The Book of the World

Summary

Marian P. Francois reviews The Book of the World (Macmillan, 1996), describing its explanations of map projections, map types, and symbols, alongside sections on natural landscapes, continents and oceans, nations, and thirty cities. She praises its educational guidance, treatment of environmental issues, and multilingual geographic glossary. She considers the city descriptions fair and accurate, while noting that their maps generally cover central business districts. The maps reflect political changes including the Soviet Union’s dissolution and German reunification. Given the volume’s size and price, she recommends it for school, college, and public libraries that can afford it and identifies less expensive alternatives.