National Geographic Desk Reference

By National Geographic Society

Book Overview

Offers a comprehensive collection of geographic information, including charts, maps, and articles about climate, weather, geology, and human and cultural geography. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0792270827
• ISBN13: 9780792270829
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: National Geographic
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 3.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 2.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

If this is what you want, then this is it.

True, if you are looking for detail factoids about each country in the world (per complaint in prior review) then this is not the best product out there, I'd go to Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook or Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations or the online CIA World Factbook. Instead, this is more an encyclopedia of the discipline of geography, from Eratosthenes to the European Union. The first three sections, "What is Geography?", "Physical Geography", and "Human Geography" cover theories and processes like a mini textbook. Consider it a grown-up version of Kenneth Davis' Don't Know Much About Geography. Only the last section contains information about individual countries, covering each nation's physical geography, government, economy, culture, etc. Being more of a human or social geographer, I find the sections on physical geography topics to be very handy on such topics as plate tectonics, soils, and groundwater. Why only 4 stars? Like many 'desk references' it has perhaps an identity crisis. Is it a dictionary? An encyclopedia? A directory or a textbook? A little of all rolled into one.

The Ultimate Addition to your National Geographic Library

A National Geographic Book that puts it all together. I have read many college level geography textbooks, and this book has all the information in a much more readable form. The maps and diagrams in this book are great, but if you are looking for a National Geographic Picture Book, buy something else. I have enjoyed reading through this book.