Book reviews: Nasjonalatlas for Norge: Helse

Staffan Helmfrid reviews Nasjonalatlas for Norge: Helse (1996), edited by Steinar Nielsen, the first volume in Norway’s new handy school-atlas format. Inspired by Sweden’s thematic national atlas, the format replaced the poorly selling map sheets and text booklets published in 1981–1994; 21 thematic volumes were planned. The Norwegian-language health volume provides English figure captions, map legends and a 17-page English summary. Its two main chapters cover health status, prepared by the University of Trondheim’s Department of Geography under project leader and main author Asbjørn Aase, and health services, produced within the Land Survey with Inger Storm-Furru as main author. Most of its 200 maps are small-scale national maps, with statistics generally presented as choropleths by commune, region or county. Helmfrid stresses that readers must distinguish mapped settled areas from unsettled areas left grey. The maps cover mortality, diseases, risk factors and regional health, often at two dates, and regional differences in health-service availability. He praises the clear colour scales and accessible references and indexes, while questioning the necessity of some large photographs. He regards the health theme as pioneering among Northern European atlases and recommends its contents as a model for Sweden’s planned health volume.