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I've never liked the NatGeo style (a matter of personal taste); I recently bought the Oxford 16th Edition and was very disappointed. Nothing on the market today compares with the old Rand McNally International Atlas. I'm much happier with the Times Comprehensive, which one should be because it costs more than three times as much. Unfortunately, it's been out of print for decades and time marches on. Of the atlases now in print and reasonably up-to-date, the National Geographic, Oxford 16th Edition, and Times Comprehensive atlases are the best, and of them the Times is clearly superior. For a confirmed old cartophile like me, it's well worth it. With other reviewers, I regret the absence of city maps in the Times Comprehensive, but the level of detail, legibility, size, and quality of construction are all superior.
There are beautiful overview maps and many, many detailed sectional maps. This was a gift for my mother who can't get enough of maps. She is thrilled with it, to say the least. This Atlas presents all the information she could want. Highly recommend it.
They have a non-removeable receipt on the front of the box and the back of the book. Awful. Tacky. Means it is not a coffee table (always out) item - but a good reference.
Everything about the atlas is first class. I love maps. The cover / binding / paper quality / printing. And this atlas delivers - it is sitting within arms reach of where I now am, and is often pulled from its' sleeve for reference. And sometimes just to enjoy cruising over the pages. I do travel to India quite often, and as other reviewers have noted, the coverage is inadequate - a more detailed map of south India is needed. If it's good enough for Switzerland, why not India.
Empty space is information too. Huge maps of Siberia without much information.
My main objection is that it is still quite Euro/US centred. I would really have liked to have high resolution maps for the Asian countries too.
This is the best world atlas I could find. It would show the world as it is.
In fact I would really like an atlas that has the same scale for all maps. I realise such a book might not be so beautiful, but it would have other benefits.
Maybe a waste of space, but that is the way the world looks like. I think there could be room for such a book, despite Google Earth's ascent.
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