Historically and culturally, France is one of the most significant nations of Western Europe. The country is favored by nature, with a variety of landforms, climates, and resources as well as with rich and varied agricultural lands. Strategically, it is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country has played a pivotal economic, political, and cultural role in the history of its continent and of the world. It has particularly close historical and philosophical ties with the United States. Describes the history, geography, government, economy, people, and culture of France.

Ethiopia is a land of many contrasts. Its landscape varies from barren desert to the lush green of the Ethiopian Plateau. Much of Ethiopia receives ample rainfall, although some regions must rely on seasonal rainfall. Full-color photographs. Facts at a glance. History at a glance. Full-color maps. Bibliography. Further reading.

Land of the pure — Pakistan — From the mouth of the lion to the sea of Sinbad — The land and waters of Pakistan — Pakistan through time — The peoples of Pakistan — A Muslim nation — The Islamic Republic of Pakistan — Wheat, cement, opium and guns : the many-faceted economy of Pakistan — Living in Pakistan today : a study in folk heroes — Pakistan looks ahead.

recariously perched on the westernmost coast of mainland Europe lies the nation of Portugal—a country on the move. This small country’s location near the Mediterranean Sea and facing the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean has served it well.

On Christmas Day of 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), an area covering all of northern Asia and half of Europe and a principal adversary of the United States and its allies, broke apart and collapsed. The long and bitter cold war, a defining struggle in world affairs for a half-century, simply ended. Now, years later, the United States and its allies are again spending tremendous military, economic, and political resources in an attempt to achieve peace—this time in southern and southwestern Asia. U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, with Palestine and Israel, with Turkey and Iran, and with Pakistan and India has achieved a level that some now call a "new defining struggle in world affairs.” In a pocket of territory located between these two great centers of strategic importance lies a country that stands apart from both of them. That country is Uzbekistan.

This book, part of the "Modern World Nations" series. Chapters cover geography, history, people and culture, government and politics, the economy, and possibilities for the future. The text is dense and presented in very long sentences and paragraphs, so even though the book is small and might appeal to younger readers, the narrative will probably work best for the older end of the age range. The book also includes several elements to help students doing research, including a list of pertinent facts, history highlights, a bibliography, suggestions for further reading and research, and a detailed index.

Russia is the world's largest country. Nearly twice the size of the United States, it stretches across 11 time zones, from west to east. Russia's unique landscape is made up of several vegetation zones, from forests to deserts. Beginning in the north, frigid arctic deserts and tundra gradually give way to the vast taiga. These coniferous forests, with the deciduous, or leaf-bearing, forest, cover approximately half of Russia. South of the forest is the drier region of wooded and grassland steppes. This zone is known for its rich black soil, or chernozem, which makes the steppe Russia's primary source of grain. Semidesert, desert and subtropical forests round out Russia's geographical regions, to the south. Russia's population is as diverse as its geography. Although Russians make up nearly 80 percent of the population, more than 100 ethnic groups make this vast land their home, the largest groups being the Tatars and Ukrainians.

Taiwan, an island lying less than 100 miles (165 kilometers) off the east coast of the People’s Republic of China, is first noted in Western records has having been ”discovered” by the Portuguese in 1590.  They named the tobacco-leaf-shaped island ”Ilha Formosa,” or ”Beautiful Island.” The name that is more common today is Taiwan, thought to mean ”terraced bay,” for the active terrace building that has taken place during the past three centuries on the western flanks of the mountains that slope westward toward the Taiwan Strait.

Full-color photographs. Facts at a glance. History at a glance. Full-color maps. Bibliography. Further reading.

Vietnam! Even the country’s name invokes strong and varied emotional reactions from many people. For some, it represents a beloved and lost homeland. For others, it is a place where loved ones were lost in a war that some believed in and others did not. For still others, it is a land finally free from colonial powers and outside influences. Vietnam’s place was once center stage in the global Cold War. Its name and history still sharply divide people in the United States, as shown by the 2004 presidential election. How can this slender S-shaped sliver of a country play such an important role in the lives of so many? This is one of many questions that will be answered in this exploration of the people, places, past, and culture of Vietnam.

Information-packed volumes provide comprehensive overviews of each nation's people, geography, history, government, economy, and culture- Abundant full-color illustrations guide the reader on a voyage of discovery- Maps reflect current political boundaries.

As your adventure in Turkey begins, it will be to your advantage to prepare for the exciting journey.  Knowing what to look for, how it got there, and why it is important makes travel much more interesting! Geographers always prepare for their travels to study new lands and their peoples—and each of us becomes a geographer the moment we begin to read about places.

New Zealand owes its existence to undersea mountain building and is known for its active volcanoes and geothermal features. It is a land of fascinating cultures, combining the enduring history of the indigenous Maori with the descendents of the English settlers. It also has unique fauna and flora.

Grade 8-10-As in most country studies, this book includes chapters on physical and cultural geography, as well as on the history, government, and economy. A concluding chapter speculates on the future of Georgia. The authors are geographers and their perspective does distinguish this title from others on the subject. They open with a thoughtful discussion of whether Georgia is in Asia or Europe, underline the complexities of its culture, and explain the artificiality of world divisions. However, while some geographic terms are explained, others, such as "micro-scale zones" and "trending barrier," are not. The book's main problem, however, is that it is poorly written and includes typographical errors. Students should not have to read that caves "have been use [sic] to store wine." There are only two maps, neither of which indicates the location of the autonomous regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia described in the book, nor do they show the seaport of Supsa, important because it is at the end of the new oil pipeline. Another anomaly is that a recipe begins in the metric system and then switches to cups and tablespoons. Michael Spilling's Georgia (Benchmark, 1997), while not error-free, is better written, more informative, and has more and much-sharper-focused, full-color photos.