Presented in an elegant gold cover and slipcase, and printed on Forest Stewardship Council paper, this is the ultimate coffee table book and the world"s most prestigious atlas—the perfect blend of tradition, authority, and style. The atlas begins with contributions from geographical experts, providing detailed information on the key issues facing the world today—climate change, environmental threats, global communications, biodiversity, and energy resources—with supporting maps, images, photographs, and graphics. The unique scope and breadth of the index—with more than 200,000 entries—also includes a comprehensive set of alternative spellings for place names and former names. This authoritative reference was reprinted with updates in 2008.