Reviews: national atlases

Summary

This review article examines three national or regional atlases. First, it discusses the English translation of National Atlases, a seminal work by the International Geographical Union's Commission on National and Regional Atlases, which systematically reviews the history of national atlases up to 1960 and offers detailed recommendations on cartographic methods, scale, projection, and content organization. Second, it critiques the Metrolina Atlas, which focuses on the urban region centered on Charlotte, North Carolina, covering twelve counties; the reviewer notes shortcomings in its treatment of regional interconnections, agricultural analysis, and data granularity. Third, it evaluates Character of a Conurbation: A Computer Atlas of Birmingham and The Black Country, which employed computer-generated mapping, reflecting contemporary technological advances. Together, these reviews illuminate the practices, technological developments, and scholarly standards of atlas compilation in the mid-to-late 20th century.