Hammond Incorporated

The handsomeness, not the innovation, of this atlas is its noteworthy feature. The preface advertises the use of revolutionary computerized tools and a huge new map database, but the end result has some problems. The new tools have apparently encouraged the map-designers to sample the world's landforms in unconventional slices, sometimes resulting in selections that defy common sense, such as the plate on "East Central Africa," which fails to depict any single country in its entirety. The show more basic maps are accurate, thorough, and scholarly. But the "Global Relationships" section is disappointing: Design overtook sense and led to a number of color-keyed data maps with nearly indistinguishable shadings and minuscule legends.
(john) show less

I love seeing maps where the boundaries show a world that no longer exists. I am not talking about countries merely changing names. But entire countries disappearing or emerging and boundary lines shifting wildly from current states. The atlas comes from the final days of WW II at a time when it seemed unclear how the particulars may conclude. The atlas offers plenty of verbal encouragement to help make up for the spread of Japan and German over their respective hemispheres.

Hardly a month goes by that I don't refer to one or more pages in this useful slim reference.

An American atlas for the American dream in the golden years of Post World War II success but with perils of Communism looming. This is a lovely atlas - big, plenty of Western-focused maps that emphasize the power of USA and it's allies.