The World Encyclopedia of Flags

by Alfred Znamierowski

Recounts the origins and development of various types of flags and depicts national, regional, international, governmental, ethnic, and other types of banners

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, History, Geography, Politics, Art

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1999

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can you tell your Gonfanon from a Gonfalon?...polish up on your bends, triangles and piles! (ouch!) And that’s before we get onto the bread and butter of crosses, crescents and c - c - can’t think of another thing beginning with cr?...

Now there’s clearly no doubting the quality of the research or knowledge behind this project. But too often this seemed to be on a mission to take the fun out of flags. I remain totally baffled by the main flag section, I don’t understand the choices for the likes of Finland, Poland, Italy and Germany?...Why deviate from the generally accepted and recognised national flags?...What contrary point are you trying to prove by showing obscure version instead?...This habit is repeated elsewhere, particularly in the South America section.

Also other weird other inconsistencies lies in the space given to flag descriptions?...Its mind melting - the nation of New Zealand is given five lines, Canada only four and poor old Georgia and Tunisia are lucky to get three paltry lines each and Nigeria is limited to 17 words. Whereas the state flag of Putrajaya in Malaysia earns a full twenty line description?...Its flag madness folks!

I found the text before the main sections really tedious and hard-going. Compared to something like DK or Collins the layout seems a tad clunky, messy and fractured. The order of how the various nations are presented is just bizarre, but this is maybe down to the author’s Polish perspective?...Presentation is such a huge part of reference books like this, which are so reliant on colour and clarity, you don’t want to be putting unnecessary obstructions in the way, disrupting the visual flow, pulling the eye all over the place, which is what this does far too many times.

So this fails on a number of crucial fronts, but ultimately the biggest problem with this is by too often spending so much time on trying to do something a little new or different it loses sight of the fundamentals of the what is essential to these sorts of books, so it ends up failing on both fronts resulting in quite a mess.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not merely "everything you could ever want to know about flags, but indeed "way more than you could every want…;" but that's a good thing for we oddball followers of flags/stamps/coins/banknotes/etc.* Aside from the obligatory "flags of the world" section (which takes up nearly half the book, and includes all sorts of "I never knew that" detail on how each flag came to be), there are sections on the origins and history of flags; military flags/banners; flag "families;" etc. Interesting if not riveting stuff, best read…I dunno, one chapter or half a dozen countries every other month?

* I also learned that the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags is called vexillilogy. Who knew??
_____________________________________________

(Another under $3 find at McKay Used Books in Manassas)

[Henry]

Very nice. Kinda needs some more

[Daniel A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The World Encyclopedia of Flags: The Definitive Guide to International Flags, Banners, Standards and Ensigns, a reference work by premier vexillologist Alfred Znamierowski, is good for what it is, but it's perhaps a bit more exhaustive than it really needs to be. If one wants to know absolutely everything about flags of the world and throughout history, Znamierowski's volume is invaluable, but if you just want to know, say, why Libya's flag (at least as of the writing of The World Encyclopedia of Flags) is entirely green, then it's something of overkill.

All of which is not to say that on some level, The World Encyclopedia of Flags wasn't interesting. For example, it has a comprehensive section describing proper flag etiquette, which as a reference is always useful, and the second half of the book, which shows the flag of every sovereign nation—and then some—at the time of press, is fascinating and worth a bit of trivia. But on some level as well, that's where the book falls down on the job: Particularly in the section on flags of the Americas, Znamierowski appears to have lost interest, even more so on the flags of the fifty United States. A couple examples: Znamierowski neglects to explain the "1847" on Utah's flag (it's a reference to its acquisition by the United States subsequent to the Mexican-American War), and he misses an opportunity to explain further the reference on Wyoming's flag to "Equal Rights" (it was the first jurisdiction in the United States to grant suffrage to women). The section on Latin American flags is better, but not by much.

To some extent, books like this are review-proof: You look at them for a particular reason, and if they don't give you what you need, there's always the Internet. But if Znamierowski was going to call his book an "Encyclopedia", perhaps he should have been more thorough.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is both an exceptional reference AND a truly exceptional instructional book. Even better than the previous edition I have, great detail and highly educational (I was able to teach students using it) with bigger pictures and accurate updates of some of the flags. I have actually created and tried to perfect a two class period (or approx. 1 block period) PowerPoint-centered lesson based largely on the chapter about the families of flags. {For anyone interested in using the PowerPoint, please contact me.}

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was well written but kind of boring. Parts of it were really interesting though.

[Wonk Tonk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm starting to suspect my vexillological swag might be a sign of a neurodivergencey...

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very useful point of reference for the flags of the world with over 600 different flags ranging from old heraldic flags right through to modern national flags. As well as colour illustrations of the flags the book also goes (quite in depth) into the history, culture and symbolism of flags throughout the ages.

If flags interest you then you can't go wrong with this book!

[Tgaylord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colorful, interesting, and accurate, and great if you're interested in flags. I am interested in flags.

Like many reference books, superseded by the Internet, at least if you're a decent researcher and can judge the validity of a Website.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really encyclopedic, this lovely book is beautifully designed but unevenly written, frequently inaccurate, and often amusingly self-contradictory. Not taken too seriously, it's a terrific coffee table book for anyone who likes flags, or just bright colors.

[Justwinter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely, full-color book. Crack it out at every Olympics to see how many flags have changed since this book's revised publication in 2003.

[Daniel Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

i should get a job at the UN now