World Geography
Individual Textbook Overview Pages
The following are comments on individual textbooks, including the overall
ranking in each of the categories we evaluated.
Each evaluation sheet includes the following general information about
each text:
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Text Title
-
Text Publisher
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Author and date of publication
Statistical information and rankings of each text include:
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Total number of points on our weighted point
scale
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Total number of words
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Number of index citations
-
Number of visuals
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Rank in category which denotes the standing of each text within a given
category and is used throughout the study as a reference number on graphs,
charts etc.
-
Overall rank indicates a text's standing among all of the books included
in this survey.
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Percentile score viz-a-viz the best text in the category
-
Percentile score viz-a-viz the best text in the survey (the highest ranking
text each category and the overall best text each represent 100% so each
text would be a percentage of that total).
Under comments we noted the outstanding points as well as deficiencies.
The comments usually help explain the points or rating of the text. Unique
features or items of special interest were also included, if any.
If we found biases, errors, or inconsistencies, we listed them as well.
| Text Title: |
Global Geography |
| Text Publisher: |
Amsco |
| Text Author/Year: |
Finkelstein, Flanagan, Luger, 1994 |
| Points: |
1324 |
| Words: |
3280 |
| Index Citations: |
15 |
| Visuals: |
7 |
| Rank in Category: |
1 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
2 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
100 |
| Percentile Overall: |
76 |
Comments:
This text is superior to all others except the
top World Culture Text because of its interesting and comprehensive
coverage of Korea. The story of the North Korean, In Su, and her South
Korean cousin, Bu Shik, makes for very interesting reading and helps the
student understand the social, economic, and political climate of modern
North and South Korea. Although this is a geography text, the authors do
not restrict themselves to describing mere geographic details of the peninsula.
They personalize the Korean section and include topics like customs, food,
and history in order to help the reader have a much deeper understanding
of Korea. This is truly an exceptional text well deserving of the 2nd highest
rating in our survey.
Errors or Inconsistencies:
Page: 105, 107 Standardization in romanizing Korean words such as
kimchi (kimch'i) and ddog (ttok) would help enhance an already
brilliant text. Besides, when a student reads that Koreans eat ddog,
they will naturally assume this means a four legged animal, not rice cake.
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| Text Title: |
World Geography Today |
| Text Publisher: |
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston |
| Text Author/Year: |
Sager, Helgren and Isrel, 1995 |
| Points: |
527 |
| Words: |
1882 |
| Index Citations: |
20 |
| Visuals: |
13 |
| Rank in Category: |
2 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
10 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
43.2 |
| Percentile Overall: |
32.8 |
Comments:
This was the second best text in our WG rankings, but only had 32.8 percent
of the content that the number one text had.
Korea shares a chapter with Japan and is described as a dynamic industrialized
nation that has become a major world competitor.
Errors or Inconsistencies:
A few minor problems include an error in the date Japan annexed Korea (p.
401). It was 1910, not 1895. The same page implies that Korean and Chinese
are related languages. Although Korean uses Chinese characters, they are
members of different language families.
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| Text Title: |
World Geography: People in Time and Place |
| Text Publisher: |
Silver Burdett Ginn |
| Text Author/Year: |
Greenow, Ainsley, Elbow, 1993 |
| Points: |
521 |
| Words: |
1537 |
| Index Citations: |
21 |
| Visuals: |
9 |
| Rank in Category: |
3 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
15 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
39.4 |
| Percentile Overall: |
29.9 |
Comments:
This text is well written for the most part and contains an accurate portrayal
of past and present day Korea. Geographic facts are presented in a clear
and interesting manner and are related very well to the current economic
and political situation on the peninsula. Both North and South Korea are
given equal coverage.
One negative point is the way the author describes Korea's situation
under Japanese occupation on page 412. One paragraph paints a picture of
the benevolent Japanese teaching the Koreans modern methods of industry,
farming, and fishing, only to find the Koreans are ungrateful because they
are a Japanese colony. The Koreans actually suffered great deprivations
because Japan drained many goods and services from Korea for their own
war effort. Overall this is generally a good text.
Errors or Inconsistencies:
Page: 401 and 701 P'yongyang, the capital of North Korea, is misspelled
without the diacritics as P'yongyang in the text and on the political map
of Eurasia. The diacritic appears on the rest of the maps in the book.
Page: 412 The text claims that Japan took Korea as a colony in
1895. This is wrong; Korea became a colony of Japan on August 22, 1910.
Page: 412 North and South Korea agreed on a division near the
38th parallel but not at the 38th parallel at the conclusion of the war.
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| Text Title: |
World Geography |
| Text Publisher: |
Prentice Hall |
| Text Author/Year: |
Thomas J. Baerwald and Celeste Fraser, 1993 |
| Points: |
405 |
| Words: |
1950 |
| Index Citations: |
17 |
| Visuals: |
17 |
| Rank in Category: |
4 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
24 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
30.6 |
| Percentile Overall: |
23.2 |
Comments:
This text ranked fourth but contained longer and more complete sentences
than did the second and third texts in this category. As for total words
and numbers of visuals, this text was also higher than the texts ranked
second and third.
Coverage was extensive and accurate. There was a chapter devoted to
"Japan and the Koreas". A section on wealthy Koreans was bold and interesting.
It may lead some students to think the numbers of truly wealthy is higher
than it really is, but nonetheless, it was a useful section.
An excellent text.
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| Text Title: |
To See a World |
| Text Publisher: |
Houghton Mifflin |
| Text Author/Year: |
Armento et al., 1994 |
| Points: |
381 |
| Words: |
1010 |
| Index Citations: |
18 |
| Visuals: |
25 |
| Rank in Category: |
5 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
26 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
28.8 |
| Percentile Overall: |
21.9 |
Comments:
This is a very good text and well deserves its ranking at number 5. It
is better in content and visuals, in fact, than the two that are ranked
above it. A little less coverage is the reason for the lower points. The
visuals are really the high point of this text. Not only are there a large
number of them, but the exceptional choice of visuals help to give an accurate
picture of Korean life.
Korea is given its own section in the text and handles history, as well
as contemporary Korea in a clear and concise way. On page 378 the text
even describes the discrimination suffered by the Korean citizens living
in Japan. This is a very good text overall.
Errors or Inconsistencies:
Page: 653 and 683, There are some problems with the spelling of
Korean words as well as maintaining consistency with those that are already
presented. On page 653 "Choson" is spelled without the diacritic and P'yongyang,
the capital of North of Korea, is spelled in some places as P'yongang and
in others as Pyongang. Page: 654 The text claims that Korea was
invaded by Japan in 1910 and subsequently became a colony of Japan. There
was never a formal invasion of troops as implied in this sentence, just
a transfer of power.
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| Text Title: |
World Geography: The Earth and Its People (Annotated ) |
| Text Publisher: |
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Text Author/Year: |
Bacon, 1989 |
| Points: |
306 |
| Words: |
950 |
| Index Citations: |
10 |
| Visuals: |
9 |
| Rank in Category: |
6 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
36 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
23.1 |
| Percentile Overall: |
17.6 |
Comments:
This text ranked sixth on our scale, but was lower on total words (tied
for fourth), index (ninth), and visuals (seventh). There was nothing particularly
bad or noteworthy about this text. Its content was rather mediocre.
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| Text Title: |
Heath World Geography |
| Text Publisher: |
D. C. Heath |
| Text Author/Year: |
Charles F. Gritzner, 1989 |
| Points: |
254 |
| Words: |
750 |
| Index Citations: |
9 |
| Visuals: |
5 |
| Rank in Category: |
7 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
44 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
19.2 |
| Percentile Overall: |
14.6 |
Comments:
This text ranked seventh out of twelve on our weighted-point scale, but
was lower in other categories.
This text, though published in 1989, had a tone that was unexpectedly
out-of-date. "Elections are scheduled for 1987 (p, 362)." "Almost every
South Korean family has a radio, and many have television sets (p. 369)."
Per capita GNP was $2180 about ten years ago. Korea grows "almost enough
to feed its people" makes it sound like people are starving. The focus
on low wages is out of out of touch with contemporary Korea (p. 369).
The tone which was strongly critical of North Korea, will be appreciated
by cold warriors.
Most Koreans would not appreciate Korea being called "one of the four
new Japans."
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| Text Title: |
World Geography |
| Text Publisher: |
Glencoe |
| Text Author/Year: |
Richard G. Boehm and James L. Swanson, 1995 |
| Points: |
250 |
| Words: |
1300 |
| Index Citations: |
23 |
| Visuals: |
11 |
| Rank in Category: |
8 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
46 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
18 |
| Percentile Overall: |
13.7 |
Comments:
This text ranked eighth of twelve texts with only 13.7 percent as much
material as the top-ranked text. This text was third, hoÿ on page
461 where there is a photograph of a Korean family dressed in traditional
hanbok, playing yut, but the caption states it is a Japanese
family.
Several texts mention that Koreans developed movable metal type, but
here they call it copper. It was actually a copper alloy, but this degree
of detail is admirable and unique.
The population of Seoul was seven million (p. 483) over ten years ago.
A 1993 text ought to be more up-to-date.
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| Text Title: |
World Geography |
| Text Publisher: |
McGraw Hill |
| Text Author/Year: |
Gary Manson |
| Points: |
231 |
| Words: |
950 |
| Index Citations: |
5 |
| Visuals: |
11 |
| Rank in Category: |
9 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
47 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
17.4 |
| Percentile Overall: |
13.3 |
Comments:
This text was ninth out of twelve in this category. It had only 13.3% of
the data of the top-ranked text. It had ten index citations to Korean subjects,
but the index had no subtopics listed and therefore was only given half
as much credit.
age 247 uses the word "control" to describe Koreans relations with both
China (17th -19th century) and Japan. The reality of China's tributary
system and Japan's imperialism are about as strikingly different as can
be, but this text lumps them together.
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| Text Title: |
World Geography: People and Places |
| Text Publisher: |
Merril |
| Text Author/Year: |
David G. Armstrong and Francis P. Hunkins, 1989 |
| Points: |
209.5 |
| Words: |
600 |
| Index Citations: |
14 |
| Visuals: |
11 |
| Rank in Category: |
10 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
52 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
15.9 |
| Percentile Overall: |
12.1 |
Comments:
This text ranked 10th out of twelve texts; and contained 12.1 percent as
much material as the top-ranked text.
The most remarkable statement in this text (p. 572) was a marginal note
that pointed out the Korean preference of the term "East Sea" rather than
"Sea of Japan."
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| Text Title: |
World Geography |
| Text Publisher: |
Scholastic |
| Text Author/Year: |
Robert A. Harper, Joseph R. Stoltman, 1989 |
| Points: |
45 |
| Words: |
525 |
| Index Citations: |
19 |
| Visuals: |
5 |
| Rank in Category: |
11 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
79 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
3.4 |
| Percentile Overall: |
2.6 |
Comments:
This text has limited information on Korea. Korea is generally mentioned
only as it relates to another subject or when grouped with other Asian
nations thus giving it a low ranking.
Errors or Inconsistencies:
Page: 485 A caption under a picture claims that China had a strong
cultural influence on Korea which borrowed Chinese writing and asks the
reader to examine the writing on the buildings in the picture. The only
problem is that with the exception of three Chinese characters, which are
obscured by trees in the picture, all of the writing on the signs are in
han'gul which is an indigenous writing system created by the Korean
king Sejong.
Page: 486 The text claims that Korea was a part of the Chinese
empire. Korea sent tributary missions to China but maintained autonomous
rule until its annexation by the Japanese in 1910.
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| Text Title: |
World Geography and You |
| Text Publisher: |
Steck-Vaughn |
| Text Author/Year: |
Vivian Bernstien, 1993 |
| Points: |
12.5 |
| Words: |
120 |
| Index Citations: |
9 |
| Visuals: |
1 |
| Rank in Category: |
12 out of 12 |
| Overall Rank: |
82 out of 83 |
| Percentile (World Geo.): |
.94 |
| Percentile Overall: |
.72 |
Comments:
This is the worst geography text and the second worst text overall in our
survey. This same publisher published WH27 which didn't fare much better.
It is simply a poor text in the way it handles Korea.
Errors or Inconsistencies:
Page: 133 This page contains an unrealistic and unfounded graph
which attempts to show, in simplified terms, the earnings of the Japanese,
Australian, Taiwanese, North Korean, and Chinese people. The graph shows
North Koreans making at least 5 times as much as the Chinese and fails
to assign a time value to the earned income.
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