When Oxford's Atlas of the World debuted, it was widely praised for the incredible beauty and accuracy of its maps and for its wealth of geographical information. The New York Times Book Review called it "a veritable encyclopedia of geographic and demographic information, profusely illustratedwith multicolored maps and graphs." Building on the strength and authority of its first edition, the Atlas stands at the forefront of essential geographic resources. Now in a new Ninth Edition, it remains the finest top-of-the-line atlas available, with hundreds of dramatic full-color, large-format maps produced by Europe's finest cartographers. The Ninth Edition has been thoroughly updated and it boasts several new features. A 32-page Gazetteer ofCountries is a quick reference section offering information such as country summaries, flags, and economic data. Forty new island maps, from Bermuda to Bali, have been added for a close-up look at some of the world's smaller land masses. And detailed explanatory captions now accompany the section offull-page satellite images that Library Journal called "stunning." The heart of the book is still the 176-page section of outstanding world maps, enhanced by relief shading and layer-colored contours. The Atlas boasts 66 maps of major metropolitan areas worldwide, charting the key urban centers ofeach continent, from Cairo to New York City, and a colorful 48-page Introduction to World Geography section--beautifully illustrated with color maps, charts, and graphs--provides a wealth of information on such topics as climate, the greenhouse effect, plate tectonics, agriculture, population andmigration. Providing the finest global coverage available, Atlas of the World is the benchmark by which all other international atlases are measured. Read Less