Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Advances in technology have made widespread and detailed data gathering easier, resulting in a deluge of statistics on subjects as diverse as literacy rates, military spending, overweight children, television viewing figures, and endangered species. But how do we represent and compare data from one part of the world to another in a useful way? Here, sophisticated software combined with comprehensive analysis of every aspect of life represents the world as it really is. Digitally modified maps depict the areas and countries of the world not by their physical size but by their demographic importance on a vast range of topics.



The rainforests of South America, with thirty percent of the world's fresh water, make the continent balloon in an analysis of water resources, whereas Kuwait, dependent on desalinated seawater, disappears from the map. Fuel use, alcohol consumption, population, malaria: here are hundreds of key indicators to the way we live.



This innovative and exceptionally accessible reference work will be an indispensable tool for journalists, economists, marketers, politicians, financiers, environmentalists, and scholars. Its cartograms are augmented by graphs, tables, and full commentaries.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Most large-scale world atlases feature sections of thematic maps that explore various aspects of geography and demographics. Dorling (Univ. of Sheffield), Mark Newman (Univ. of Michigan), and Anna Barford (Univ. of Sheffield) have produced an entire atlas of 366 full-color "cartograms" divided into six topical categories and 16 subcategories: "The Resourceful World" (Land Area and Population; Travel and Transport; Natural Resources and Energy); "The Trading World" (Globalization and Internationalism; Food and Consumables; Minerals, Natural Products, and Petrochemicals); "The Economic World" (Manufactured Goods and Services; Wealth and Poverty; Employment and Productivity); "The Social World" (Housing and Education; Communication and Media; Health and Illness); "The Perilous World" (Death and Disaster; War and Crime); and "The Environmental World" (Pollution and Depletion; Extinction and Endangerment). Unlike traditional maps, cartograms depict the shapes of countries not by their physical size but by their demographic importance in topical context. The authors have divided the world into 12 regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Northern Africa, East and Southern Africa, Central Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Japan, and Asia-Pacific and Australasia. The cartograms are explicated by accompanying text, bar graphs by region, and statistical rankings by country (ten highest and ten lowest or top 20). Most of the current statistics are from 2002 through 2004. BOTTOM LINE Though this atlas is handsome, the format limits its usefulness. Unless countries rank in the top 20 or the top and bottom ten, depending on the topic, the statistics for the rest are not provided. The distortions of some countries in the cartograms render them unrecognizable unless identifiable by the ranking list. An optional purchase for reference collections. [Available in print only.]-Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Fort Pierce, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

This visually striking book is quite different from the atlases with which most people are familiar. Rather than using a standard projection (e.g., Mercator), this atlas features cartograms, which modify (distort) a country's area to reflect thematic variables. For example, a map showing exports of toys contains an enormous East Asian region and a tiny Africa. Over 300 cartograms are divided into six sections titled "The Resourceful World" (covering land area, travel, natural resources, etc.), "The Trading World" (globalization, consumables, natural products), "The Economic World" (goods and services, poverty/wealth, employment), "The Social World" (housing, education, media, health), "The Perilous World" (disasters, war, crime), and "The Environmental World" (e.g., pollution, extinction). This atlas provides plenty of information for map and data lovers. Each cartogram includes a chart showing national rankings and a bar graph elaborating on the data. One problem with cartograms is that the distortion makes some of the maps fairly difficult to read. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic and public libraries; lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers, general readers. T. Dolence Minnesota State University Moorhead

Booklist Review

This atlas will change the way we look at geography. By using a combination of computer-generated maps and various types of demographic information, the maps, called cartograms, alter the size of the countries of the world to represent more or less of whatever the map is showing. For example, on the Exports of Machinery map, western European countries and Japan are shown as very large areas because they are the main net exporters in terms of dollar value of exports per person per year. All the other countries of the world are slivers of color, or completely disappear. Some 366 different cartograms are grouped under 16 topics, among them  Natural Resources and Energy,   Wealth and Poverty, Housing and Education, and  War and Crime. Users can easily see where in the world are the most forests loss, the most patents granted, the most books published, the highest number of road deaths, and the most birds at risk, just to name a few examples. To make the atlas easier to read, each region and country (dark blue for the U.S.) are always shown in the same color. Each map is accompanied by graphs, tables, brief explanatory text, and, in many cases, a quotation. The data for the maps is from reliable sources, mainly from 2005 and 2006. For libraries that cannot afford to purchase the atlas, the Worldmapper Web site (www.worldmapper.org) includes all 366 maps available as free downloadable PDF posters and close to 200 additional maps not included in the book. For those libraries that can afford it, the atlas is highly recommended.--Donaldson, Christy Copyright 2009 Booklist