An indispensable item in any modern professional or personal library, the Atlas of the United States offers a closer look at the oldest, richest, and most populous country on the continent. Opening with two pages of the latest statistics, this atlas provides a broad overview of a multicultural and diverse nation taking its first steps into a new century. The heart of this comprehensive volume is a unique thematic section covering physical, historic, urban, economic, social, and cultural topics ranging from environmental change to religious practice, and indigenous peoples to migration patterns. Accompanied by a balanced combination of informative text and instructive charts and graphs, these newly drawn maps seek to explain the dynamic forces shaping the United States of America. The thematic section is followed by a spectacular two-page satellite image of the lower 48 states and several regional maps including a full page for the US Pacific islands plus dozens of larger-scale maps of urban areas. A useful, illustrated gazetteer offers still more precision with charts of census data and descriptions of the history, geography, and industry of each state and its capital. In combination, these components transform the new Atlas of the United States into a home reference unsurpassed in quality that is equal parts study source and travel guide. All of this is facilitated by a comprehensive index with latitude and longitude coordinates and alphanumeric grid references that make finding places effortless. What's more, page number indicators and refined locator windows throughout the atlas allow for easy identification of adjacent map pages. With hundreds of maps rendering every region from Barrow, Alaska to Venice, Florida in layer-colored contours, this The thematic section is followed by a spectacular two-page atlas is the United States as it hasn't been seen before.

Harm de Blij is Distinguished Professor of Geography at Michigan State University. He is an honorary life member of the National Geographic Society and for seven years was the Geography Editor on ABC's "Good Morning America."