Brazil

Ena L. Yonge

This article provides a comprehensive review of national atlases published worldwide up to the time of writing. It notes that since the Geographical Review first coined the term 'Age of National Atlases' in 1940, the surge of nationalism after World War II has greatly accelerated the production and scope of such atlases. The author surveys 26 published national atlases and 3 in preparation. The article first emphasizes that a national atlas aims to portray all aspects of a country—physical, economic, and social—and highlights a welcome trend: the inclusion of map titles, legends, and text summaries in English or French for atlases published in less familiar languages. The review is then organized by region. For Europe, it details atlases from Austria (Atlas von Niederösterreich), Belgium (Atlas de Belgique), France (revised Atlas de France), and Germany (Deutscher Planungsatlas, specifically Atlas von Berlin), among others, discussing their institutional backing, content structure, scales, cartographic techniques, and unique features, such as Berlin's depiction of wartime damage and postwar development, and Belgium's detailed demographic and agricultural maps. Atlases from Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Norway are also mentioned. For Africa, the planned Atlas du Maroc is described. For Oceania, the Atlas of Australian Resources is reviewed, highlighting its origin in post-war resource assessment, its effective use of a large scale, and its focus on water resources and population distribution. For North America, the article reports on the progress of a Canadian national atlas and the initiation of the National Atlas of the United States, a collaborative federal effort to compile standardized thematic maps from various government agencies. The article concludes that these national atlases represent significant achievements in geographic and cartographic scholarship, serving as invaluable resources for students, planners, and businesses.

Jar. Miller

This text comprises two book reviews and a field trip report. The first review provides a detailed assessment of the 'Atlas of Leningrad', which contains a series of maps and plans of St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) from its founding in 1703 to 1914, accompanied by explanatory notes on economic, political, and cultural conditions. The atlas illustrates the city's development as the capital of the Russian Empire and its significance in Russia's historical access to the Baltic Sea. The second review evaluates the Brazilian 'Globo Atlas', noting its professional cartographic standards and comprehensive statistical and toponymic index, while also pointing out the limitation that equal page allocation per state results in less detailed maps for larger ones. The report describes a geographical study tour to the USSR undertaken by staff and students from Charles University in 1958, focusing on Moscow's urban geography, with additional visits to Kharkiv and Leningrad for academic exchange and regional observation.

Ena L. Yonge

This article provides a systematic summary review of approximately one hundred regional atlases from around the world, organized primarily by continent (or other large region) and then alphabetically by country within each group. The author begins by noting that the ever-increasing flood of atlases—national, regional, topical, and special—makes individual reviews impossible, thus necessitating summary evaluations to acknowledge important publications while respecting space constraints. The review covers representative works from Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, North America, and South America, encompassing road atlases, historical-geographical atlases, national atlases, climatic atlases, economic atlases, and school atlases. Each atlas is assessed in terms of its compiling institution, editors, scales, number of plates, content structure, cartographic techniques, printing quality, and scholarly value, with notable features and shortcomings highlighted. For instance, the European section evaluates works such as the Euroatlas, Atlas östliches Mitteleuropa, Atlas von Niederösterreich, Atlas de Belgique, Climatic Atlas of Czechoslovakia, Atlas of Denmark, and Atlas of Finland, while the American section covers state atlases from Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia, as well as national atlases from Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. The article emphasizes that these atlases not only reflect the research standards of geography and cartography in their respective countries but also serve as vital references for regional planning, economic development, historical research, and education. The author concludes by acknowledging that no single individual can possess sufficient expertise across all aspects of geography, cartography, and linguistics to render definitive critical judgments, yet such summaries offer valuable guidance to scholars, with a forthcoming review of world atlases and special atlases announced.

J. S. Keates

This article compares the national atlases of Brazil and Israel, illustrating the diverse challenges cartographers face when dealing with different national units. The Atlas of Brazil serves as a general geographical sketch of a vast, underdeveloped region, employing basic cartographic methods including physiographic diagrams; despite modest drafting and reproduction standards, its maps are simple and legible, representing a courageous attempt at a formidable task. In contrast, the Atlas of Israel offers a detailed examination of historical and contemporary distributions within the modern state's territory, covering sections on cartography, physical geography, history, demography, economics, and education. Its cartographic techniques follow standard national atlas practices, with high-quality drafting and reproduction, ranking it among the best existing national atlases. Together, these two works highlight the variety of approaches in data presentation and cartographic methodology.

Aage Aagesen

This is a review of the Atlas Nacional do Brasil, published by the National Council of Geography of Brazil. The atlas is divided into two main parts: 'General Brazil' and 'Regional Brazil', with the latter subdividing the country into six regions. Issued in loose-leaf format, it includes numerous maps, texts, diagrams, and tables covering topics such as politics, physical geography, demography, economy, socio-cultural aspects, and international standing. The author highly praises the atlas for its quality and comprehensiveness, considering it an invaluable and much-needed source of knowledge on Brazil and tropical regions, and extends congratulations on its publication.

Arch C. Gerlach

This review examines the Atlas Nacional do Brasil, published in 1966 by the National Council of Geography (IBGE) of Brazil. Classified as a national atlas, it follows standards recommended by the International Geographical Union to facilitate international comparisons. The atlas comprises 50 map plates organized into five sections: political-administrative, physical, demographic, economic, and socio-cultural, using a polyconic projection at 1:12,500,000 scale with supplementary tables and insets. The author considers it a valuable research and reference tool for governmental, commercial, and academic purposes, despite minor shortcomings in binding and color consistency, and hopes for future updates and expansions.

Vagács András

This document comprises three Hungarian-language book reviews of geographic publications from the 1960s. The first reviews the National Atlas of Brazil, discussing its five-chapter structure, map scales, color scheme, and layout, noting that while methods are not novel, they are well applied, with some uneven thematic distribution. The second reviews a French railway map, evaluating its symbology, relief representation, and handwritten lettering aesthetics, while noting the absence of a publication year. The third reviews a six-continent travel guide published by BOAC, covering its country-by-country information on geography, history, transport, and accommodation, but criticizing its sparse map content while praising its useful tabular appendices. All three reviews assess the works from professional cartographic and geographic information perspectives, reflecting contemporary standards in map and guidebook publishing.

Richard W. Stephenson

This article reviews significant atlases published in the Western Hemisphere (including North America, South America, and Central America and the Caribbean) since Ena L. Yonge's summary survey in 1962. The survey is divided into two parts, with this part focusing on the Western Hemisphere, covering 147 volumes of general and thematic atlases of the entire hemisphere, continents, major regions, and individual countries, as well as atlases of individual states and provinces of the United States and Canada. Notable atlases mentioned include the 'Alpha Map Transparencies' series for teaching regional geography, Theodore R. Miller's 'Graphic History of the Americas,' David K. Adams and H. B. Rodgers' 'An Atlas of North American Affairs,' and the 'Oxford Regional Economic Atlas: United States & Canada.' The Canadian section details the fourth edition of 'The National Atlas of Canada,' the 'Atlas and Gazetteer of Canada,' historical atlases, and the 'Atlas of Alberta.' The South American section covers atlases from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela, such as the 'Atlas nacional do Brasil,' 'Atlas histórico geográfico y de paisajes peruanos,' and 'Atlas de Venezuela.' The article aims to describe the contents and features of these atlases rather than provide critical evaluations, and concludes by suggesting that the next decade may see an increase in the production of high-quality atlases by Western Hemisphere nations.

J. P. Dickinson

This article reviews the Atlas Nacional do Brasil, first published in 1966 by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE), a distinctive Brazilian government agency. The atlas, presented in loose-leaf format for periodic updates, comprises some sixty maps covering political, physical, demographic, socio-cultural, and economic themes. The review assesses the atlas's high cartographic standards, its reliance on data from the 1960 census, and its comprehensive portrayal of Brazil in the mid-1960s. It highlights striking regional disparities, particularly between the Southeast and Northeast, in economic activity, social provision, and income distribution. While acknowledging the atlas's value as a detailed geographical reference, the review notes limitations such as dated information, unclear classification bases in some maps, and over-reduced inset maps. The atlas effectively captures Brazil's geographical patterns and serves as a foundation for understanding its developmental trajectory.

Miguel Cezar Sanchez

This paper reviews the Atlas Nacional do Brasil - Região Nordeste, published in 1985. Compiled through a partnership between IBGE and SUDENE, the atlas aims to provide comprehensive geographic information on Northeast Brazil. It comprises 103 pages including 53 colored maps, covering fifteen major themes: general references, geology and relief, climate, renewable resources, population, primary activities, industry, energy and transport, commerce and finance, health, education, housing conditions, tourism, living standards, and urban and regional organization. The author notes that the atlas serves both analytical and synthetic purposes, suitable for elementary to complex levels of reading, making it an invaluable reference for researchers, planners, and educators. The only shortcoming identified is the lack of standardization in class interval representation on some maps, a minor flaw in an otherwise significant cartographic work.

Edmon Nimer; Maria Mônica Vieira Caetano O'Neill; Roberto Lobato Corrêa

This paper presents the theoretical conception of the National Atlas of Brazil, developed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The Brazilian reality is viewed as a constant social transformation process, emphasizing temporal and spatial dimensions. Six dialectical dimensions (e.g., present-past, form-process, continuity-discontinuity) are proposed as analytical framework. The Atlas focuses on profound changes after 1950, covering three interdependent systems: natural resources, spatial organization, and environmental changes. It is conceived as a research tool revealing basic lines of spatial differentiation through thematic treatment, rather than a mere inventory of information.