Reviews of Books: A Descriptive Atlas of New Zealand

Summary

This is an academic review of the *Descriptive Atlas of New Zealand*, published by the New Zealand Government in 1959. The atlas comprises 48 map pages and 88 pages of text, systematically covering New Zealand's physical and human geography, including relief, geology, soils, climate, vegetation, population distribution, land use, manufacturing, and communications. The review identifies several cartographic shortcomings, such as layer coloring that inadequately represents the country's rugged terrain, binding that detracts from map usability, outdated maps not referenced in the text, and an erroneous caption for Tasman's map. Despite these flaws, the reviewer highly praises the 25 full-page photographs, mostly aerial obliques, with detailed captions that vividly illustrate the diversity of New Zealand's landscape. Overall, the review concludes that while the atlas is rich in factual content and visually appealing, it lacks the synthesis needed to integrate its parts into a cohesive whole, likening it to a lavishly illustrated yearbook. It also expresses hope that the atlas's unexpected success might prompt the government to reconsider an Historical Atlas project.