The Penguin State of the World Atlas

by Dan Smith

Now in it?s eighth edition, the widely praised Penguin State of the World Atlas remains a unique visual survey of current events and global trends. Completely revised and updated, this atlas presents the latest statistics on communications and information technology, international trade, globalization of work, aging and new health risks, food and water, energy resources and consumption, global warming and biodiversity, literacy, gender equality, wars and peacekeeping, and more. Fascinating, troubling, and surprising, this is one atlas no student of the world should be without.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Politics, Maps, Atlases, Geography, Military Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sean]

Aside from being dated, the book suffers from a liberal slant in its content. Also, being a snapshot of a point in time, it's a lot weaker than showing how countries are trending over the past few decades, which would you give a much better idea of where things will be in the future.

[Susan]

If I were more on my game, I would be buying the newest edition of this book every year it comes out. This is a great reference tool with intuitive and colorful maps delineating how the world is doing in a wide range of aspects, from Literacy Rates to Food Distribution. The editors have obviously studied the Visual Display of Quantitative Information... another great book that everyone should own.

[Heidi]

This wasn't a book so much as a collection of world maps showing stats on everything from obesity rates to military spending to freedom of the press. I spent many hours poring over the maps to see what they could tell me about the world.

I did find it a bit irritating that New Zealand was so frequently covered up with a text box or left off the map altogether.

[Emily]

Obviously, I can't vouch for all the information in this book, and you have to approach such huge simplifications with skepticism. That said, this is quite a unique book.

[Nadxieli Mannello]

I've perused other editions, which are chock full of info stats, so can't wait to see how, erm, the Internet isn't fixing all the world's problems, etc.

[Alex]

Penguin State of the World Atlas, Seventh Edition by Dan Smith (2003)

[Richard]

Interesting stuff to refer back to