Alfonso Gonzalez · 1994
This review treats the 1989 Atlas del Perú as an encyclopedic national atlas sponsored by Peru's Ministry of Defense and Instituto Geográfico Nacional and edited by Carlos Peñaherrera del Aguila. It describes broad coverage through maps at varied scales, extensive text, tables, photographs and Landsat/SPOT imagery, including special thematic maps on poverty, health, desertification and Antarctic activity. The reviewer praises the thematic range and accompanying detail but criticizes the organization: unrelated maps or text are inserted into other themes, and related social-landscape material and the long departmental text are separated from the maps they explain. The review calls the atlas a significant contribution to understanding Peru.
Robert B. Kent · 1995
Kent calls the 1989 Atlas de Perú an impressive 400-page, 20-by-14-inch volume, about half maps and half explanatory text, printed in color with post bindings and weighing close to eleven pounds. It was produced mainly by the Instituto Geográfico Militar, with a civilian geographer as editor, more than sixty scientific collaborators, and seventeen institutions. Most country maps use one of three layouts (full page at 1:1,500,000, a smaller map at 1:7,200,000, or four maps per page at 1:11,000,000); Kent judges the cartography generally high in quality but notes that some pictorial symbols are hard to interpret and that the absence of chapters or section headings forces readers to consult the table of contents carefully. A roughly 50-page opening resembles school atlases, with national symbols and general astronomical and earth-science material as well as historical maps and coverage of exploration and conquest. The core of about 150 pages combines maps and interpretive text on anthropology, territorial division, border conflicts, the physical environment, and human use of the environment; more than 50 pages of departmental maps are each faced by a satellite image. The final third is mostly text, including hydrological and departmental descriptions and a detailed administrative listing, ending with a place-name index; Kent criticizes the lack of a general bibliography and the frequently imprecise citations.
