The Harper Atlas of World History

It is hard not to be delighted by the arrival of a lavish atlas that covers the whole of world history. The pictures are bound to be compelling, the maps fascinating, and no matter how much you know, you are sure to learn something new on almost every page. This said, it is hard to feel special enthusiasm for The Harper Atlas. For one, its coverage of the non-Western world is too nominal to justify the term "world history." For another, despite a few later additions, the account really ends in 1974 — why else does the last map deal with "The World Economy in Continuing Crisis," a topic many years out of date? The maps are stingy and routine, and they lack the striking graphics and novel concepts an ambitious atlas should provide. Other complaints include an abundance of minor errors, the strong biases of the original French text, and the inexplicable absence of a table of contents. Though much more expensive, the stunning maps, lucid texts, and bold presentation of the superb Times Atlas of World History, edited by Geoffrey Barraclough (Hammond, 1979), make it still the history atlas of choice.