Book reviews: Saint Lucia Planning Atlas; Suriname Planatlas
- Publication
- European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies
- Issue
- 50
- Pages
- 181-183
Suriname · Version 1
1988Gary Brana-Shute judged the Suriname Planatlas an informative and useful document for both beginning students and specialists, with a more handsome production and a durable binding. He noted that each map has clear explanatory text in Dutch and English, prepared by prominent Surinamese scholars and technicians, covering historical background, narrative information, tables and statistics; he also remarked that the atlas has no bibliography. The reviewer considered it especially useful to social scientists for its economic, ethnic, demographic and political information, including the distribution of tribal communities in the interior, keyed by settlement size and ethnic identity.
View whole-article summary
This review examines the Saint Lucia Planning Atlas (1987) and the Suriname Planatlas (1988), both published by the Organization of American States' Department of Regional Planning. The author notes that these atlases aim to map natural and human resources to support development planning in Caribbean nations. While the Saint Lucia atlas features visually appealing maps, its accompanying booklet lacks narrative and analytical content, limiting its utility. In contrast, the Suriname atlas integrates maps with explanatory texts in Dutch and English, offering historical background, statistical data, and thematic coverage, making it more valuable for social scientists. The review underscores the importance of such spatial references in understanding the cultural, social, and historical configurations shaped by ecological and physical endowments.
Related Atlases
Comments
Loading...
0/2000