Philip's Atlas of Exploration, 2nd ed.

First published in 1996, with reprints in 1997 and 1998, this second edition adheres to the well known maxim that “if it ain't broke don't mend it”. Accordingly, the same tried and tested geographical and thematic sections, each divided into a number of two‐page spreads comprising text, maps and colour illustrations; the same ten pages of concise biographies of the most renowned explorers, geographers and scientists, “whose achievements are described in the text”; and the same four‐columns‐to‐the‐page Time Chart of Exploration, are all in evidence.

Possible difficulties in following a chronological sequence within a geographical framework are obviated not only...