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Maps, Math, and Unknown Ireland
This book grew out of a dissertation, and it shows. Although the author is obviously knowledgeable, readers will have to wade through some pretty turgid prose. This is too bad, because he makes excellent points about changes in mapping in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. He also demonstrates that English anxieties about the rebellious Irish were both caused by and reflected in the lack of detailed maps of Ireland. ... Read more

Book Description

Though biogeography may be simply defined--the study of the geographic distributions of organisms--the subject itself is extraordinarily complex, involving a range of scientific disciplines and a bewildering diversity of approaches. For convenience, biogeographers have recognized two research traditions: ecological biogeography and historical biogeography.

This book makes sense of the profound revolution that historical biogeography has undergone in the last two decades, and of the resulting confusion over its foundations, basic concepts, methods, and relationships to other disciplines of comparative biology. Using case studies, the authors explain and illustrate the fundamentals and the most frequently used methods of this discipline. They show the reader how to tell when a historical biogeographic approach is called for, how to decide what kind of data to collect, how to choose the best method for the problem at hand, how to perform the necessary calculations, how to choose and apply a computer program, and how to interpret results. ... Read more

Book Description

Each entry provides the name of the feature, a brief description and its geographic location. An account of the name's origin and meaning then follows, with appropriate historical, topographical and biographical references. ... Read more

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Very highly recommended reading for women's studies
Gertrude Bell was an English woman who lived an extraordinary life of adventure. She rode with bandits, braved desert shamals, was captured by Bedouins, and sojourned in a harem. The counselor to kings and prime ministers, her illustrious colleagues included Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. Very highly recommended reading for women's studies, and 20th century studies reading lists and library collections, Gertrude Bell: The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914 is wonderfully illustrated with her photography and exemplifies her elegant, vibrant prose, as well as documenting her on of the 20th Century's most daring, resourceful, independent, and larger-than-life characters. ... Read more

Book Description

Human Geography, 7/e is a non-major's introduction to human and cultural geography that focuses on culture, society, and human activity from a geographic perspective.The text is also designed for majors taking their first course in human geography.Fellmann provides a thorough, classic, up-to-date, and balanced approach to this broad range of topics.Among the most distinctive and important features of the text is its thorough and well-integrated coverage of gender roles in society and culture. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is the first available survey of English agriculture between 1500 and 1850. Written specifically for students, it combines new material with an analysis of the existing literature. It describes farming in the sixteenth century, analyzes the reasons for improvements in agricultural output and productivity, and examines changes in the agrarian economy and society. Professor Overton argues that the impact of these related changes in productivity and social and economic structure in the century after 1750 amount to an agricultural revolution. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Focused and Substantial Scholarship
Overton aims at answering a set of focused but important questions.Was there an 'Agricultural Revolution', a relatively discrete and identifiable period of marked improvement in agricultural output, in Britain.If so, when?If so, of what did it consist?What were its social corollaries?In the clearly written and very well documented book, Overton provides sensible answers.
Overton points out that Britain escaped a 'Malthusian trap' by boosting agricultural output hugely with increasing labor productivity, providing excess food to feed an expanding population and providing the extra population and food needed to support the conversion to an industrial economy.The key period is the century from 1750 to 1850.A series of technological and managerial innovations made this burst of productivity possible, many if not all introduced into or developed in Britain prior to the crucial century.The period after 1750, however, sees the integration of these methods into a powerfully synergistic whole.
Driving forces for these developments were the expansion of national markets for crops and increasing monetarization of the rural economy.All of these processes were accompanied by and reinforced by marked social changes including the decline of relatively self-sufficient farmers and villages, marked changes in land tenure patterns, and the emergence of a tripartite rural social system of landowners, tenant farmers, and a large body of landless laborers.Many of these processes were in train prior to 1750 but the period after that sees an acceleration of social change.
Overton is focused on Britain but surely this story has general implications.

A work of economic history
This book helps one to understand what your Ag Labs were going through during this period. The "Norfolk Four Course" crop rotation and the enclosure movement are given prominence in explaining how Britain broke out of the Malthusian trap. ... Read more

Book Description

For more than 100 years, the National Geographic Society has been bringing to a worldwide audience thrilling true stories of adventure, discovery, and natural wonders. In this celebratory volume, bursting with stunning photography and dramatic accounts, award-winning author C.D.B. Bryan brings to life the Society's formidable legacy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Reason Why The National Geographic is Still Here
Only National Geographic could chronicle the triumphs and the tragedies of mankind, as well as the awesome wonder of nature.This thick volume features award-winning photography combined with detailed accompanying text.

For those of us unable to travel to such exotic locations or live during the time periods profiled, this monumental book offers such an opportunity.

This purchase is money spent wisely.

A great buy...
A masterpiece collection from the masters of photography. A well compiled selection from the archives of NGM...this book is truly value for money. If you have espace on your coffe-table, buy this... ... Read more

Book Description

Hybrid zones--geographical areas in which the hybrids of two races are found--have attracted the attention of evolutionary biologists for many years, both because they are windows on the evolutionary process and because the patterns of animals and plant variation seen in hybrid zones do not fit the traditional classification schemes of taxonomists. Hybrid zones provide insights into the nature of the species, the way barriers to gene exchange function, the genetic basis of those barriers, the the dynamics of the speciation process. Hybrid Zones and the Evolutionary Processsynthesizes the extensive research literature in this field and points to new directions in research.It will be read with interest by evolutionary biologists, geneticists, and biogeographers. ... Read more

Book Description

A major new work of reference, Atlas of World History charts the course of human progress around the globe, from prehistory to the present, in hundreds of full-color maps.

Much like our earlier Atlas of Exploration, this attractive, large-format volume features 135 two-page spreads that highlight key moments in world history, each spread blending colorful maps and illustrations with authoritative text. For instance, for the American Revolution, readers will find three maps--British North America before the War, the Colonial economy (indicating which areas specialized in fishing, timber, tobacco, and so forth), and military movements during the War itself--plus an informative discussion of the causes and course of the Rebellion.

The Atlas is divided into five sections: 1. The Ancient World (with spreads on topics such as the move from hunting to farming, the first civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China, the Silk Road, and the Roman Empire); 2. The Medieval World (the spread of Islam, the Vikings, the Economy of Europe, and the Inca and Aztec Empires); 3. The Early Modern World (the European discovery of the New World, the Reformation, the growth of science); 4. The Age of Revolutions (including the Industrial Revolution, the American Civil War, and the Modernization of Japan); and 5. The Twentieth Century (the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the USA Since 1945).

Including a 22-page time chart, a 20-page gazetteer of historical events, people, and places, a 20-page index, and a helpful bibliography, here is an informative blend of maps by world-renowned cartographers and text by expert academic consultants that graphically captures the flow of civilizations through time. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

I Rate and Compare World History Atlas Books
As a reader I like to have quick reference books at my finger tips including a new version of the Oxford English Dictionary about 3500 pages long - that I use almost daily. So I decided to add a "history atlas". In the process of doing my research I read the other amazon.com reviewers and then made three trips to two large book stores to actually look at the books and get a better feel for which was the best. I ended up buying the Oxford Atlas of World History. Here are my picks and rankings.

Listed by My ranking, #1 is the best, #2 is a creative alternative but no substitute.

1. Atlas of World History, Oxford University Press 2002, 368 pages, $57.80, 13.5" x 10.3" x 1.62" ranked 46,632 on Amazon.com. Hands down winner - professional - good text descriptions, outstanding maps and drawings, covers most things from the cave man forward. Negatives: Big and heavy. If you want to save a few dollars buy the "concise" version.

2. Creative alternative: The Penguin Atlas of World History, Penguin Books 2004, $11.20, just a paperback sized, just published, 304 pages. Surprisingly impressive, lots of text and pictures mixed together and it is easy to carry around. A nice quick alternative but it will be printed in two volumes.
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3. Timelines of World History, DK Publishing 2002, 666 pages, $27.20. 10.0" x 1.6" ranked 25,800 on Amazon.com. Second with lots of value but in some ways not as comprehensive.

4. National Geographic Almanac of World History, National Geographic 2003, 384 pages, $28.00, 9.6" x 7.8" x 1.17" ranked 24,426 on Amazon.com. Similar to but less impressive than Oxford books. More text, narrower coverage, fewer maps and drawings.

5. DK Atlas of World History, DK Publishing, 352 pages, $35.00, 10.96" x 14.66" x 1.28" ranked 10,716 on Amazon.com. My last place book seems like a giant comic book. I love the DK travel books but this seems like one step beyond DK's area of expertise. Superficially it is similar to the Oxford book and it is cheap, and some might like it but it tries to be politically correct and fails.

6. Oxford Dictionary of World History, Oxford University Press, 704 pages, $7,66, pocketbook sized, sales rank 330,000. Mainly terms, people, and dates but has a few maps also. Limited use but an alternative. I prefer the new Penguin book but this is the best history dictionary to buy.

Jack in Toronto

The story of humanity from a cartographic perspective
The affordable price tag of this set of maps paired with its applications to both home and school library patrons will earn it a place on many a home bookshelf as well as libraries: Atlas Of World History, Concise Edition is the result of over three years of intensive effort by a team of academics and editors, and presents the story of humanity from a physical, cartographic perspective. Five parts correspond with the five eras studied by world historians today, making for a particularly accessible set of maps.

Superb world history atlas but...
This review pertains to the 312-page Concise Edition of the Oxford Atlas of World History with the ISBN 019521921X. The larger original edition has 352 pages and the ISBN 0195215672.

The book is a variation of one of the best (and perhaps *the* best) "atlas of world history" tomes. However, this scaled-down version's text is just not as easy on the eyes as that of the full-size book. The map and text content are the same for both books so the concise version is certainly a real value at about half the price. The Concise Edition does omit the glossary but I do not consider that an essential feature of the original book. The larger original version came out in 1999 (and was reprinted in 2002). The Concise Edition is merely a reprint of the 1999 book and I can find no updated data. An advantage of the Concise Edition (besides the lower price) is its physical handiness; the original is quite close in size to the big Hammond Atlas of World History. Nevertheless, I like to casually browse through atlases so the increased eye-friendliness of the larger type and map detailing in the big version is well-worth its added expense and clumsiness for my purposes.

The Concise Edition is indeed legible and would be OK for just occasional reference but not protracted reads, in my opinion. It is really a 5-star book but I rate it at 4 stars because of this truncated size. I am returning my Concise Edition and keeping its big brother. Both editions are still available from Amazon at the time of this writing.

Excellent but see below
This atlas is 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. If it weren't for John Haywood's Atlas of World History, I would say it's possibly the best one out there in relation to features and price. However, I have a preference for the Haywood volume because I found his writing style more interesting, not to mention the fact that his book is less than half the price of O'Brien's volume. While I would not wish to base a decision just on price, I would point out that I preferred either of these two books to the Hammond atlas, which is even more expensive, and the Times atlas, at almost twice the cost, and the Dorling-Kindersley, which, although a superb atlas, is still 20% higher.

While I'm at it, I'd like to say something about O'Brien's Atlas of World History, published by Philips. I mention it here since no matter how I search, I can't find this atlas listed anywhere, but this is a really superb atlas, and I think exceeds even the present volume in terms of quality and features. So if you can find this one, I'd also pick up a copy. Because it's so good, I'd also like to discuss it here.

All the of the big 5 or 6 major atlases out there have their strengths and weaknesses, and their pros and cons, I've discovered, and this one is no different. This one has one terrific feature that's worth mentioning specifically. At the end of the book O'Brien includes many fine articles summing up the state of the world since 1945 for the major areas and countries of the world, and for topics such as demographic changes, the growth of population, civil rights and women's rights, health and disease, transport and trade relations, the breakup of empires, and so on. O'Brien discusses in the introduction that this atlas was motivated partly by the upcoming millenium year, and because it seemed like such a timely point at which to assess and sum up much of the changes and progress that had accrued during the last half century or century in these articles. O'Brien did a great job in this area, and it's one of the book's many strengths. Overall, an excellent atlas given all the outstanding features, and I'd actually give it 4.5 stars if I could.

Since I started writing this review, I've discovered (through having purchased both books), that the Philips volume and the Oxford atlas are exactly the same book, just by different publishers. The only difference that I can find is that the Philips book is somewhat larger format. I'm comparing them right now, and the Philips book is about 1 inch wider and about 2 inches taller than the Oxford volume. This means the fonts for the paragraph text and the print on the maps are somewhat bigger and easier to read. They both have exactly the same--312--number of pages, and the publication dates are in 2001 and 2002, so they're very close there. However, I just noticed that the Philips book on the copyright page says "This edition published for Borders Books," so it looks like a re-issue of the Oxford volume, only in a slightly larger format.

Well, it looks like I just bought two copies of the same atlas. Hopefully my little review will keep you from doing the same! Anyway, whichever atlas or version you decide to get, happy atlas buying and reading!

GOOD GENERAL INFORMATION ON WORLD HISTORY!
THIS BOOK IS VERY FUN TO READ AND THE PICTURE IS EXCELLENT! RECOMMENDED FOR STUDENT!! AGAIN VERY ENJOYABLE!!! ... Read more

Book Description

This extensively revised and updated Second Edition features 50 writings (of which 41 are new) organized into 10 sections that explore themes such as Symbolic Economies and New Urban Spaces; The Culture Industry; Culture and Technologies; Everyday Lives; Contesting Identity; Boundaries and Transgressions; Utopias and Dystopias; and Possible Urban Futures. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

good idea, disappointing execution
I work in mapping, and was expecting a trove of insight and ideas. In fact it is very hard work extracting any value from this book. First, most of the reproductions are scaled down so much the details are almost invisible to the naked eye. All you can see comfortably are pretty pictures. The book should be a larger size, and have fewer graphics - perhaps just one - on each page. And they shouldn't waste so much of the page real estate on blank space. Second, the captions on each page are in a small font, and squeezed between narrow lines so the effect is to make reading the captions difficult. This is so obvious, you wonder what those who produced this book were thinking. Like so many designers, they were much more concerned with stylish appearance than with usability. Third, the essays which introduce each section are sloppy, intellectually and even grammatically. "By making these new facts visible, and revealing the coincidence of logical and physical objects or the rapid oscillation and contradiction between global and local points of view, then we should have a better map." (I can't tell you the page number because the stupid book doesn't have page numbers.) Where do you start critiquing detritus like that? The book does present some interesting material, but it was doomed from the outset because it comes out of the design community. I'd expect cognitive scientists or usability experts to do a much better job.

if you're into mapping, maps and creativity
i rarely buy books like this one, oversized, lots of photos, design-oriented, especially since i like to put off buying books, but this one's the exception to the rule. it has great, concise text and wonderful images of maps to accompany it. it offers examples of maps as internet navigation, printed maps and maps as information sources in spaces(buildings...). this is not a guide on how to make maps, or how to create great navigation, it's more like having a trampoline, if you don't jump on it you won't know how high you can go or what tricks you can do. this is the kind of book that can encourage you in your mapping endeavours, that doesn't consider mapping as an absolute, that exhibits appreciation for both the visual and the thought process that went into it. i recommend it to anyone who likes maps(not just geographical ones) and who sees mapping as a wonderful way of expressing ideas or creating new worlds. ... Read more

Book Description

This book demonstrates that territoriality for humans is not an instinct, but a powerful and often indispensable geographical strategy used to control people and things by controlling area. This argument is developed by analysing the possible advantages and disadvantages that territoriality can provide, and by considering why some and not others arise at particular times. Major changes are explored in the relationships between territory and society from primitive times to the present day, with special attention to the distinctions between premodern and modern uses of space and territory. Specific analyses of the pre-modern uses of territoriality are provided by the history of the Catholic Church, and, for the modern context, by, study of North American political territorial organisation and the organisation of factory, office, and home. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Useful book for all
Actually, I have dreamed of that book long time ago. It should be a guide for all decision makers eveywhere as well as for students of geography, sociology, and urban planning. I wish I could publish even a part of such a book. ... Read more

Book Description

This fully updated edition of Geographic Information Systems: A Visual Approach offers a comprehensive introduction to the application of GIS concepts.The unique layout provides clear, highly intuitive graphics and corresponding concept descriptions. This invaluable reference is ideal for experienced professionals aswell as new readers. ... Read more

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A basic text on geographic information systems
This book uses graphics to introduce the basic concepts of geographic information systems (GIS). It does not provide detailed explanations but is very good at getting across the important concepts. A useful book for beginners. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

The book opens with the basic techniques of satellite geocoding (including the use of GPS and mosaic production) before describing a wide range of algorithms for extraction of information from optical and radar satellite images. The text then moves on to address the derivation of topographic information from space (including the recent Shuttle Topographic Radar Mission) followed by an explanation of the added-value obtained through the integrated use of geocoded satellite data in a Geographic Information System (GIS). Practical commercial and scientific applications are described in detail - first looking at land applications such as agriculture and civil engineering and then at the oceanographic, atmospheric and cryospheric worlds. Jonathan Williams reviews recent developments in 'environmental monitoring and global security' such as hazard and disaster monitoring, population dynamics and space missions dedicated to environmental monitoring (such as the Earth Observing System and the European ENVISAT Mission). Finally, the author draws together all the threads under the generic term of geomatics - addressing cutting-edge developments such as Very High Resolution Imagery (VHR) and the role that satellite data may play in the development of Location Based Services for the third-generation telecom market. ... Read more

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I wrote this book!
Please buy my book so that I can retire soon! ... Read more

Book Description

With the advance of science and technology, there have been breakthroughs in the field of classical research and methods of map projection.Transformation in this area of research in mathematical cartography newly developed over the last 25 years.This book reflects several aspects of this development especially in terms of theory and methods. ... Read more

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Excelent reference book
This book provides a very solid base for working through the processes of projection transformations. I have searched for months for a text that explains polynomial approximation in a way that I can understand, and was very pleased with the detail with which this topic was introduced. As a computer scientist without a robust mathmatical background, I was able to use this text as a very solid first step into the details of numerical transformation. ... Read more

Book Description

Explore Indianapolis, the vibrant heartland home of 790,000 people, with this visual journey through the past and present of America's 12th largest city. In 1820, Indiana statesmen gathered to plan a new state capital to be built on centrally located undeveloped lowland. Historic photographs placed side-by-side with current views of the same locations provide a visual tour of the beautiful city that began to flourish in the late 18th century. Included are perspectives on historic landmarks as well as modern sites such as Monon Trail and Circle Centre. Some of the historic sites pictured are the Indiana Statehouse, the Sailors and Soldiers Monument, Lockerbie Square, and the Federal Building. Lifelong Indianapolis native, Nelson Price, provides the lively and informative text. ... Read more