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Oxford's Ever-Changing 'Atlas of the World'

By John Ydstie
Published October 23, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

With the Polar Ice Cap melting and geopolitical boundaries still shifting, cartography is a painfully ephemeral undertaking. Undeterred, the mapmakers at the Oxford Press have produced a vivid new edition of the Atlas of the World.

At least from afar, the mapmakers' world is a beautiful place. Their 560-plus-page Atlas includes all the typical maps of continents, countries, states and cities. But it also includes expansive photographs from space, including richly detailed images of the world's great deserts, metropolitan areas and vast expanses of water.

In the age of the World Wide Web, atlas-making is a dying art, and the Oxford Atlas is the only print version still updated annually. Ben Keene, the editor of the newest edition, discusses mapmaking in the computer age with John Ydstie.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

John Ydstie
John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.
See stories by John Ydstie

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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