“A new kind of visual journalism … this book comes with a flavour of originality hard to find in publishing today”. This plaudit from the New Scientist is thoroughly deserved. Apart from the topicality and urgency of the subject matter, the clear and colourful information packed page presentations of this slim book are remarkable. The designers, Myriad Editions, are to be congratulated on a superb job. The book’s companion volumes, The Atlas of Food (RR 2003/367) and The Atlas of Endangered Species (review forthcoming in Reference Reviews), are clearly titles to chase.
The opening three chapters – “The causes of war”; “The military world”, and War and people”, take a general view, looking at global trends, military hardware, and some moral issues. The next five chapters take a region each and consider the local dynamics of war‐making and peace‐making. The last chapter returns to the global view and takes a general look at peace agreements and peacekeeping. The chapters give structure, but the book is basically designed around 44 double‐page spreads, each with a clear subject or region, and which feature a brief prose background highlighting major issues, map(s), tables, graphics and inset boxes. Number 40, Colombia and its Neighbors, has four brief paragraphs highlighting the endemic internal power struggles over land and coca production, chronologies for each of the five countries covered, maps showing the region’s location, destination of cocaine exports and military hot spots, and a bar chart showing coca leaf production. Number 12, US Power, has a world map showing the strengths of US forces around the world and its allies/enemies, and number 43 shows the strength and status of peacekeeping forces around the world.
The majority of entries relate to regions of the world – the Caucasus, Horn of Africa, The Gulf, Northern Ireland, Kosovo – though others cover such topics as Death, Mass Destruction, Political Systems, and Small Arms Trade. The author provides an introduction outlining the scene post‐9/11; there is a “Table of wars” arranged by country involved giving details of “type of war”, location, dates, and “combat status 2002”; and there are four pages of references; and an index.
The text is brief and, inevitably, a touch blunt. “After … 50 years, the Europeans decided they could not exploit Africa efficiently enough to make it worth their while to stay” is rather too brief, but the main points are covered, and if a few sensibilities are ruffled, then maybe the ensuing discussion will be productive. The book has a positive purpose: “Out of it [the book] I hope only that a few fundamental thoughts emerge: about the conditions that create violent conflict; about the political leadership that is needed to build peaceful relations; and about the myths and dangers of pursuing security purely through violence …”
As a concise, factual and affordable account of the current state of world conflict in a clear, graphical presentation accessible to all ages and interests, this is an ideal resource for libraries.
