This book is divided into 19 sections, each of which covers an area of the world. Each section is composed of images taken from space shuttle missions, or from weather satellites orbiting the Earth. The images are accompanied by a text describing that part of the world, along with information boxes at the top of each page containing facts on the people, environment and major political concerns of the region. A small locator map at the beginning of each section indicates where the region is located in relation to the rest of the world. At least two satellite images are shown relating to each area.
The best feature of this atlas is that the images provide a different interpretation of the world from that provided by conventional Mercator projection maps. The satellite image of an area of Brazil undergoing deforestation, for example, is quite chilling and conveys the enormity of the environmental devastation far more vividly than traditional colour illustrations.
There is, however, no indication of scale accompanying any of the photographs, and this is a major fault with this publication. Nor is there consistency in the type of satellite image chosen. A series of images taken from one weather satellite and covering each land mass comprising the Earth would make it easier for the reader to draw comparisons between regions. In this volume a host of pictures from numerous satellite projects has been collected, and a text invented to cover the photographs. The layout of this text on the page is cluttered, and the effect is confusing. It is as if the whole project had been hastily conceived and put together. In the absence of comparable works for young people offering satellite images this book represents a worthwhile purchase, but it lacks clarity and brevity.
