The Anchor Atlas of World History, Vol. 2 (From the French Revolution to the American Bicentennial)

User Review: - Essential Reference for All Non-Fiction readers
'The Anchor Atlas of World History, Volumes I and II' are two references evey intelligent reader should have, as soon as they have gotten their unabridged dictionary. I am a real wonk for maps, and for me these volumes are like a free pass to the candy store.

This piece may really be more of an argument for why you really need these books than any critique, primarily because that for the average book buyer, there is very little with which to compare these books.

It should be no surprise that these volumes are translated from the German, as our continental cousins, especially the Germans, French, and Italians are ever so much better at compiling useful references to scholarly subjects. For some reason, the English and, by example, the Americans seem to have little talent or inclination to take on this kind of work. Although the English, especially the Oxford and Cambridge publishing arms do a very good job at some subjects, especially history.

One of the best things about these volumes is that they are 'pocket sized'. One of the worst things about these volumes is that they are pocket sized. While I really appreciate the freedom they give me from quarto-sized pages which catch on my clothing as I balance them on my stomach while trying to read them, they do have very small maps which, I suspect, were a lot bigger in the original German editions. These picture make the Roman Empire fit in a space not much bigger than my palm. Hispania and Jeruselam were never closer!

History is such a rich subject that it really cries out for some good guide to help you find your way, especially in those periods and lands which seem to be left out of my grammar school curriculum.

To take just two very unhistorical fields as examples, I am listening to music of 15th century from Arab Andalusia. A check of the spread of Islamic expansion up to the time of Columbus shows that it was not so much the Arabs (residents of the Arabian Peninsula), but Islamic northern Africans who probably colonized the Ibearean peninsula, so their music has a lot more in common with Morocco than it does with the Levant. Not that I can really tell the difference between 14th century Moroccan from 14th century Lebanese music, but If I were to explore this further, I would have been spared a few dead ends. Another example is the food of modern Spain which owes almost as much to the Berbers of North Africa as it does to its original Roman colonists or later colonial influences from the Americas and the far east.

In general, there is simply no way one can appreciate the complexities of, for example, the political divisions of central Europe from Charlamagne to Napoleon without a map as you will find in these volumes. And, there is much more here than political history, but I feel the authors have wisely concentrated on political history.

One does not even need the text, and I rarely read it, unless I happen to be looking at a time and place which is totally beyond my ken.

If you read any kind of nonfiction or historical fiction, do yourself a favor and buy these volumes!

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User Review: - Fortunately, an updated version is available...
This excellent resource is no longer out of print. Penguin is publishing soon in Britain an updated two-volume, paperback version (see the Amazon.co.uk site). A one-volume, hardback French version is already available in Canada and France (cheaper in the Amazon.ca site). In both cases, search for the authors, Kinder & Hilgemann.

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User Review: - Should be republished
These enjoyable little pocket books take a Cliff Notes approach to history. In a highly abbreviated text, the authors summarize everything from the Cambrian explosion to the Stamp Act of 1763. No important detail is left out.

Now this level of historical detail is available in many formats. What really sets the Anchor Atlases apart is the superb maps and diagrams. The power structure of Byzantine Rome, the campaigns of Alexander and Hannibal, 16th century Indian internecine warfare, etc., are all finely laid out in easy-to-understand, surprisingly comprehensive, illustrations.

The book's major limitation is it's 1975 publishing date, leaving out not just the past 3 decades of history, but also the significant advances in historical learning that have been made in that time as well.

Nonetheless, wonderfully informative and enjoyable.

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User Review: - WHY IS THIS OUT OF PRINT??????
You can't read a history book without these two volumes. You get not only maps but a terse narrative (nearsighted people without their glasses only, please) of everything pivotal that ever happened. How could they take these (in paperback form, very portable, as someone else pointed out) out of print?????

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User Review: - I've worn out two sets of these atlases
I have worn out two sets of these atlases. Every time I read a book of history, historical fiction, alternative history, or one with historical references, or watch the history channel, this set of books has allowed me to envision the geographical aspects of what I was seeing or reading. It has satisfied my curiosity on countless occasions. No other historical atlas has been up to this standard. It reports the facts, ma'am, just the facts. Others have included politically correct opinions. I wish I could find another set. It is disappointing to find that they are out of print.

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