Thorough updating gives students a clear understanding of the relevance of geography to understanding today’s world, with coverage of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, 2010 earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, the global economic crisis, and more.
New Photo Essays in every chapter teach key concepts by way of integrated maps, photos, and narrative. Photos are an essential part of the text, filled with rich geographical information, not merely "pretty pictures."
New student-oriented pedagogy including a running marginal glossary (the first in any geography textbook) and "Things to Remember" mini-reviews within each chapter to help students keep track of the key points.
A thematic emphasis shows how important issues are playing out in different regions of the world today, giving students hooks on which to hang their growing geographic knowledge. These thematic concepts are:
• Climate Change
• Democratization
• Development
• Food
• Gender
• Globalization
• Population
• Urbanization
• Water
The authors revisit these themes throughout the book where relevant, often in combination--for example, discussing gender and population together (more educated women usually means a lower birth rate), or urbanization, food, and water together (as urbanization puts stress on land and water resources).