Book Reviews: British Atlas

Summary

This is an academic review of The Atlas of Britain and Northern Ireland (Oxford University Press, 1963). Privately prepared and commercially published, the atlas is not a national atlas in the strict sense, yet it surpasses comparable works in size, coverage, and clarity of presentation. Across 200 pages of maps, it depicts both the physical basis of British national life—geology, relief, climate, soils, and vegetation—and the distribution of population, agriculture, industry, and transportation. Most maps use a 1:2,000,000 scale, while thematic maps, such as those on agricultural holdings and coal mining, employ ingenious color design to convey complex data with exceptional precision. The review notes that the atlas is not merely a compilation of statistics but reflects extensive research by a team of experts, challenging many textbook stereotypes about industrial distribution. Although the atlas captures Britain in the late 1950s and will inevitably age, it will remain the standard reference on the geography of economic activity in Britain for the next decade or two.