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The 1957 edition of The Times Atlas features a distinctive political map by John Ian Bartholomew that made an unconventional choice – centering the world on the Atlantic Ocean. Using the Transverse Oblique Homolographic Equal-Area projection, the map was designed to highlight the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
This projection choice served a clear purpose during the Cold War era. By focusing on the Atlantic region, the map emphasizes the strategic connections between North American and European NATO members. The color scheme reinforces this focus, dividing the world into Western Allies (purple), Communist states (orange), and Arab-Muslim lands (green).
The map’s detailed legend documents four pivotal military alliances. NATO, established in 1949, initially united twelve Western nations, later expanding to include Greece, Turkey, and West Germany. SEATO (1954) connected eight nations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The Baghdad Pact of 1955 joined Iraq, Turkey, the UK, Pakistan, and Iran. In response, the Warsaw Pact united eight Communist states under Soviet leadership.
For readers interested in modern cartography, several current world atlases are available on Amazon:
