Restless Empire: A Historical Atlas of Russia

At one point the reviews for this book got an "F" on Fakespot, a website dedicated to ferreting out fake reviews. I agree: this book has a ludicrous number of errors in its maps, so many of the five-star reviews must be fake.On page 167, "The Divided World, c. 1980" there are the following errors:—Moldova is independent and non-aligned (It remained a part of the USSR until 1991)—Eritrea is independent and non-aligned (It remained a part of Soviet-aligned Ethiopia until the early 1990s)—Upper Volta is labeled "Burkina Faso" (the name wouldn't change until 1984)—Zaïre is labeled "Democratic Republic of the Congo" (the name wouldn't change until 1997)—The disputed status of the Western Sahara is ignoredOn page 165, the line of the "Furthest German Advance 1942-43" comes nowhere near Stalingrad. On the other hand, it claims that Tbilisi (!) was occupied by German troops. (A more accurate line is shown on page 132.)Famously neutral Austria is colored as a member of NATO on pages 162, 158 and 149. On page 157, Austria is marked "neutral" but Liechtenstein (!) is now a member of NATO.On page 93, "The 1905 Revolution," the Romanian border is incorrect, and independent Bulgaria and Serbia are not shown.The Romanian-Bulgarian border is routinely wrong. Additionally, on page 157, Romania's main port of Constanza (sic) is misplaced. (The Bulgarian town of Balchik lies in the spot indicated.)On maps of 19th century Russia and up until the 1917 Revolution, the Grand Duchy of Finland is consistently, and erroneously, shown with Finland's post-WWII borders. Also, there's generally no indication of the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Congress Kingdom of Poland. (The border of the Congress Kingdom is accurately shown on page 85.)Currently (4/9/2019) the reviews for this book get a "B" from Fakespot. That's simply ludicrous. I'll be sending this book back and requesting a refund.(NOTE: You'll notice I made no mention of the text. The map errors are so offensively egregious that they alone make this a one-star book.)

This is a well-documented book filled with maps that show the growth and decline of the empire. It makes clear the historic, geographic, economic, and ethnic basis for distrust and unrest throughout the former Soviet Union. While there may be detail errors in some maps, the overall history is clearly described.

As far as history goes the atlas works fairly well,(if one allows exclusion of a "nuclear accidents" map).All the maps relative to cold war nuclear and star wars ideas are wasteful.All in all it works but the maps are a bit too simplified.

The best thing about this atlas from my point of view, is that I can visually locate the relationship between places both geographical and otherwise (towns, etc.) in a country which covers a fifth of the earth's landmass. The authors blessedly supplied maps of the parts of Russia relevant to the various historical topics. Now I know where the Urals are, the location of the great rivers, whether the various cities and towns are north, south, east or west of each other. Maps that attempt to show the whole country at once physically distort everything and always lack detail. I have some problems with Mr. Barnes' and his co-author's interpretation of events, but it hardly matters because the maps themselves are wonderful.

Engrossing, sharp portraits, compelling maps, a whirlwind invasion and education done with graphics and text that lets you feel you grasp mother Russia on the largest scale. Scholarly, but not plodding. A visual delight, and a truly "big picture." Perfect accompaniment to a detailed historical text.

This book has astounding images and artwork.

Best Russian maps I've seen! If those with clout would look at these maps, they would better understand why Putin and friends do what they do.

Another good historical atlas of Russia. For my interests, I would have preferred more pagesspent on Kievan period. But overall, very good.

Did not read it yet but wife liked it.

Perfect for a person who loves maps and long lines!