See the full review and maps on the BBC Today programme
See the Global wealth map featured as Mark Easton's 'Map of the Week' on BBC.co.uk
366 digitally modified maps - known as cartograms - depict the areas and countries of the world not by their physical size, but by their demographic importance on a vast range of subjects ranging from population, health, wealth and occupation to how many toys we import and who's eating their vegetables.
Open this book at almost any page and you will learn something you never knew about the world - for example, in an analysis of water resources, the rainforests of South America, with 30 per cent of the world's fresh water, make the continent balloon whereas Kuwait - dependent on desalinated sea water - completely disappears from the map.
The reader can also glean historical, current and future trends in areas such as population, biodiversity and trade. Each map is accompanied by graphs, charts, tables and a full text commentary providing an extra level of understanding.
Land Area and Population o Travel and Transport o Natural Resources and Energy o Globalization and Internationalism o Food and Consumables o Minerals, Natural Products and Petrochemicals o Manufactured Goods and Services o Wealth and Poverty o Employment and Productivity o Housing and Education o Communication and Media o Health and Illness o Death and Disaster o War and Crime o Pollution and Depletion o Extinction and Endangerment
Created by three of the team behind the renowned website worldmapper.org this book is an invaluable learning resource for home reference, schools, universities, journalists, business people and other professionals. The Atlas of the Real World is the ultimate volume for everyone who wants to understand how their country or region fits into the new world order.