The point of an atlas is the maps, and in this case the maps are horrible. Jagged lines indicate the edge of continents, thick dotted lines (bright red) indicate language boundaries, and the languages themselves are in a headache-inducing color palate -- aquamarine next to pink next to purple. There is no way that any competent graphic artist would turn out such a project, unless he/she had a grudge against the company and wanted to get revenge by producing the worst maps possible. But didn't any editor notice?If I had seen the maps before I bought this book, I wouldn't have.