Reviews: The new national atlas of Cuba

Étienne Dalmasso reviews the Nuevo atlas nacional de Cuba, published in 1989 by the Institute of Geography and the Cuban Institute of Geodesy and Cartography of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, following the first edition of 1970. Directed by Gladstone Oliva Gutiérrez, it involved dozens of authors and scientific advisers, with material support from numerous scientific and administrative institutions. Its more than 200 pages, measuring 54 × 64 cm, contain 627 maps of Cuba, the Caribbean and the world, supplemented by 61 colour photographs and over 700 diagrams, profiles, sections, graphs and other supplementary materials. The 24 sections cover reference mapping, natural conditions, population, economic activities, infrastructure and the environment, concluding with “History and Revolution” on Cuban history and international action. Dalmasso particularly praises the visual quality of certain plates, noting considerable improvement over the first edition, and recommends the atlas as an essential cartographic and scientific reference on Cuba.