Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I would give this a 4 or possibly 5 star review if I had purchased this item for what it is...a history book. A concise, lovely overview of all of world history (not an easy feat by any means) with lovely illustrations. But it's not an atlas. An atlas is a collection of maps. I expected foldout maps, and semi-transparent foldover "before" and "after" sheets to demonstrate political, religious, or trade developments visually. I expected the maps to at least cover the entire page, and have details and dates and ruins and important items marked in the map itself. I expected, for example, a detailed map of Spain at the time of Ferdinand and Isabella. Instead, maps barely cover half of the page (which itself is harldy larger than letter size) and most maps involve entire continents. There are portraits of rulers, and pictures of pottery. There are vast amounts of text describing the goings-on in each time period. In short, it's a high school history book, and if that's what I'd wanted, I would be very happy indeed. But, I love maps, and I wanted maps, detailed, beautiful maps, and this book does not deliver. Don't buy this book if you love maps.