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Kosmos World Almanac & Atlas 2025: A Global Overview
The 720-page "Kosmos World Almanac & Atlas 2025," published July 1, 2024, provides a global overview of current events, including detailed country profiles for 196 states and a world atlas, with coverage varying significantly based on the complexity of each subject.
- What are the most significant global events covered in the 2025 Kosmos World Almanac & Atlas, and what is their immediate impact?
- The 2025 Kosmos World Almanac & Atlas, a 720-page book published on July 1st, 2024, offers a global overview of current events. It covers topics such as natural disasters, artificial intelligence, global security, human rights, poverty/wealth, populism, and migration, followed by country profiles for 196 states and a world atlas.
- How does the almanac's structure, progressing from topical overviews to detailed country profiles and an atlas, aid in understanding global interconnectedness?
- The almanac's structure progresses from current events sections to detailed country profiles (196 states, from Afghanistan to Cyprus), then concludes with an extensive world atlas. The depth of country profiles varies significantly, ranging from three columns for Bhutan to eight pages for China, reflecting differing levels of complexity and available information.
- What are the limitations of using an almanac with a July 1st, 2024, cut-off date for analyzing the events of 2024, and what potential biases might this introduce?
- The almanac's diverse content, combining topical analyses with detailed country profiles and an atlas, positions it as a valuable resource for understanding global dynamics. Its July 1st, 2024, cut-off date, however, means that events from the latter half of 2024 are not included, limiting its scope for recent developments.
Cognitive Concepts
Framing Bias
The review frames the almanac very positively, emphasizing its comprehensiveness and readability. Phrases such as "voluminös" (voluminous), "vielfältigen Rückblick" (diverse retrospective), and "beeindruckende Fülle an Informationen" (impressive abundance of information) contribute to this positive framing. The comparison to "Ulysses" is also used to highlight its scope and depth, though this comparison might be considered somewhat subjective and unrelated to the almanac's actual content. The concluding sentence, "der Kosmos-Weltalmanach ist ein geopolitischer Kompass...", strongly reinforces the positive assessment.
Language Bias
The language used is largely positive and descriptive, but some words such as "beeindruckende Fülle" (impressive abundance) might be considered slightly loaded. However, this is typical of a book review aiming to persuade the reader, and does not constitute a significant language bias. The overall tone is enthusiastic and promotional, rather than neutral.
Bias by Omission
The review focuses heavily on the book's structure and content, offering a positive assessment. However, it omits any discussion of potential biases present within the book's content itself. For example, the selection of topics covered (natural disasters, AI, global security, etc.) might reflect a certain editorial bias, and the extent of coverage given to each country could also be examined for potential imbalances. The lack of critical analysis regarding the potential biases within the presented information constitutes a bias by omission.
Sustainable Development Goals
The almanac provides data on wealth and poverty across countries, facilitating a better understanding of global inequality and informing potential solutions. The inclusion of sections on human rights and political analysis also contributes to a more comprehensive picture of societal inequalities and their impact.