it was supplied in little tomes -7 or 9 years ago, when I'd just entered university- if you acquired a local newspaper. Its wholeness astonished me, and currently I can undoubtedly confirm that TLCAW is the most intelligent purchase of a publication I've done since then.

A superb hard cover, luxurious paper, an adequate and handy size, stunningly wide info of every part of the world (including villages!), completely detailed photos (and several high resolution satellite ones), an interesting thematic section, an invaluable segment: urban center maps of the 32 most populated cities, suitable subtle color usage in maps and an astounding level of entries for its price level (about 125,000) make The TLCAW the best option for an Atlas ever.

Highly recommended. Excellent value. Impressively worthwhile.


Superior Atlas   September 20, 2001
 40 out of 45 found this review helpful

One of the best atlas's I have seen. Excellent satellite images & detailed thematic maps. Almost a work of art. Well worth the price. Geography on paper at its finest.


Stuffed with incredibly accurate information.   May 29, 2001
 171 out of 171 found this review helpful

Of the dozens of recent world atlases that I have seen in the past seven years, this one overall speaking offers the most value of all. This world atlas is advertised as "an abridged version of the famous Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World", but it is absolutely more than just that. Without doubt, this 8th Concise edition is by far the best rendition of the world on paper available in 2000 (fully generated from digital GIS databases).

New maps in this set of unbelievably accurate plates include central Japan, the Washington-New York area, and Central Mexico. Also, urban center maps of the world's largest cities have now been included on the reference maps themselves, something that is missing in the Comprehensive edition. The color coding has improved considerably compared to previous editions; though not completely consistent overall, most maps are beautiful to look at, and provide for a very high level of legibility because of the subtle coloring (no relief shading, but layer tints are used, which reduces the 3D effect, but does add to the overall legibility of the maps). The font sizes have been reduced too, allowing for the available space to be used much more efficiently (though some elderly people may find the fonts too small). This results in an index size of over 125,000 entries, which is absolutely stunning for a world atlas of this size (the nearest competitor reaches 112,000, most are stuck at 100,000 entries). The maps include many local roads, points of interest, national parks, nature reserves, and, amazingly, lots of villages with a population of less than 1,000.

The thematic section has been expanded as well to include highly detailed satellite images of the continents, topics such as earthquakes, volcanoes, climate, oceans, population, urbanization, and modern communications. There is also a nice section on revolutions in cartography, comparing the time-consuming process of using copper plates for map production to the current digital database possibilities. There is also an elaborate section on the states and territories of the world. The atlas also has a few minor negative points: the gutter between the pages is sometimes so small that some data is lost between the pages; and, the focus is mostly on Europe; especially North America should have deserved a bit more attention.

Since this world atlas is marketed in North America only, the publisher apparently assumes that customers do not need more U.S. maps, but are interested in other parts of the world. If that is true, this world atlas is bound to become a bestseller. The atlas comes in hardback format including a protective slipcase and may be considered a very large book, but not so large that it becomes un-handable. Kudos to Times!