Goode's World Atlas

We have gone through several atlases before finding one that we like. Not sure why it was so hard! I think too many others were trying to appeal to kids by adding pictures and illustrations all over the continents, but if you're actually looking for "Where is country X, Y, Z" This is the way to go.Also- we've all enjoyed looking at the different maps, political, topographical, rainfall, terrain type, religions of the regions, population, etc. This had a lot, but also the basics, and a good index to find what you're looking for.

I needed a book like this for a college course and the information contained inside really helped me. Very helpful information as well in general for education purposes

This atlas was a required book for my World Geo class and it helped me a lot with my assignments and exams.

I'm so pleased to find this version to be as academically inclined as the edition I bought in the 1960's. The specialty maps truly illustrate the cartographer's mantra: "everything can be mapped." I do have a serious complaint about this book and its predecessors, the maps are lost in the closely bound deep gutter. How are we supposed to view what is bound in the gutter and spine without ripping open the book? Also, my copy came with slightly damaged corners. My 94 year old neighbor was lamenting that her atlas was lost in moving, and I thought I'd buy this for her to use as she studies her NY Times. Well, this atlas remains geared toward the scholar's use. Another atlas would serve her use much better and with split gutters perhaps she could use all of the atlas; that's impossible now. One addendum, it's a paperback and the hardcover I used for decades held up well; this can't possibly wear as well.

It's got it all. Maps, demographics, everything. An Informed person's must-have.

I really like this atlas! It fascinates me that there are numerous types of maps and they are intriguing to look at!

Good information that I needed with use of my geography textbook.

Goode's had been my go-to atlas for years, offering the best combination of excellent thematic maps and reasonably detailed maps of major world regions in a compact package. Picking up the 23rd edition has been a bit of a let-down.The good: The excellent thematic maps remain and have been expanded to include contemporary issues such as sea-level rise, conflict, forest loss and human trafficking. In addition to the excellent world map treatments there are thematic maps of the continents and some countries for issues that require additional detail. There is fortunately no "dumbing down" of subject matter for a wider audience as you might see in DK atlases.The middling: The standard maps remain attractive and informative but many lack enough detail to be useful. Some overview maps are more along the lines of what you would expect in a pocket atlas. There is a ton of overlap in coverage of North America and the United States - do we really need geologic maps of the US when we have them a few pages earlier for North America? At the same time whole regions are barely covered, such as much of Asia and the Pacific islands.The bad: The 23rd edition has much thinner paper stock than in the versions I used years ago. It falls somewhere in-between onionskin and a magazine, with the result that the softcover version flops about in your hands. On the plus side I guess it does cut down on the overall weight but I certainly miss the rich glossy paper of the past. As others have mentioned, there is often a lot of information lost in the gutter due to the book's binding, which is a real shame.In short, it's still a very good atlas and an excellent choice for geography students. It's just not the best as a general-purpose reference atlas.