An indispensable item in any modern professional or personal library, the Atlas of the United States offers a closer look at the oldest, richest, and most populous country on the continent. Opening with two pages of the latest statistics, this atlas provides a broad overview of a multicultural and diverse nation taking its first steps into a new century. The heart of this comprehensive volume is a unique thematic section covering physical, historic, urban, economic, social, and cultural topics ranging from environmental change to religious practice, and indigenous peoples to migration patterns. Accompanied by a balanced combination of informative text and instructive charts and graphs, these newly drawn maps seek to explain the dynamic forces shaping the United States of America. The thematic section is followed by a spectacular two-page satellite image of the lower 48 states and several regional maps including a full page for the US Pacific islands plus dozens of larger-scale maps of urban areas. A useful, illustrated gazetteer offers still more precision with charts of census data and descriptions of the history, geography, and industry of each state and its capital. In combination, these components transform the new Atlas of the United States into a home reference unsurpassed in quality that is equal parts study source and travel guide. All of this is facilitated by a comprehensive index with latitude and longitude coordinates and alphanumeric grid references that make finding places effortless. What's more, page number indicators and refined locator windows throughout the atlas allow for easy identification of adjacent map pages. With hundreds of maps rendering every region from Barrow, Alaska to Venice, Florida in layer-colored contours, this atlas is the United States as it hasn't been seen before. Grade 7 Up–A pared-down yet well-organized and visually stunning version of the Atlas of North America (Oxford Univ., 2005). The 50-page section on North American geography, intact from the earlier edition, opens with a satellite image of the entire continent, followed by a thematic look at U.S. geography, geology, climate, energy, indigenous peoples, settlement, social diversity, land use, industries, languages, religions, national parks, and more. Maps, graphs, and text develop each theme. Large-scale, detailed yet clear physical/political state maps come next, followed by maps of more than 30 major metropolitan areas. A gazetteer provides information for each state and small but high-quality color photographs. The extensive index includes place names and topographical features with latitude, longitude, and map coordinates. Text is readable; graphs, charts, and captions are informative; and the maps are accurate. Information, including statistics, is current, complete with references to Hurricane Katrina. Consider this volume if your collection needs more material on U.S. geography. –Peg Glisson, Mendon Center Elementary School, Pittsford, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Except for a slightly smaller scale and the fact that it excludes Canada and Mexico, this atlas is nearly identical to Atlas of North America, published last year. Most of the states have a full page. The majority of the excellent cartography is by Phillips, but MapQuest supplied a number of city maps, which are in a separate section. A note appended to the two New Orleans maps states that they represent the topography of the city prior to Hurricane Katrina. Christine Bulson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "The terrain modeling of the cartography is detailed and dramatic. At half the price of the original work, this is a very useful geographical resource appropriate for general and informed lay readers and is highly recommended for reference collections."-- Library Journal "Has the potential to spark interesting discussion if shared with students. The physical maps are highly detailed and shaded according to elevations.This is a solid reference from a trusted publisher. Middle and high schools needing an updated print U.S. atlas will be well served by it. Recommended. "-Rosemary Knapp, March 2007 Library Media Connection An affordable gateway to places and features of the American landscape Harm de Blij is Distinguished Professor of Geography at Michigan State University. He is an honorary life member of the National Geographic Society and for seven years was the Geography Editor on ABC's "Good Morning America."