Visual Atlas of the World

For the first time in 10 years, National Geographic have updated their Visual Atlas of the World, and it is stunning. No shockers there, as of course they’re known for their quality work, but this really is a great book. With unparalleled images of everything from sweeping vistas to close-ups of animals, fish and people, the subject matter goes beyond Earth to include the moon, Mars and the Milky Way, even mapping out the cosmic journeys of 5 spacecraft. There are maps of everything from the Arctic Ocean floor to water availability in Africa, and each county’s map lists its UNESCO World Heritage sites. You’ll learn about natural hazards of a given area, energy consumption and population density, as well as climatic zones.

The Atlas is so dense it will keep any kind of nerd happy for weeks! It includes all that you’d expect from an atlas, such as a list of flags and maps of everywhere, but its depth of information is staggering and the quality of the images and printing is superlative. There are maps of fishing activity in a given region, maps of land cover (i.e. forest, wetland, urban), explanations of land forms created by wind, water or ice.

This book is gorgeous! If you’re wondering what to get the geographile in your life for Christmas, this would be perfect–much appreciated, pored over, hours spent with, etc. Bonus points if you live with the person you gift it to, because I’m positive you will enjoy it yourself. I’m running out of adjectives but trust me, this is a fantastic book.