The primary Geography of the World Book Review I wrote several months ago gives you the general picture of this book and why I like it so much. But there is one other important point to mention.
That is the date of publication. It’s 2006.
Wait. What?
For a book about geography & world cultures? Is that a problem?
Well, yes and no. Sure, I’d prefer a more current publication date. And I’ve written the publishers to ask about future plans.
But so far there is nothing to report. [EDIT: Actually, there is! Read the Update at the bottom of this page!)
With that being said, here’s the scoop on the date question.
One of a Kind Book
First of all, DK’s Geography of the World is one of the few books of its kind that I can find on the market. As such, I consider it highly valuable and a geography treasure.
I cannot find many other books that go continent by continent and features every country with its own page(s). With pictures. And fact snippets, rather than long, boring paragraphs.
That kind of layout is appealing to both kids and adults.
World Geography Topics
Since I reference this book as a companion to Let’s Go Geography, it’s important to keep in mind that Let’s Go tends to focus on location, climate, animal/plant life, biggest cities, ways people earn a living (i.e. economy), heritage & customs, agriculture, and the like.
In contrast, it tends to ignore politics, wars, civil unrest, and any other topic not suitable for children.
The kinds of topics we focus on at Let’s Go Geography are also much of the topics that the book Geography of the World focuses on, too. Without the political angle, much of the information will hold true a lot longer.
This book does have a small Fact Block on every country’s page that would need to be fact-checked due to its age, but most of the facts listed there are also listed in the curriculum. Which is current, within a year or so.
Outside of the Fact Block, many of the pages’ topics focus on things that are probably still the same (or very similar) to today.
Examples from the Book
For instance, the topics on the Portugal pages are: Lisbon, Rural Life, The Cork Industry, Crafts, and the Portuguese.
Another example (I’m just randomly flipping pages here!) is Kazakhstan. Topics are The Virgin Lands, The Kazakhs, Space Race (things that happened in 1957 & 1961 & stating that the site is still used today), The City of Apples, Rich in Minerals.
So much of it would still be relevant.
So there you have it. Another Geography of the World book review, so we don’t leave any stone unturned. Well, almost.
Unfortunately, since it is an older edition, Amazon has no inside pages for you to review. So if you’re still undecided, do what I did and check it out at your local library first.
And be sure to check out Let’s Go Geography. It’s also One of a Kind…without the 2006 publication date! 🙂
UPDATE
A new geography book by DK publishing has appeared on the scene! And it appears to be an updated version of Geography of the World with a new title. Don’t quote me on that because I’m not on the DK publishing staff, so take that with a grain of salt.
And now there’s AN EVEN BIGGER UPDATE...I have reviewed Countries of the World! Click here to read my take on it.
And I’m including an Amazon link here so you can check it out.
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