Book Review Section: National Atlas of Hungary Vol. 2: Natural Environment

Summary

This review assesses Kocsis et al.'s National Atlas of Hungary Vol. 2: Natural Environment, the first published part of a new four-volume national atlas series. It outlines the atlas's organizational structure, cartographic design, multilingual naming approach, and thematic breadth across 13 chapters covering geology, geophysics, relief, climate, waters, soils, vegetation, animals, landscapes, environmental protection, nature conservation, and natural hazards. The reviewer highlights the atlas's success in embedding Hungary in the wider Carpathian-Pannonian context, integrating explanatory texts and photos with maps, and applying innovative cartographic methods. Minor criticisms concern occasional typographic choices, map author attribution, and naming consistency. Overall, the atlas is praised as an outstanding scientific and national symbol that effectively replaces traditional written regional geography.