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Title: Hammond Atlas of World History by Geoffrey Barraclough, R. J. Overy ISBN: 0-8437-1120-5 Publisher: Hammond Pub. Date: June, 1999 Format: Hardcover |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great atlas but see comparisons below
Comment: I've been on an ancient history kick lately, and since it's been about 20 years since I've done a lot of reading in this area, I thought I would check out what's available in the way of good historical atlases of the ancient world, or of world history in general.
This book is one of the five or so big historical atlases out there that are available. Since I've been looking in detail at all of the current ones, I'll give brief comparisons and you can go from there and decide which one might be best for you.
These alases are great for looking up those events, both momentous and not-so-momentous, to get a quick grasp and overview of the situation without getting bogged down in some more detailed and ponderous history. All the current ones do a decent job of that, but they very in terms of readability, the number of, and detail of, the maps included, and the degree to which they integrate the visual maps and materials with the text. Here's the scoop on all of these.
1. The Hammond Atlas is the traditional "big gun" in the field, being literally the physically biggest and probably most comprehensive of the 5 discussed here. It's also the highest priced, and more expensive than the cheapest one I discuss here by a factor of five. It's still a fine atlas despite the cost, and if I couldn't get any one of the others here, I'd still be happy with this one as it's certainly a beautifully done atlas. The book has over 600 maps and illustrations, many of which show such nice details (which not all the other atlases do) as mountain ranges, and in general are beautifully colored with a variety of symbols showing movements and other important historical and cultural details.
2. The Oxford Atlas of World History is also well written, and has lots of maps just like the Haywood volume. I found the writing style somewhat less interesting than the Haywood atlas, who has a nice, deft touch with the material. These two books are otherwise very close, except that the Haywood volume is less than half the price of this one.
3. The Nat'l Geographic offering has some of the most entertaining writing by Noel Grove and Daniel Boorstin I've found in any history text. Some of the tidbits are really great, such as Grove's comment that "Russia's...Peter the Great died at the age of 53 after diving into the Neva River in winter to rescue drowning sailors." Well, I'd read about him liking to cut off citizens' beards as he walked around town, trying to westernize and modernize Russia, too, so apparently Peter was quite a character in more ways than one.
Also, there was "Vikings were not just ruthless killers; they traded as often as they raided, and their wives knew rights that other medieval women could scarcely imagine." This statement also fits in with a similar description I read in another history, that the Viking and Scandinavian free peasants as a class enjoyed rights and priviledges unparalleled in most of Europe and even England.
However, ironically, this atlas contains the least number of maps and illustrations of all the books here, and oddly enough for an atlas, it actually has very few maps. Most of the graphical illustrations are arts or crafts-related, in fact.
4. The John Haywood Atlas of World History represents a great combination of quality and price. The book consists of articles on a particular period or topic which are closely integrated with the accompanying maps. This makes it very convenient to use. The book was written with a team of geographers and graphic illustrators skilled at combining the written word with graphics, and it shows. Also, this book is one of the more reasonably priced. My only complaint about this history is the index could have been more detailed.
5. The last atlas I wanted to discuss is the Times Atlas of World History. Although now a little dated, having come out almost 10 years ago in 1993, it still counts as one of the most scholarly, well-written, and well-illustrated of these works, and it's also intermediate in terms of price.
Hope my little "Consumer Reports" guide to the major atlas offerings helps. Good luck and happy book buying and reading!
Rating: 4
Summary: A very useful overview of world history
Comment: This is undoubtedly the best of general world history atlases and a valuable supplement for almost any study of history. The maps are generally quite good in both accuracy and clarity. There is some regrettable sloppiness in the editing, however -- as when a table of dates has Muhammad entering Mecca rather than Medina in 622 (page 99)! There is a useful glossary and a good index. The balance is, as some have noted, tilted toward Europe, but this no doubt merely reflects the fact that serious historical research is essentially a European invention. For the most part the editors have done very well in terms of both spatial and temporal distribution. It is regrettable that there are no indications of sources, however, beyond a general bibliography.
To my mind, the strongest competition to this volume is offered by the Penguin history atlas series authored by Colin McEvedy. McEvedy is much better on historical narrative and generally stronger on facts, but his books do not extend to every place and era, his coverage being strongest in Europe and especially weak in Asia. I wouldn't give up either this volume or the McEvedy books.
One thing which may confuse people in Amazon's listing of this book is that Geoffrey Parker is given as the lead editor. In fact, he edited the fourth edition and seems to have had nothing specifically to do with this fifth edition. The title page lists Geoffrey Barraclough and Richard Overy, and makes clear that the revision of this edition was Overy's work.
Rating: 5
Summary: This is the Times Atlas of World History, 5th edition
Comment: The 4th edition of the Times Atlas of World History was published by Hammond, Inc. With the 5th edition, it has been published in the U.S. as the Hammond Atlas of World History and in the U.K. as The Times History of the World. Both have 375 pages and are edited by Richard Overy.
Aside from being updated to include recent events and the inclusion of a few more pages, the index is more comprehensive than in the previous 4th edition.
The binding is sturdy and should last many years.
I would estimate that there are over 650 maps in this book, typically three or four maps to each two-page spread. A variety of projections is used and the maps tend to be rich in detail without being overly cluttered. A striking variety of colors are used to display everything from empires, ethnic populations, migrations, nation-states, etc., using arrows prolifically to show movement. The larger maps often display mountain ranges. Most of the smaller maps show close-ups of regions or highlight cultural/demographic/economic matters using a variety of colors and symbols.
Each two-page spread has a basic theme or subject which is discussed in an essay that fits in the spaces not occupied by maps. Each map on a spread has a numbered accompanying blurb briefly describing its contents.
This is the best single volume world history atlas that I know of, surpassing the excellent but less comprehensive Oxford Atlas of World History. It's one major flaw is its Eurocentrism, but some students of history might find this a plus.
For balance, I recommend the MacMillan Continental History Atlas series:
The History Atlas of Africa by Samuel Kasule
The History Atlas of Asia by Ian Barnes
The History Atlas of South America by Edwin Early
The History Atlas of North America by Philip Davies
Less worthwhile is:
The History Atlas of Europe by Ian Barnes
because of its redundancy with the Hammond.
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Title: DK Atlas of World History by Jeremy Black ISBN: 078944609X Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: 01 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $50.00 |
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Title: Atlas of World History by Patrick K. O'Brien, Oxford University Press ISBN: 0195215672 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $85.00 |
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Title: Timelines of World History by John B. Teeple, Dorling Kindersley Publishing ISBN: 0789489260 Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece by Robert Morkot ISBN: 0140513353 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The New History of the World by J. M. Roberts ISBN: 0195219279 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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