The World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography, 7th Edition
By Jan Nijman, Peter Muller, and Harm de Blij
The World Today, 7th Edition is the number one seller in the brief world regional geography course. This new edition continues to bring readers geographic perspectives on a fast-changing world through the regional view. Restructured chapters provide a macro review of important physical, cultural, and political characteristics, drawing upon up-to-date significant world events and crises.
WileyPLUS Learning Space for The World Today includes multi-layer, interactive Geographic Information Analysis (GIA) maps to help students recognize that geography is something you “do” rather than a large encyclopedia of knowledge.
Schedule a Demo Sign Up for a Test Drive Adopt WileyPLUSWant to learn more about WileyPLUS? Click Here
Engage students with GIS-based spatial analyses.
Found in WileyPLUS Learning Space, new GIA maps and activities, powered by Esri and ArcGIS, allow students to immediately apply the regional context they have learned and provide the opportunity for new concepts and ideas to take shape interactively rather than simply memorizing the information. These are specifically designed to heighten geographical knowledge and increase spatial awareness.
Map quizzes set students up for success.
Map quizzes allow students to practice identifying cities, countries, and physical features within all realms covered in the text. Students interact with clickable maps and attempt to label required features and locations.
Real-life examples bring the material to life.
From the Field Notes have been updated with many new additions, offering valuable insights from the authors on their fieldwork as well as views from other geographers. Continuing the legacy of Harm de Blij’s fieldwork, lead author Jan Nijman has traveled extensively, bringing his photos from the field and his geographic perceptions to this feature.
- Animations: These include voiceover instruction, feature illustrations from the text and focus on key chapter concepts.
- Adaptive Practice: This integrated, adaptive practice helps students build their proficiency on topics and use their study time most effectively.
- New Contributors: Three highly qualified and exceptional new contributors bring youth, gender perspective, and technology expertise to the text. Michael Shin (UCLA), a specialist in GIS and all aspects of geography technology, authored the new interactive GIA modules. Richard Grant, an Africanist from the Univ. of Miami, has shared his expertise in the Africa chapter with a wealth of fieldwork and experience in the region. You-Tien Hsing, Pamela P. Fong and Family Distinguished Chair in Chinese Studies at UC Berkeley, has contributed to the East Asia regional chapter.
- Restructured Chapters: Replacing the a/b structure of the prior editions, the new edition includes more concise and streamlined coverage of each region within one chapter. Also, the Regional chapters now begin with North America.
Features Include
JAN NIJMAN is the founding director of the Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State University (GSU), where he holds the position of Distinguished University Professor, Geosciences. A native of the Netherlands, Nijman received his M.A. degree in geography from the University of Amsterdam and his Ph.D. in geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before joining GSU, he spearheaded urban research and teaching programs at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Miami. He presently holds a secondary appointment as Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Amsterdam.
Nijman is the author of five books and more than 100 other publications in a wide range of international journals such as IJURR, Annals of the AAG, Cities, Regional Studies, and Urban Geography. His primary research interests are in urban theory, urban and regional development, and global comparative urban studies, with regional expertise and extensive fieldwork experience in North America, West Europe, and South Asia.
His work has been funded by various agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Association of American Geographers, National Geographic Society, Guggenheim Foundation, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Dutch National Science Foundation. Current research projects focus on suburbanization and metropolitan transformations in the United States and Canada, the historical origins and future prospects of Amsterdam’s 400-year old designed Canal District, and the relationship between urbanization and development in India.
Nijman’s professional honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Nystrom Award for best doctoral dissertation in Geography in the United States, the University Teaching Award at the University of Miami, and the J.B. Jackson book award from the Association of American Geographers. He has long been affiliated with the National Geographic Society, first as a member of the Committee for Research & Exploration (2002-2011) and then as chair of National Geographic’s Global Exploration Fund in Europe since 2011.
PETER O. MULLER was born in England and grew up in New York City. He received his B.A. from City College of New York and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Rutgers University. After 14 years on the faculties of Villanova and Temple Universities, in 1980, he moved from the Philadelphia area to become professor (and department chair for the next 20 years) of geography and regional studies at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He became Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 2016, a year that also marked the 40th anniversary of his still unfolding career as a Wiley author.
Muller has published widely in the fields of urban and economic geography, specializing in suburbanization processes and the changing structure of the American metropolis. He is honorary editor of the journal Urban Geography, on which he served as co-editor from 2003 to 2012. He also served jointly as book review editor for both journals of the American Association of Geographers from 2000 to 2012. He has co-authored every edition of Regions since 1985 as well as multiple editions of other textbooks in world regional, physical, economic, and urban geography. He also served as academic production consultant for the original Annenberg/Corporation of Public Broadcasting video series, The Power of Place, which focuses on world regional geography.
HARM DE BLIJ received his early schooling in Europe, his college education in Africa, and his higher degrees in the United States (Ph.D. Northwestern, 1959). He published more than 30 books and over 100 articles, and received five honorary degrees. Several of his books were translated into foreign languages.
Dr. de Blij held the position of John A. Hannah Professor of Geography at Michigan State University. He also held the George Landegger Chair at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, the John Deaver Drinko Chair of Geography at Marshall University, and faculty positions at the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Miami. He served as the Geography Editor on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” program for seven years and later served as Geography Analyst for NBC News. He was for more than 20 years a member of the National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration and was the founding editor of its scholarly journal, National Geographic Research. In recognition of his service, he became an honorary lifetime member of the Society.
Professor de Blij was a renaissance man. He was a soccer fan, an avid wine collector, an amateur violinist, and an inveterate traveler.
1. The North American Realm
2. The Middle American Realm
3. The South American Realm
4. The European Realm
5. The Russia/Central Asia Realm
6. The North African/Southwest Asian Realm
7. The Subsaharan African Realm
8. The South Asian Realm
9. The East Asian Realm
10. The Southeast Asian Realm
11. The Austral Realm
12. Pacific Realm and Polar Futures