Combining the expertise of one of the world's foremost gazetteer compilers with that of the Oxford dictionaries department, it is the most up-to-date world geographic dictionary available today. Fourteen regional geographical experts vetted the text to ensure its authority and accuracy and both text and maps reflect the latest political realities, including the new nations of Slovakia, Erittea, and the states of the former USSR and Yugoslavia. The Oxford Dictionary of the World covers: countries (profiles of every nation; dependency, and area of special sovereignty in the world); regions; peoples, languages, and religions: cities and major towns; natural features (such as rivers and mountains); famous buildings, sites, and monuments (the Taj Mahal, Hyde Park, the Empire State Building); and ancient sites (Troy, Masada, Stonehenge).

With 15,000 entries, a sixteen-page full-color world map section, and thirty appendices of world geographical and statistical information, The Oxford Dictionary of the World is an indispensable reference, and a fascinating browse for the armchair traveler.