Travel World guide

Grade 6 Up-This edition retains most of the features found in Oxford Atlas of the World (2004), including beautiful aerial photographs of cities and landforms; a World Geography section filled with nicely presented maps, graphs, and charts illustrating geographic principles and providing information on urban areas around the world; and more than 250 pages of colorful and informative maps that combine physical and political features. The format of the World Statistics section has changed from a table to a map, and there are some new satellite images, map scales, and perspectives. Other additions to the deluxe edition include detailed maps of the oceans and ocean floors and 22 American and Canadian cities, and expanded coverage of the states and provinces of Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Basin, and the U.S. Unfortunately, the gazetteer and city map index, both quite helpful, have been dropped. While this attractive and informative resource is an excellent choice for libraries looking to expand their atlas collections, those that own the previous edition will find that the few extras here aren-t enough to warrant purchase.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

“An even more sweeping world view is handsomely (if heavily) packaged in the Deluxe Edition of Oxford’s Atlas of the World. Here again, there is real utility: the world changes constantly, and this volume offers more than mere maps (although the maps are beautifully clear)…. This atlas wisely varies the scales of different maps to correspond with varying population density and other considerations.”–The New York Times

“Try it, as I did. Lug that 10-pound beautiful volume to bed, prop it up on your lap, and leaf through its 561 pages. If you are at all interested in the world and how it is changing – and being changed – you’ll be as fascinated with this large book as I was….Exceptionally current”–The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Satellite photos, quality-of-life charts, the world’s oceans and grids for 100 of the world’s major cities — oh, did I forget to mention the maps of the moon? — all slide neatly into the sturdy, hardcover slipcase.”–The Sunday Chicago Tribune

Positioned at the top of Oxford’s atlas range, the Deluxe Edition incorporates a host of large-scale North American maps plus a substantial number of completely new topographical maps of Asia and the Pacific where international interest is increasingly focused. The New York Times Book Review called the Atlas of the World a “veritable encyclopedia of geographic and demographic information,” but this new volume will do even better. Building on the strength and integrity of its smaller predecessor, the Deluxe Edition adds 33 more city maps (for a total of 100) and 102 pages of geopolitical maps (making 278 in all), to remain at the forefront of essential geographic resources.

Oxford’s distinctive cartographic style, combining layer-colored contours with hill shading gives an exceptionally vivid depiction of landforms and the expanded index includes geographical features, historical placenames, as well as full latitude and longitude coordinates. As always, the atlas has been fully updated to reflect the changing world around us and the opening Introduction to World Geography–designed in a fresh manner and beautifully illustrated–adds a quick reference tool to a book already teeming with useful information. Refined name forms, extra detail in maps of the oceans, more vital statistics and dozens of other improvements make this the most reliable atlas on the market.

Published in a protective slip-case that is more compact than the leading competition, the Deluxe Edition makes reference easier and storage more convenient. The full-page satellite images that have generated such excitement in the past are still present, as is the popular Regions in the News feature. Plus, this volume offers expanded coverage of Mexico, Scandinavia, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Central Asia, Korea, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Australia and New Zealand. Plus six maps of the ocean floor mean that not one inch of the Earth’s crust is overlooked. Maps of the moon aren’t forgotten either and form another component in this astounding new resource. Providing the finest global coverage available, the Deluxe Edition raises the bar by which all other world atlases will be measured.
Atlases come with free six-month access to Oxford Reference Online (a $119 value).

“An even more sweeping world view is handsomely packaged in the Deluxe Edition of Oxford’s Atlas of the World. Here again, there is real utility: the world changes constantly, and this volume offers more than mere maps …. This atlas wisely varies the scales of different maps to correspond with varying population density and other considerations.”–The New York Times

“Try it, as I did. Lug that 10-pound beautiful volume to bed, prop it up on your lap, and leaf through its 561 pages. If you are at all interested in the world and how it is changing – and being changed – you’ll be as fascinated with this large book as I was….Exceptionally current”–The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Satellite photos, quality-of-life charts, the world’s oceans and grids for 100 of the world’s major cities — oh, did I forget to mention the maps of the moon? — all slide neatly into the sturdy, hardcover slipcase.”–The Sunday Chicago Tribune

Atlas of the World: Deluxe Edition

Atlas of the World 18th Edition

Take a Look Inside the Atlas of the World [Click on Images to Enlarge]
Iceland: This winter image, captured in January, shows Iceland cloaked in snow, covering its four permanent ice caps. Due to its position on a fault line, Iceland also experiences high levels of volcanic activity, with much of the land covered in lava flows.
The River Thames: A satellite view of the river as it snakes from Chelsea Bridge in the west to Tower Bridge in the east. Despite a population of more than 8 million, London boasts many parks and open spaces around its city center, visible in this image.
The Congo River: An image of the river where it splits to form Malebo Pool on its journey to the Atlantic Ocean. The Congo River is the second longest in Africa, after the Nile, and is the worlds deepest river with recorded depths of over 750 feet.
Lima, Peru: Perus largest city and its capital, Lima was founded in the 16th century by the Spanish. Some believe its population of just under 9 million could grow to 10 million by 2015.
London City Map [PDF]: City maps, like this one of London, make it easy to identify key destinations–like the site of Prince William and Kate Middletons wedding, Westminster Abbey.
South Sudan: South Sudan officially became an independent state on July 9, 2011. On July 14, it became a member state of the United Nations and joined the African Union two weeks later.

The only world atlas updated annually, guaranteeing that users will find the most current geographic information, Oxford’s Atlas of the World is the most authoritative resource on the market. The Eighteenth Edition remains the finest international reference source of its kind available. Including new census information, dozens of city maps, gorgeous satellite images of Earth, and a geographical glossary, this atlas offers exceptional value at a reasonable price.

Full of crisp, clear cartography of urban areas and virtually uninhabited landscapes around the globe, the Atlas has maps of cities and regions at carefully selected scales that give a striking view of the Earth’s surface. Opening with world statistics and a colorful, instructive 48-page Introduction to World Geography–beautifully illustrated with tables and graphs–this acclaimed resource provides details on such topics as climate, the greenhouse effect, employment and industry, standards of living, agriculture, population and migration, and global conflicts.

As in years past, this edition includes the latest geographic information. The popular satellite image section has been refreshed with stunning new images of different regions and urban areas around the world. A completely updated Gazetteer of Nations provides an invaluable A-Z reference source of concise country profiles, including important historical events and statistics on economies and politics. Recent events in Africa and the Middle East–and their profound consequences–are incorporated into various country profiles.

Providing the finest global coverage available, the Atlas of the World is not only the best-selling volume of its size and price, but also the benchmark by which all other atlases are measured.

Atlas of the World 18th Edition

Michael Eaude writes for the Guardian and Independent and is the author of Barcelona, The City that Re-Invented Itself.

Squeezed between more powerful France and Spain, Catalonia has endured a violent history. Its medieval empire that conquered Naples, Sicily and Athens was crushed by Spain. Its geography, with the Pyrenees falling sharply to the rugged Costa Brava, is tormented, too.

Michael Eaude traces this history and it monuments: roman Tarragona, celebrated by the poet Martial; Greek Empries, lost for centuries beneath the sands; medieval Romanesque architecture in the Vall de Bo:i churches (a World Heritage Series) and Poblet and Santes Creus monasteries. He tells the stories of several of Catalonia’s great figures: Abbot Olivia, who brought Moorish learning to Europe, the ruthless mercenary, Roger de Flor, and Verdaguer, handsome poet-priest.

Catalonia is famous today for its twentieth-century art. This book focuses on the revolutionary Art Nouveau buildings (including the Sagrada Famlia) of Antoni Gaud. It also explores the region’s artistic legacy: the young Picasso painting Barcelona’s vibrant slums; Salvador Dal, inspired by the twisted rocks of Cap de Creus to paint his landscapes of the human mind; and Joan Mir, discovering the colors of the red earth at Montroig.

Catalonia: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali

William H. Robinson is Curator of Modern European Art and Jordi Falgs is Cleveland Fellow in Modern Art, both at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Carmen Belen Lord is an independent art historian and specialist in the history of Spanish art.

During the years after the September Revolution of 1868, Barcelona experienced tremendous industrial growth and emerged as the most politically and culturally progressive city in Spain. Barcelona and Modernity examines this remarkable seventy-one-year period, when Barcelona also reigned as one of the most dynamic centers of modernist art and architecture in Europe. Focusing on the Catalan Renaixena, Modernisme, Noucentisme, avant-garde movements of the early 20th century, and artistic reactions to the Spanish Civil War, essays by an extraordinary international team of scholars offer new insights into the work of such Catalan artists as Antoni Gaud, Pablo Picasso, Joan Mir, and Salvador Dal, among others, by setting them in context with the art of their teachers, colleagues, and rivals.
Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali

This book is an excellent choice for visitors to the Holy Land who want to take an in-depth look at the area’s historical sites. Among this Oxford guide’s special features are 150 site plans, maps, diagrams, and photographs; routes through the Old City of Jerusalem; a brief historical outline; and a glossary of essential terms. Oxford Archeological Guides: The Holy Land is also a useful source of practical advice on museum hours, suggested dress, travel and lodging contacts, as well as information on visiting desert locations such as the Judaean Desert and the hills of Elat.

The first half of the book covers sites in the city of Jerusalem, grouping them into areas for easy exploration. Maps accompany each site described. The second half of the book features an alphabetical listing–from Abu Ghosh to Yehiam–of key sites scattered throughout the Holy Land. Each site includes a reference to its position on the “Israel Touring Map” (available at bookstores in Israel), and especially recommended sites are starred or double-starred.

As an added bonus to this edition, more than 70 shaded sidebars offer a mini-anthology of ancient texts. “Not only do such documents illustrate the sort of material on which our historical knowledge is based, but their vividness and immediacy give a new dimension to the sites,” writes author Murphy-O’Connor. –Kathryn True –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

`The Oxford Archaeological Guides offer a wealth of detailed, accurate but always readable information, providing anyone who has a serious interest in archaeology with the means to derive the utmost benefit from a visit to an ancient site. They are user-friendly and highly recommended.’ Paul Bahn

`Always respectful, yet never gullible or preachy, Father Murphy-O’Connor’s The Holy Land is by far the best popular guide to its subject ever written. Every entry bears the indelible mark of having been written by someone who knows the place it describes, and has seen it with an expert intelligence and an open mind.’ Johm Romer –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This concise, witty, and readable guide is an ideal companion for travelers to the Holy Land. Based on Murphy-O’Connor’s many years of directing archaeological field trips, this guide gives clear directions about how to find sites and monuments of interest, from Stone Age Caves and Roman roads to the grandiose buildings of Herod the Great and Byzantine churches and synagogues. This new edition has maps and detailed site plans on nearly every page and includes the reports of the most recent excavations. As well as treating the sites that everyone should see, Murphy-O’Connor encourages visitors to leave the beaten track to discover the amazing variety of the Holy Land’s cultural riches.

This book is an excellent choice for visitors to the Holy Land who want to take an in-depth look at the area’s historical sites. Among this Oxford guide’s special features are 150 site plans, maps, diagrams, and photographs; routes through the Old City of Jerusalem; a brief historical outline; and a glossary of essential terms. Oxford Archeological Guides: The Holy Land is also a useful source of practical advice on museum hours, suggested dress, travel and lodging contacts, as well as information on visiting desert locations such as the Judaean Desert and the hills of Elat.

The first half of the book covers sites in the city of Jerusalem, grouping them into areas for easy exploration. Maps accompany each site described. The second half of the book features an alphabetical listing–from Abu Ghosh to Yehiam–of key sites scattered throughout the Holy Land. Each site includes a reference to its position on the “Israel Touring Map” , and especially recommended sites are starred or double-starred.

As an added bonus to this edition, more than 70 shaded sidebars offer a mini-anthology of ancient texts. “Not only do such documents illustrate the sort of material on which our historical knowledge is based, but their vividness and immediacy give a new dimension to the sites,” writes author Murphy-O’Connor. –Kathryn True –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Holy Land: An Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700

Doing Archaeology in the Land of the Bible: A Basic Guide

At last, a book on the basics of Palestinian archaeology! John Currids much-needed text fills a significant gap in the currently available literature in the field. Archaeology in the Land of the Bible is an excellent introduction that will be of great assistance to the beginning student as well as to the interested layperson. — Bryant G. Wood, Associates for Biblical Research

Currids volume is a useful introduction to archaeologyits history, vocabulary, and methodsfor the beginner. The systematic unveiling of these themes provides a stratigraphy for study that many students and lay persons will find fascinating. In addition, the short bibliographies add substance to the work, allowing readers to take the additional step of further study. Such aids to first-time student excavators have often taken the form of Xeroxed handouts. Currid has provided them with an easy reference work that they can read on the plane to Israel and pull out during the excavation to explain what is happening around them. — Victor H. Matthews, Southwest Missouri State University

In this brief study, Currid sketches the birth and development of archaeological method and answers many of the basic questions having to do with field work. The book should be a must read for anyone interested in volunteering to participate on a dig in Palestine. The bibliographies concluding each chapter will greatly help the reader who wishes to know more. — Alfred J. Hoerth

Professor Currid has written an excellent manual for the history and practice of archaeological excavation in the Middle East, systematically outlined with considerable bibliographical documentation. I recommend the work as supplementary reading for courses requiring a knowledge of the history and methodology of ancient Near Eastern archaeology. I plan to use it as a supplementary text in my classes, both on the introductory and advanced levels. — John McRay, Wheaton College Graduate School

A popular introduction to archaeology and the methods archaeologists use to reconstruct the history of ancient Israel.

Doing Archaeology in the Land of the Bible: A Basic Guide

The “national” in “national pastime” is a relative term in Yale literature professor and former semi-pro catcher Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria’s meticulous examination of baseball in the land of his birth. A respected scholar, Echevarria is also a fan, and he manages to weave both objectivity and appreciation throughout a carefully researched and multi-layered narrative that draws from numerous first-person reminiscences. If Echevarria’s prose is dry at times, it manages to cover plenty of interesting territory as he threads the game through the fabric of Cuban history, culture, and lore.

The island’s romance with baseball has remarkable parallels and interconnections with America’s embrace of the game. Ballplayers from the United States loved to barnstorm during the off-season in wide-open Havana, the Dodgers used to train there, the Cuban League–alums include Brooks Robinson, Tommy Lasorda, Don Hoak, and Don Zimmer–was a major force in the vibrant spread of baseball through the Caribbean, and, not surprisingly, several Major and Negro League standouts–Martin Dihigo, Bert Campaneris, Mike Cuellar, Luis Tiant, Minnie Minoso, Camilo Pascual, Tony Oliva, and, more recently, the Hernandez brothers–were stars in their homeland first. But there are also stunning and powerful differences, as stunning and powerful as the differences between the two countries since Castro’s rise to power.

Castro’s own obsession with the game plays prominently, though Echevarria is quick to strike out the myth that Fidel himself was once a prospect. “Let it be known here,” he emphasizes, “that Fidel Castro was never scouted by any major-league team, and is not known to have enjoyed the kind of success in baseball that would have brought a scout’s attention to him.” He had to settle for the world’s attention instead. –Jeff Silverman –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Echevarria, a literary critic and professor of Hispanic and comparative literature at Yale, has written a definitive cultural history of Cuban baseball from 1860 to the present. A former semi-pro catcher born and raised in Cuba, he currently plays in the Connecticut Senior Baseball League. According to Echevarria, baseball filled a void when Cuba rejected bullfighting and other Spanish influences. Despite all the political turbulence, the game has survived to become as much a part of Cuba’s social fabric as soccer is for Brazil. The study features an excellent bibliography plus detailed notes for each chapter. The research is exhaustive, based on primary sources and interviews that include numerous anecdotes, making this an engaging read. Although this book is not for everyone, purists and historians of baseball will enjoy it. Buy where demand warrants.ALarry Little, Penticton P.L., B.C.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the first amateur leagues of the 1860s to the exploits of Livan and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, here is the definitive history of baseball in Cuba. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria expertly traces the arc of the game, intertwining its heroes and their stories with the politics, music, dance, and literature of the Cuban people. What emerges is more than a story of balls and strikes, but a richly detailed history of Cuba told from the unique cultural perch of the baseball diamond.
Filling a void created by Cuba’s rejection of bullfighting and Spanish hegemony, baseball quickly became a crucial stitch in the complex social fabric of the island. By the early 1940s Cuba had become major conduit in spreading the game throughout Latin America, and a proving ground for some of the greatest talent in all of baseball, where white major leaguers and Negro League players from the U.S. all competed on the same fields with the cream of Latin talent. Indeed, readers will be introduced to several black ballplayers of Afro-Cuban descent who played in the Major Leagues before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier once and for all. Often dramatic, and always culturally resonant, Gonzalez Echevarria’s narrative expertly lays open the paradox of fierce Cuban independence from the U.S. with Cuba’s love for our national pastime. It shows how Fidel Castro cannily associated himself with the sport for patriotic p.r.–and reveals that his supposed baseball talent is purely mythical. Based on extensive primary research and a wealth of interviews, the colorful, often dramatic anecdotes and stories in this distinguished book comprise the most comprehensive history of Cuban baseball yet published and ultimately adds a vital lost chapter to the history of baseball in the U.S.

The “national” in “national pastime” is a relative term in Yale literature professor and former semi-pro catcher Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria’s meticulous examination of baseball in the land of his birth. A respected scholar, Echevarria is also a fan, and he manages to weave both objectivity and appreciation throughout a carefully researched and multi-layered narrative that draws from numerous first-person reminiscences. If Echevarria’s prose is dry at times, it manages to cover plenty of interesting territory as he threads the game through the fabric of Cuban history, culture, and lore.

The island’s romance with baseball has remarkable parallels and interconnections with America’s embrace of the game. Ballplayers from the United States loved to barnstorm during the off-season in wide-open Havana, the Dodgers used to train there, the Cuban League–alums include Brooks Robinson, Tommy Lasorda, Don Hoak, and Don Zimmer–was a major force in the vibrant spread of baseball through the Caribbean, and, not surprisingly, several Major and Negro League standouts–Martin Dihigo, Bert Campaneris, Mike Cuellar, Luis Tiant, Minnie Minoso, Camilo Pascual, Tony Oliva, and, more recently, the Hernandez brothers–were stars in their homeland first. But there are also stunning and powerful differences, as stunning and powerful as the differences between the two countries since Castro’s rise to power.

Castro’s own obsession with the game plays prominently, though Echevarria is quick to strike out the myth that Fidel himself was once a prospect. “Let it be known here,” he emphasizes, “that Fidel Castro was never scouted by any major-league team, and is not known to have enjoyed the kind of success in baseball that would have brought a scout’s attention to him.” He had to settle for the world’s attention instead. –Jeff Silverman –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball

You Gotta Have Wa

The “wa” one must have is the group harmony that is the essence of Japanese “besoboru,” or baseball. (Japanese baseball fans view individualism as the fatal flaw in the American game.) This interesting comparative study of the sport as it is played on both sides of the Pacific concentrates on the American stars who have gone to play in Japan. Whiting ( The Chrysanthemum and the Bat ) shows how Americans abroad have adapted to punishing spring training and pre-game practices throughout the season in Japan, and their adjustment to such aspects of the sport as the sacrifice bunt, the hit-and-run and the squeeze. He also chronicles American athletes’ problems with tyrannical managers and coaches and umpires bent on saving face. The conclusion: American and Japanese baseball are vastly different games. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

A hilarious, informative, and riveting account of Japanese baseball and the cultural clashes that ensued when Americans began playing there professionally.

In Japan, baseball is a way of life. It is a philosophy. It is besuboru. Its most important element is wagroup harmonyembodied in the proverb “The nail that sticks up shall be hammered down.” In this witty and incisive book, Robert Whiting gives us a close-up look at besuboru’s teams, obsessive ritualism, and history, as seen through the eyes of American players who found the Japanese approachrigorous pregame practices, the tolerance for tie games, injured pitchers encouraged to pitch through the paincompletely baffling. With vivid accounts of East meeting West, involving Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, Bobby Valentine, Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh, and many others, this lively and completely unique book is an utter gem and baseball classic.

You Gotta Have Wa (Vintage)

Starred Review. Grade 5 Up–This exhaustive, authoritative resource presents a dynamic view of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Well organized, with an appropriate balance of written and visual material, the book opens with two pages of statistics that provide information on the population, capital, and area of states, provinces, and largest cities; records pertaining to temperatures, rainfall, and volcanic eruptions; and largest rivers and lakes, etc. Accessible text and accurate, colorful thematic maps with informative captions analyze the region detailing such aspects as climate, weather, population, immigration, and trade and telecommunications. Coverage of the individual states and provinces includes statistical data; lucid, relevant narratives; and color photographs. In addition, there are large-scale maps of the largest cities, regional maps, satellite images, and many charts and graphs. An extensive index with latitude and longitude notations, grid references, place names, and geographic features rounds out the package. Atlas of the World (Oxford, 2004, 12th ed.) will complement this priority purchase.–Hillary Jan Donitz-Goldstein, formerly at New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Oxford has joined Reader’s Digest (Atlas of America, 1998) and National Geographic (Atlas of North America, 1985) in publishing a regional atlas. This new volume stretches the boundaries by including Mexico as well as Canada and the U.S. It is said to replace the second edition of Oxford’s Regional Economic Atlas of the United States and Canada, published in 1975.

The first section of the source under review contains physical, cultural, economic, political, and geographic maps of the region. Interesting maps include one of women in state legislatures and another of land use by commodity–corn, hogs, soybeans, etc. Regional country maps are included as well as maps of the 50 states of the U.S., 13 provinces of Canada, and 32 states of Mexico. Most of the U.S. states have a full page (eleven inches by fifteen inches), but some, such as New Hampshire and Vermont, and Tennessee and Kentucky, are combined on a page. The majority of the excellent cartography is by Phillips, but MapQuest supplied a number of city maps, which are in separate sections under each country. There are current city-center maps of Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Washington, Montreal, and Mexico City. For each country, there is a section that provides a page of encyclopedic information for every state or province, including a box of demographic, economic, and geographic statistics–persons with a disability, home-ownership rate, minority-owned firms, persons per square mile, etc.–with comparisons to the country as a whole

Although many of the Mexican maps have more than one state on a page, the maps are more detailed than those in a world atlas. Much of the encyclopedic and statistical information will not be found in the usual reference sources. The Canadian provincial maps are large, with Nunavut, Southern British Columbia, and Southern Alberta each on a two-page spread. The inclusive index lists cities and physical features with a grid location and longitude and latitude.

Since the Internet still does not provide the clarity or depth of a good atlas, the Atlas of North America will be a useful source in school, academic, and public libraries. Christine Bulson
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved

At the heart of this new and comprehensive atlas of the three largest countries of North America is a unique thematic section covering physical, historic, economic, urban, social, and cultural topics ranging from environmental change to religious practice and from indigenous peoples to migration patterns. These newly drawn maps depict an increasingly multicultural and diverse realm in momentous economic and social transition. The thematic section is preceded by a series of spectacular satellite images and followed by detailed cartographic, statistical and narrative coverage of each of the realm’s three nations. Regional maps of states and provinces and larger-scale maps of urban areas are accompanied by fascinating information and useful data. In combination, these components make the new Atlas of North America an unparalleled tool for research as well as reference, a teaching device as well as a study source, a travel guide and a book of learning. All of this is facilitated by an all-inclusive, particularized index. The modern and current Atlas of North America is an indispensable item in any professional or personal library.

Atlas of North America

Places Rated Almanac: The Classic Guide for Finding Your Best Places to Live in America

Looking to live somewhere where houses are cheap? Head to Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the average home costs $75,700, and annual property taxes for that home are about $960. Perhaps a good job market is a higher priority. In that case, pick Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; or Riverside, California, as they top the list of places projected to have the highest-percentage increase in new jobs by 2005. Most of those jobs, by the way, are expected to have above-average pay. This and other detailed information can be found in the sixth edition of Places Rated Almanac, a helpful resource for people thinking of relocating as well as those with a desire to learn about cities and towns. Metropolitan areas are rated in nine categories: costs of living, job outlook, transportation, education, health care, crime, the arts, recreation, and climate. But don’t go looking for statistics on Podunk–the focus remains on 354 metro areas, metro defined as a city or urbanized population of at least 50,000, located in a county with a total population of at least 100,000.

Places Rated is laced with intelligent and, unexpectedly, witty writing. The whole concept of judging places, the author notes, may seem the utmost of brass. “Yet everyone does it, privately. Some suspect that culture in Omaha or Des Moines or Saskatoon is a contradiction. Others surmise that daily life in Miami consists of surviving drug-trade shoot-outs…” Organized intelligently, Places Rated acknowledges that “livability” and “quality of life” are moving targets. Livable for whom? The artist who wants mountain vistas? The entrepreneur who wants low taxes and no red tape? With these limitations in mind, the book ends with a chapter titled “Putting It All Together,” where the reader is invited to rate cities with a customized list of priorities. Arriving at your customized list, however, requires answering 72 questions that force you to decide once and for all what you value most–a low cost of living or good school districts or mild winters or some other criterion. And should you find that climate matters most, head for Santa Barbara, California, where winters and summers are mild and natural hazards are few, and stay away from Rochester, Minnesota, unless you’re willing to endure 35 days when it’s 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and 165 days of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, annually. –John Russell –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

In this unique reference, every one of Americas 379 metropolitan areas is rated by factors that are important to anyone considering a move. Divided into nine thoroughly researched main topics, this guide derives its information as much from private sources as government sources, providing a well-rounded description of all that each metro area has to offer: ambience, housing, jobs, crime, transportation, education, health care, recreation, and climate. With a personalized quiz to help determine the most important factors of an area, this ratings sourcebook provides a wealth of information for those looking to move and the armchair traveler alike.

Places Rated Almanac: The Classic Guide for Finding Your Best Places to Live in America

Bob Dent is a freelance writer.

The views of Budapest by the River Danube are unparalleled in Europe. On one side the Buda Hills reach almost to the riverside, with Castle Hill and Gellrt Hill offering outstanding panoramas. Pest, linked to Buda by a series of imposing bridges, with its mixture of late nineteenth-century Historicist and early twentieth-century Art Nouveau architecture, is still very much a “turn-of-the-century” city.

For more than fifty years prior to the Second World War, Budapest was one of the outstanding cultural capitals of Central Europe, on a par with, and in some ways ahead of, Vienna and Prague. Now no longer “hidden” behind the Iron Curtain, much of that old atmosphere has returned. With its rich and often turbulent history, its unique thermal baths, its excellent public transport system, its street cafs and broad-ranging cultural scene, Budapest is a captivating metropolis, currently being rediscovered as one of the liveliest cities in the region.

* City on the Danube: Straddling the majestic river, Budapest’s setting is unique; bridges and baths, cafes and squares; an architecture than recalls the pre-1914 era.

* City of fusions: Bartk and Kodly fused folk and classical; the tradition continues with Budapest’s vibrant mixture of live folk, gypsy, klezmer and jazz.

* City of the unknown: Breaking through the barrier of the Hungarian language, often described as impenetrable, presented here are writers and poets deserving international recognition.

Budapest: A Cultural History (Cityscapes)

The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat

[A] glorious, immensely readable book. — Economist

A pleasure to read. . . . Mr. Lendvai has done a remarkable job. His book is easily the best history of Hungary in English. . . . What’s remarkable is how many extraordinary individuals, admirable and otherwise, we come across in this small nation’s history. — Stephen Goode, Washington Times

The writing of national histories is . . . justified by the erudition and intellectual brilliance of the [author]. To this one must add, as a special attraction, the charm, wit and healthy cynicism of The Hungarians. — Istvan Deak, Times Literary Supplement

[R]ewarding, entertaining, and well written. . . . [F]ar more substantial than the witty musings to be found, for example, in Luigi Barzini’s The Italians. . . . No one who is interested in Hungary should miss reading this book. — Nicolas Parsons, Hungarian Quarterly

An outstanding storyteller. [Lendvai] not only presents scientifically based facts and analysis but also tells the reader a story. . .. A compact overview of Hungarian history, a wonderful collection of biographical sketches and a subtle description of the ‘Hungarian temperament’. — Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Excellently researched and masterfully constructed, this should become a standard work. . . . The book reads almost like a novel with historical background. . . . Most warmly recommended. — Die Presse

An exhaustive history of the Hungarian people. . . . The author has written a sympathetic account of Hungarian history. Yet the book also exposes the blemishes along with the heroism. . . . For those interested in the history of a art of Europe that has been shrouded in mystery and clich, it’s a helpful handbook. — Anne Gyulai, The Montreal Gazette

It is history’s destiny to stare helplessly as the past’s effects on facts have them act no differently on our minds and bodies than do fictions. In his loving rendering of Hungary’s troubled saga, Lendvai has shown us how our knowledge and memory are a tangle of both threads. — Norman Madarasz, The European Legacy

The Hungarians is the most comprehensive, clear-sighted, and absorbing history ever of a legendarily proud and passionate but lonely people. Much of Europe once knew them as “child-devouring cannibals” and “bloodthirsty Huns.” But it wasn’t long before the Hungarians became steadfast defenders of the Christian West and fought heroic freedom struggles against the Tatars , the Turks , and, among others, the Russians . Paul Lendvai tells the fascinating story of how the Hungarians, despite a string of catastrophes and their linguistic and cultural isolation, have survived as a nation-state for more than 1,000 years.

Lendvai, who fled Hungary in 1957, traces Hungarian politics, culture, economics, and emotions from the Magyars’ dramatic entry into the Carpathian Basin in 896 to the brink of the post-Cold War era. Hungarians are ever pondering what being Hungarian means and where they came from. Yet, argues Lendvai, Hungarian national identity is not only about ancestry or language but also an emotional sense of belonging. Hungary’s famous poet-patriot, Sndor Petofi, was of Slovak descent, and Franz Liszt felt deeply Hungarian though he spoke only a few words of Hungarian. Through colorful anecdotes of heroes and traitors, victors and victims, geniuses and imposters, based in part on original archival research, Lendvai conveys the multifaceted interplay, on the grand stage of Hungarian history, of progressivism and economic modernization versus intolerance and narrow-minded nationalism.

He movingly describes the national trauma inflicted by the transfer of the historic Hungarian heartland of Transylvania to Romania under the terms of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920–a trauma that the passing of years has by no means lessened. The horrors of Nazi and Soviet Communist domination were no less appalling, as Lendvai’s restrained account makes clear, but are now part of history.

An unforgettable blend of eminent readability, vibrant humor, and meticulous scholarship, The Hungarians is a book without taboos or prejudices that at the same time offers an authoritative key to understanding how and why this isolated corner of Europe produced such a galaxy of great scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs.

The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat

Following the second edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine (1999), a contributor, Cass, has edited a book on the wines of U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Not surprisingly, some of the cross-references in this book refer to the general volume.

The North American volume begins with 15 essays of three to five pages on a variety of topics, two written by Robinson and one by Cass. Other contributors to the essays and the text include professors, owners of wineries, a sommelier, and wine writers. Robinson, who is British, writes an evaluative essay on the quality of North American wine and believes “that the very best wines reach as high a level . . . as the best Europe can produce.” An essay on trends and demographics notes that eight percent of the North American population drinks wine but they drink ten percent of the wine produced worldwide.

The A-Z entries take up about 75 percent of the book and are written by nine contributors, including Cass, whose writing is particularly lively and amusing. Describing Jack Cakebread as better known for his football photography, with winery finances supplied by the family auto body business, Cass writes that Cakebread winery has been “accorded artisan status rarely associated with football or with fender replacement.” In addition to entries for wineries, geographic areas (counties, states, regions), organizations, wine terms and grape varieties, and people associated with viticulture are also mentioned. Although some of the entries are long and detailed (California is more than 10 pages long), references are not included. Four 4 page spreads of color photographs are interspersed with the text. Line-drawn maps of wine-growing regions of the U.S. are not very useful because they indicate only elevation, cities, rivers, and lakes.

Two pages of “classic” American foods with wine suggest a Colorado Chardonnay with alligator or Livermore Semillon with lima beans! The comprehensive, useful index lists names of U.S. wine licensees and American Viticultural Areas (as designated by the Wine Institute) as well as people, techniques, and so on that are mentioned in the text. In both the index and the Note to the Reader, Cass mentions that the ownership of wineries changes daily and the information is current as of spring 2000.

The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America stands alone as a current resource for wine enthusiasts. Used in conjunction with the second edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine, it will provide a comprehensive look at a popular and important industry in the U.S. Recommended for public and academic libraries with an interest in oenology. (An online version of The Oxford Companion to Wine is available at Wine.com [http://www.wine.com].) RBB
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved

Bruce Cass brings years of internationally recognized expertise to this remarkable project. He has taught wine classes on the Stanford University campus since 1972, helped found the Society of Wine Educators, and was the editorial consultant for James Halliday’s Wine Atlas of California, which won both the Julia Child and the James Beard awards as Best Wine Book of 1993. He is a respected wine judge in international competitions both at home and abroad. He lives in San Francisco, California, where he runs the non-profit Pacific Rim Wine Education Center. Jancis Robinson is one of the world’s leading authorities on wine and the editor of the acclaimed Oxford Companion to Wine. Now in its second edition, this bestseller has won numerous awards, including the Cliquot Book of the Year, the James Beard Award, the Julia Child/ International Association of Culinary Professionals Award, and the Andr Simon Memorial Award. The first British journalist to have passed the notoriously tough Master of Wine exams, she is now the wine columnist for the Financial Times and writes a regular column for publications in eleven countries on five continents, including The Los Angeles Times. She lives in London, England.

With more than 1400 wineries producing many of today’s most celebrated labels, North America has become a respected world power in wine production. California Chardonnays now compete with French, and discriminating shoppers can now choose Mexican and Canadian reds in addition to their European counterparts. The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America encompasses this fertile region’s wine and winemaking with scope and authority, illuminating the major techniques, variations, and key players on the North American scene for the first time in one comprehensive volume.
The ultimate complement to The Oxford Companion to Wine–now in its second edition and praised by The New York Times as the “most complete compendium of wine knowledge assembled in modern times”–this new Companion objectively surveys the current state of American wine production, celebrating traditions and sensibilities unique to American vintages while highlighting the geographical, philosophical, and commercial variations that distinguish regional wines. General Editor Bruce Cass and world-renowned wine expert Jancis Robinson weave the knowledge of wine academics and writers from across America into a compelling set of introductory essays that distinguish features of North American wine and its history, followed by corresponding alphabetical entries that explore wine topics in depth. Although California dominates American production, wineries and local specialties from throughout North America receive balanced coverage within individual area, region, state, and country entries. Mondavi and Beringer are here, along with segments on Gold Seal winery of New York, Santo Tomas of Mexico, Stoney Ridge of Ontario, and many others. Curious wine tasters will also find reliable information on grape and resultant wine varieties, viticultural techniques, notable brands, and the most coveted wines. All technical terms are fully explained with helpful cross-references to Robinson’s Oxford Companion to Wine.
Sure to become the classic book on American wine, The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America is a masterpiece of scholarship with a dynamic flavor befitting its subject. Novices and connoisseurs alike will find it an irresistible resource.

The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America

World Atlas of Wine

Praise for the Fifth Editionof The World Atlas of Wine:
This is the best collaboration of two Brits since Lennon and McCartney. Ben Gilberti, Washington Post

Hailed by critics worldwide as extraordinary and irreplaceable, there are few volumes that have had as monumental an impact in their field as Hugh Johnsons The World Atlas of Wine: sales have exceeded four million copies, and it is now published in thirteen languages.
World-renowned authors Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson once again combine their unrivalled talents to enhance this masterpiece of wine knowledge. There are now 48 extra pages, including 17 new color illustrations, 20 new maps, andfor the first time everdouble page spreads and full-page photos in the atlas section for maximum visual impact. New World coverage has been extended for both Australia and South America; some New World regions even have their own entries for the first time, including Rutherford, Oakville, and Stags Leap from California; Mendoza ; Limestone Coast ; Central Otago and Martinborough ; and Constantia . And Old World coverage has grown too, with the addition of Toro , the Peleponnese , and Georgia. Its a truly incomparable book, and an essential addition to every wine lovers or professionals library.
World Atlas of Wine

`It was not only the ripping-yarn action of the stories and the engrossing narratives that held me, I was just as much taken by the man who recounted them. Through the most riveting episodes, his compassionate character and quiet voice seemed personally to speak to me … The book has never paled, never dated, and I have never forgotten its significance or the astonishing, gentle man who wrote it.’ Martin Booth, The Sunday Times

Jim Corbett, who died in 1955, gave up big-game hunting in the 1920s as he became an ardent conservationist. His other books include Jungle Lore and My India, both published by Oxford.

Jim Corbett was every inch a hero, something like a “sahib” Davy Crockett: expert in the ways of the jungle, fearless in the pursuit of man-eating big cats, and above all a crack shot. Brought up on a hill-station in north-west India, he killed his first leopard before he was nine and went on to achieve a legendary reputation as a hunter.
Corbett was also an author of great renown. His books on the man-eating tigers he once tracked are not only established classics, but have by themselves created almost a separate literary genre. Man Eaters of Kumaon is the best known of Corbett’s books, one which offers ten fascinating and spine-tingling tales of pursuing and shooting tigers in the Indian Himalayas during the early years of this century. The stories also offer first-hand information about the exotic flora, fauna, and village life in this obscure and treacherous region of India, making it as interesting a travelogue as it is a compelling look at a bygone era of big-game hunting.

`It was not only the ripping-yarn action of the stories and the engrossing narratives that held me, I was just as much taken by the man who recounted them. Through the most riveting episodes, his compassionate character and quiet voice seemed personally to speak to me … The book has never paled, never dated, and I have never forgotten its significance or the astonishing, gentle man who wrote it.’ Martin Booth, The Sunday Times

Man-Eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks)

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo

In 1898 John H. Patterson arrived in East Africa with a mission to build a railway bridge over the Tsavo River. What started out as a simple engineering problem, however, soon took on almost mythical proportions as Patterson and his mostly Indian workforce were systematically hunted by two man-eating lions over the course of several weeks. During that time, 100 workers were killed, and the entire bridge-building project ground to a halt. As if the lions weren’t enough, Patterson had to guard his back against his own increasingly hostile and mutinous workers as he set out to track and kill the man-eaters. This larger-than-life tale forms the basis of the entertaining film The Ghost and the Darkness, but for readers who want to know the whole–and true–story, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo comes straight from the great white-hunter’s mouth.

Patterson’s account of the lions’ reign of terror and his own subsequent attempts to kill them is the stuff of great adventure, and his unmistakably Victorian manner of telling it only adds to the thrill. Consider this description of the aftermath of an attack by the lions: “…we at once set out to follow the brutes, Mr. Dalgairns feeling confident that he had wounded one of them, as there was a trail on the sand like that of the toes of a broken limb…. we saw in the gloom what we at first took to be a lion cub; closer inspection, however, showed it to be the remains of the unfortunate coolie, which the man-eaters had evidently abandoned at our approach. The legs, one arm and half the body had been eaten, and it was the stiff fingers of the other arm trailing along the sand which had left the marks we had taken to be the trail of a wounded lion….” This classic tale of death, courage, and terror in the African bush is still a page-turner, even after all these years.

St. Martin’s is proud to present a new series of the greatest classics in the literature of hunting and adventure, chosen from the personal library of writer and big game hunter Peter Hathaway Capstick. These showcase volumes will once again make available the true masterpieces of Africana to collectors, armchair hunters, sportsmen, and readers at large.

Considered one of the greatest man-eating sagas of all time, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo is the firsthand account of the infamous Tsavo lions. These lions– who for nearly a year terrorized East Africa– succeeded in bringing the construction of a railway line to a complete halt, and have been credited with the deaths of some one hundred people. Written by the legendary officer who shot these lions and risked death several times in the attempt, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo is not only the story of this breathtaking hunt, but of Lieutenant-Colonel Patterson’s other adventures in the African bush.

“I think that the incident of the Uganda man-eating lions…is the most remarkable account of which we have any record.”–Theodore Roosevelt

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Library Series)

Christopher Goto-Jones is Professor of Modern Japan Studies at the University of Leiden.

Japan is arguably today’s most successful industrial economy, combining almost unprecedented affluence with social stability and apparent harmony. Japanese goods and cultural products–from animated movies and computer games to cars, semiconductors, and management techniques–are consumed around the world. In many ways, Japan is an icon of the modern world, and yet it remains something of an enigma to many, who see it as a confusing montage of the alien and the familiar, the ancient and modern. This Very Short Introduction explodes the myths and explores the reality of modern Japan, offering a concise, engaging, and accessible look at the history, economy, politics, and culture of this fascinating nation. It examines what the term “modern” means to the Japanese, debunks the notion that Japan went through a period of total isolation from the world, and explores the continuity between pre- and post-war Japan. Anyone curious about this intriguing country will find a wealth of insight and information in these pages.

About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life’s most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam

Modern Japan: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture

This Companion provides a comprehensive overview of the influences that have shaped modern-day Japan. Covering topics such as technology, food, nationalism and rise of anime and manga in the visual arts, it paints a picture of a nation rich in cultural diversity.

This Companion provides a comprehensive overview of the influences that have shaped modern-day Japan. Spanning one and a half centuries from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the beginning of the twenty-first century, this volume covers topics such as technology, food, nationalism and rise of anime and manga in the visual arts. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture traces the cultural transformation that took place over the course of the twentieth century, and paints a picture of a nation rich in cultural diversity. With contributions from some of the most prominent scholars in the field, The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture is an authoritative introduction to this subject.

The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture (Cambridge Companions to Culture)

“Informed coverage by an author who really knows what she is talking about. . . . For anyone interested in Australian mammals, this is an invaluable book; whether that interest is confined to enhancing the enjoyment of bushwalking or whether it is more professionally directed it will be a welcome text for naturalists and ecologists alike.”–Journal of Animal Ecology

“Indispensable equipment for bushwalkers, naturalists, students, zoologists and other professionals, in fact, for anyone wanting a better understanding of Australia’s unique mammal fauna.” –Ethology, Ecology & Evolution

Barbara Triggs has lived in the bush, amongst the mammals she writes about, since 1972. An authority on the identification of mammalian traces, particularly hair and scats, she also studies the animals themselves and is the author of several natural history books, including The Wombat: Common Wombats in Australia.

This book, an enlarged and updated successor to Mammal Tracks and Signs: A Field guide for South-Eastern Australia (winner of the Whitley Award for the Best Field Guide in 1984), covers all Australian states and territories, contains hundreds of new illustrations and extensive new text, and is formatted for easy identification of the visible traces left by mammals in their passage. It is divided into four forms of classification: drawings of ‘perfect’ tracks matched with photographs of the same tracks in sand or mud; color illustrations depicting scats of 128 species of mammals–with a distribution maps and habitat information–along with pellets and scats of birds, reptiles and invertebrates; detailed descriptions and over 70 color photographs of the distinctive traces of mammals at shelters and feeding sites; and 40 full page plates of skulls, lower jaws, humeri and femurs covering the more commonly found species, plus a detailed guide covering all mammal groups. Naturalists are becoming increasingly aware of the value of the indirect methods of finding and identifying mammals. This handbook of detection will be an essential companion to be kept in the pocket, backpack or car for constant ready reference.

“Informed coverage by an author who really knows what she is talking about. . . . For anyone interested in Australian mammals, this is an invaluable book; whether that interest is confined to enhancing the enjoyment of bushwalking or whether it is more professionally directed it will be a welcome text for naturalists and ecologists alike.”–Journal of Animal Ecology

“Indispensable equipment for bushwalkers, naturalists, students, zoologists and other professionals, in fact, for anyone wanting a better understanding of Australia’s unique mammal fauna.” –Ethology, Ecology & Evolution

Tracks, Scats and Other Traces: A Field Guide to Australian Mammals

Field Guide to Mammals of Australia

Peter Menkhorst has been fascinated by Australia’s flora and fauna for most of his life. He has participated in fauna surveys in many parts of Australia and has worked in wildlife research and management in Victoria for thirty-five years. He has published widely in the scientific and popular literature, including editing an Australian bird guide.

Frank Knight worked as an illustrator for CSIRO for twenty-five years. He has been a member of and has exhibited with the Society of Animal Art in New York. He has also illustrated a number of natural history books, including an Australian bird guide.

This fully revised and updated edition of A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia is the only comprehensive guide to identifying all 382 species of mammals known in Australia. This book provides concise and accurate details of the appearance, diagnostic features, distribution, habitat, and key behavioral characteristics of all mammals known to have occurred in Australia or its waters since the time of European settlement. Each double-page spread provides all the information needed to identify an animal, a full-color illustration of the entire animal, a smaller diagram of diagnostic features, a distribution map, and species description and measurements, including details of how to differentiate between similar species.

Identification keys are provided for groups that are difficult to identify to species level, including keys to the genera of small marsupials, rodents, and bats, and all marine mammals likely to be washed on to an Australian beach: whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and the Dugong.

Field Guide to Mammals of Australia