Though An Atlas of World Affairs is huge in scope, the book itself is small and light, favoring simple yet effective maps in black-and-white over glossy color plates. Rather than divulge every historical twist and shout from time immemorial, it looks at the radical changes in modern history, explaining the background for what's occurred to the people, economies, alliances, religions, and nations of the world in the last few decades--and it succeeds admirably well. Still muddled about the Tutsi-Hutu conflicts in Rwanda, what happened in former Yugoslavia, or just who the Kurds are? This slim text will fill you in, while setting an academic standard for precision, lucidity, and accessibility, making it equally suitable for family libraries, student book bags, and diplomatic pouches alike. --Stephanie Gold

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