Duncan Cumming · 1973
Duncan Cumming reviews Mesfin Wolde-Mariam’s revised An Atlas of Ethiopia (1970), following the preliminary atlas of 1962. It incorporates new statistics from the Ethiopian Government’s Central Statistics Office and the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Published by Haile Selassie I University’s Department of Geography and printed in Asmara, it is intended primarily for secondary schools. About three-quarters of its information appears in maps, with the remainder in tables and diagrams; subjects include physical geography, agriculture, livestock, crops, population, and languages. Its approximately 60 maps cover the whole country at 1:9,000,000, a scale required by the compact format but presenting difficulties for clarity. Cumming considers it a pioneering response to a specific educational need and cautions against comparison with the 1:1,500,000 atlases of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. He questions the paperback’s durability and the quality and usefulness of some aerial photographs, and suggests varying scales for regional information. Possible future additions include transliteration guidance, a place-name gazetteer, and historical maps. He judges the economical school atlas a useful and practical start.
