lettowvorbeck Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Do any of you guys who have extensive WW1 libraries care to share what you think is the best atlas out there? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestre Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I use "West Point Atlas for the Great War: Strategies and Tactics Of The First World War" (West Point Military History) [spiral-bound] Thomas E. Griess (Editor) Its okay, mostly strategic level maps, I too have been looking for a better one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 "okay" is how I would describe that one, too! WW1 battle and campaign books in general (at least the ones I've come across) have exceptionally weak maps in comparison to other conflicts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I agree with you on the weakness of many maps, not only in general but also when reading books on specific battles or campaigns. One exception is the British Official History, which does include many very good and useful maps, but as it only focuses on the British and Imperial forces, plus the actions of their allies only when appropriate, maybe there are other Official Histories that would also help fill that niche? An Atlas that is also a good read, due to the accompanying text, is Arthur Banks' A Military Atlas of the First World War. I found Routledge's WWI atlas a bit disappointing. Full of useful information so it wasn't all a waste, but the maps themselves were frequently lacking in detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 I read in the notes of some book that the official Russian history of WW1 (written by some brave historian(s) in the early to mid 1920s I think) has a wonderful set of eastern front maps, but I haven't seen them reproduced anywhere. The WW1 eastern front is really neglected in atlases in general. I was wondering about Banks. I've never seen it. Maybe I'll try to get a copy through interlibrary loan. I didn't much care for Routledge's either. Bill, do you have any thoughts about "The Historical Atlas of World War One" by Livesey. That's another one I came across in my search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 No, I've not seen that one, but the description from google books suggests that it has potential: "The core of the Atlas is a collection of double-page spreads, each concentrating on a specific campaign or battle. Each spread includes a specially commissioned four-color main map with annotated overlays." If you do come across it, or if anyone else is familiar with it, then I'd be interested to hear how good it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosseau Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 "The West Point Atlas of War -- World War I" by B.G. Vince Esposito. I got it for $10 new and Barnes and Noble I think, maybe two years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestre Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 "The West Point Atlas of War -- World War I" by B.G. Vince Esposito. I got it for $10 new and Barnes and Noble I think, maybe two years ago. I believe this atlas is the same as "West Point Atlas for the Great War: Strategies and Tactics Of The First World War" (West Point Military History) [spiral-bound] Thomas E. Griess (Editor) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegaman1 Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Hi lettowvorbeck! I have all of the atlases listed above (I collect them), and a few more. The best is "The Historical Atlas of World War I" by Anthony Livesey, with LOTS of great detail and clear, concise maps. "The West Point Atlas of World War I" is pretty good, although it doesn't come with any accompanying text, so it's more for reference. Authur Banks' "Military Atlas of the First World War" is very good, as is Martin Gilbert's "Atlas of World War I." Both are a bit rough as far as the maps are concerned, but have tons of interesting details (like maps of the European rail networks, postwar plans of both the Germans and the Entente, etc.). I also have the Palgrave atlas, but the maps are pretty bad and I don't recommend that one. I'm not at home right now (at work, shhh!), but I'll look through my stuff and see if I missed anything. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 Thanks for the recommendation. I am going to look into getting a copy of Livesey. Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosseau Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 The Esposito book I had was perfect bound, so thought it might be different. I wonder how much Livesay will set us back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegaman1 Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 The Livesey book is currently out of print. However, there are good prices for used copies on Amazon and ebay (I think ebay is where I picked my copy up). Like I said, probably the best WW1 atlas out there. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegaman1 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I just remembered another atlas with lots of good WW1 maps. "The Atlas of Warfare" by Richard Natkiel has a whole chapter devoted to the First World War with lots of clear, concise maps of most of the war's action. While the book is out of print, I found it at reasonable prices on ebay and Amazon. Definitely recommended. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 I have a copy of Livesey obtained through interlibrary loan. The multicolor maps are really nice in the way they depict both terrain features and troop positions and movements. They do share a common problem with atlases in that many of the maps are too visually busy because they attempt to show multiple campaigns and countermoves on a single sheet to save space. So many have arrows of all colors pointing in all different directions. I'll take a look at Banks next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 What theaters does it cover, i.e. is it just Europe or does it give good information on Africa, the Middle East, China even? I'd also be interested to know the level of unit information, because from a scenario designer's point of view, so many maps are lacking in that sort of important information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Bill, Like all English language atlases the emphasis is on the West, but the east, balkans, caucasus, and middle east are also covered (with the eastern front given at least comparable treatment to the west in terms of large campaign maps). Serbia, E. Africa, Togoland, and Cameroon have one map. For the Middle East there is one map each for Suez and Mesopotamia, and more covering the breakout from Baghdad, the Gaza-Jersalem Campaign, and Megiddo in 1918. For the Far East, there is a Tsingtao map. I think it's worth owning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Ok thanks, it's good to know. I'll go hunting for a copy now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Forgot to answer the unit scale question. The maps are at division and corps levels, and these are named/numbered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Thanks, knowing that has finalized my decision to order a copy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegaman1 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Bill, it is well worth purchasing, I think you'll be very happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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