The Atlas of the Living World

This is a bit odd! The book has David Attenborough in large letters on the dustwrapper and on the spine but he appears only to be responsible for five introductions to the major sections of the book. Note I didn’t write “atlas” because, in spite of the title this book is not an atlas. It does have an atlas section of 12 pages with other maps scattered throughout the book, but atlas it is not! The book has a rather old fashioned feel to it, a bit pedestrian compared with say, Mitchell Beazley productions. Any double‐page opening covers one topic,...