Geographical reviews: The National Atlas of the United States of America

William G. Dean, Geoffrey J. Matthews, and F. Kenneth Hare review the 1970 National Atlas of the United States of America, edited by Arch C. Gerlach and published by the United States Geological Survey. They trace its compilation from the American Geographical Society’s 1952 prototype through National Academy of Sciences–National Research Council committee work to the Geological Survey, praising the coordination of more than eighty federal agencies and numerous other contributors. They describe its general reference and thematic sections, concentrating on economic mapping. Juxtaposing census-based distributions with production or sales values provides some analysis, especially in agriculture, mineral and energy resources, and manufacturing. They criticize agricultural overrepresentation, misleading business maps, scant coverage of services, and the absence of a coherent synthesis of the economy and its environmental relationships. The reviewers praise the atlas’s color, linework, generalization, varied layouts, and individual map designs, while noting uneven visual emphasis, printing defects, and some errors. They question its likely influence on planning because mapped data become dated and decisions depend on bureaucratic processes, although many maps could suggest policy changes. They characterize the volume as a favorable national self-portrait that gives little attention to failures or natural hazards, and strongly recommend it for libraries, teaching, and geographical research. They attribute its lack of coherence to disciplinary conservatism and committee compromises, while crediting its substantial strengths to the compilers’ patience, skill, and integrity.