Book reviews: Atlas of the Republic of Austria. 1st installment

Summary

This review discusses the first installment of the Atlas of the Republic of Austria, edited by H. Bobek with cartography by I. Arnberger. The complete atlas, planned for six installments with about 120 map pages, features a main scale of 1:1 million. Its content is organized into twelve thematic groups, covering topography, climate, population, economy, and transportation. The review highlights two building-density maps of Vienna at scales of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000, which employ 15 base colors and over 50 tones and patterns to distinguish construction periods, building heights, and urban fringe types. Despite the immense density of information, the maps achieve a clear and compelling visual effect. The review also notes climate maps, a tourist diagram, election-result mosaics, and traffic-frequency maps, while criticizing some agricultural-yield maps for using absolute point symbols without contextual reference. Overall, the atlas demonstrates flexible design and up-to-date data, and the reviewer anticipates future installments with great interest.