Explorer’s Atlas: For the incurably curious: Fascinating facts for the incurably curious Hardcover – 12 Oct. 2017

I bought this book as a present for my boyfriend. He loves it, it's just full of little facts and knowledge, it's really interesting just to browse through it.The only negative comment I have, and the reason I only rated this 4/5, is that the font size is very small and also the font colour is a really bad choice, as it makes some of the text very difficult to read.

I bought this as a Christmas present for my brother who is very knowledgeable but he found lots of facts he did not know. I was very pleased. So great for all your know it all siblings.

Fast delivery and a wonderful book. Beautiful maps and lots of interesting facts. Very happy with my purchase

Loved by my curious friend

I am sorry to say that the print, lay out and presentation are very poor in this book. It is very difficult to read the print on the maps which is at least half of the information. The type size is too small and clashes with the colour of the various maps. The idea of the book was interesting but the presentation means I would not recommend it to a purchaser.

Excellent publication, service impeccable as usual

At first sight, as odd a thing as the dodo on its cover. Reference books exist as searchable sources of information on their subject. They’re comprehensive, coherent and clear. This, however, presents a haphazard scattering of information whose only loose connection is geography. It’s bemusing. And quite useless.But park any expectation of authoritative reference and wander aimlessly through its pages and you start to appreciate its charm. This is absolutely not for looking things up, it’s something to dive into.Three facts at random: One - ten percent of the population of the Solomon Islands has naturally occurring blond hair. This is has not been passed down from European sailors but is due to a completely different gene. Two - formerly a diamond mine, Siberia’s Mir Mine is the largest excavated hole in the world, being 1km across and half a km deep. Three - Belarus has a ‘Social Parasite Tax’ which demands a $250 fine from anyone working less than 183 days a year. (How they’re supposed to find the money to pay it is not disclosed.)Amusing, fascinating, eye-opening.However, the look of the thing has been designed to death. Its information is presented in small print in muted colours over maps depicting the world in tasteful tones. All set in an almost curatorial idea of space. Again, though, this is unlikely to sit between other atlases on anybody’s reference shelf. This is a designer book intended for the coffee table so perhaps its Laura Ashley looks are appropriate.Interesting but could have been a lot more fun.

This books reminds me of that bit in Annabel's Party where he indicates the Shakespeare volumes and says "Not something you can actually read, of course." We have a number of atlas/map related books of recent times, ones that elevate bold, contemporary graphic design and modern information - "Maps", "Timeline", etc - and I assumed this was in a similar vein.The colour schemes for each continent are pleasant, speaking as one involved in app and web design, but they don't exactly leap out of the pages. The entire page is one shade or minor derivations thereof; it's not engaging to the eye, looking more like clean, crisp wall art instead.If the book is aimed at children, the dull beiges, tiny text and dry factoids are unlikely to engage them.If aimed at adults, the minimalist graphic design, but the facts still aren't hugely useful. Coordinates of an easternmost point. That polar bears live in Canada. Mentions of coral locations or possible piracy. Mildly diverting but nothing really new.I'm just not sure who the audience is or what the book aims to achieve over its competitors, which are either stunningly informative books for adults or graphically beautiful ones for younger readers.This has an aura of being 'just for show'.