Atlas, Schmatlas: A Superior Atlas of the World

by Craig Robinson

Atlas, Schmatlas is an absolutely silly, yet decidedly informative and comprehensive atlas of the world. Written and illustrated by Craig Robinson—who got a “D” on his “O” level geography exams—Schmatlas has over 250 entries covering the globe, and is filled with colorful maps, graphs, illustrations of notable figures and famous residents, and even a quiz to test your knowledge of the nations of West Africa. Chock full of questionable historical and geographical information, Schmatlas will nevertheless teach you quite a bit about the world around you. You’ll learn Chad is the place you should go if you want to take photographs of sand. Central America is the region of the world where your dreams might be realized—if you want a career as a CIA-backed military dictator. And Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, the twelve little volcanic islands located between Africa and Brazil, are where the Brazilians dump all that waxed-off pubic hair. Isn’t

Genres: Humor, Reference, Nonfiction

123 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Craig Robinson is a brilliant artist. His book Flip Flop Flyball is one of my favorites, and includes an excellent mix of infographics, some of which are complex, others simple, and some humorous.

Published a few years earlier, Atlas Schmatlas has excellent maps and illustrations, again with a mix of simplicity and complexity. The humor helps one to examine this atlas longer than you would your average atlas, as they mostly are, well, boring.

Unfortunately Schmatlas feels like a missed opportunity. Every country (credit for being through) has a few paragraphs of description that are works of fiction, and most miss the humorous target they interned to hit. Replacing this text with non-fiction descriptions of the countries and toning down a few of the sexual images would’ve resulted in a truly superior atlas fit for all ages. (Most people won’t have issues with the images, I didn’t personally, but I would have enjoyed sharing the book with younger relatives had they been a bit tamer.)

Unfortunately, as is, Atlas Schmatlas includes weak humor that only adults will understand (if it’s your style) and a few images that ruin the brilliant ones for kids, and as such misses the mark for this reader.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully entertaining book. Fairly silly, but quite clearly a work of love. And where else are you going to see images of Pharoah's and Cod together?

Check out more about the book here: Flip Flop Flyin

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining version of the countries of our world with crappy but charming computerised illustartion. Filled with ridiculous and made up facts for each country.

For example, did you know that Kyrgyzstan is the world's leading exporter of typos.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uses every type of humor out there to make for a compelling, fun and informative read.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly geography book. More fun for geographers than anyone else.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

knockoff of The Onion's look at the world with a few twists

[Dayna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wasn't very funny. Sold it to a used bookstore.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, fun atlas! I love the author's snarky sense of humor, his tangents and most of all, his
Mario-style pixeled artwork!

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so disappointed in this book! I though it was going to be funny, sarcastic, something. . . it just kinda flopped. like this review.

[Julybaby1988]

Crazy