Earth's Landscape: An Encyclopedia of the World's Geographic Features

摘要

The publicity material for this encyclopedia, reviewed here in its e-book version, describes it as "unusual". This is an apt word to describe an encyclopedia that is indeed somewhat odd, comprising a unique assemblage of facts on geographic "features" from across the globe. These "features", again quoting the promotional blurb on the publisher's Web site, are "continents and oceans; individual mountains, islands, caves and rivers; and ecological entities such as wildlife refuges and national parks". The authors, both of whom are retired geography professors at American universities, are not specific as to the encyclopedia's purpose. In their brief Preface (pp. (ⅹⅹⅶ)-(ⅹⅹⅸ)), they state that the encyclopedia will fill "a common gap in physical geography education, the absence of details about specific examples of topics typically covered in the classroom". They also refer to its value in bringing disparate information together in one place, and state that it is intended for high school and undergraduate students, while "accessible to any interested, educated layperson". If the reviewer had to summaries the encyclopedia, then he would describe it as a tour of some of the earth's most significant physical features described from a primarily geological perspective with notes on their biological and environmental significance.