Flags, the World Encyclopedia of: An illustrated guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns

Alfred Znamierowski seems to have cornered the market in informative flag books and this latest version of his encyclopedia is an excellent buy. I originally bought Brian Johnson Barker's 'Complete guide to flags of the world' and though it it's good and up to date I didn't think the thick paper and the perfect binding on the paperback edition would last too long with regular usage.For more or less the same money as the Johnson Barker book this 'World encyclopedia of flags' is vastly superior. The 256 pages are split into two sections, the first looks at flags (and pennants) historically, flag design, usage, government, military and naval flags et cetera. The second part details flags of the world and frequently breaks these down to flags of country regions. Each gets some detail about the origins and meanings of the flag's graphic elements.There are some interesting pages at the back with flags from international organisations, regional and local flags, peoples and causes like Arapaho indians, Irish-American, Sami people of northern Finland. A nice touch, I thought, were the three pages devoted to house flags like Getty Oil or Sheraton hotels and the very last pages before the Index a look at yacht flags.The six hundred flags in the book are shown on well designed pages and obviously all in colour. Some readers might find the caption type a bit small but other than that a remarkably comprehensive look at what's at the top of the flagpole, past and present.

Incredibly well illustrated and very well written. So much information for flag lovers to absorb. I'd recommend this

Very pleased, good clean condition, arrived quickly. Would use seller again. Book is large and heavy but full of interesting facts, flag pictures and a each chapter has a basic map of the the countries in that continent, useful to get your bearings.

It's well illustrated and handsome, but but but.....the text is slightly turgid and I'm not sure whether it's reaching to capture new enthusiasts or inform the merely curious. It's not a page-turner by any stretch but well worth having.

My 8 year old daughter loves this - her 'trusty old book'

MUCH BETTER THAN EXPECTED. NOT ONLY ALL THE FLAGS BUT THE HISTORY ECT. & SO MUCH MORE IMFORMATION. WOULD RECOMEND.

To begin with, this is not the book to buy if all you want is a guide to the current flags of each country around the world. You will find those flags here (accurate for 1999, when the book was published) but this book contains much more besides. There are many other guides to current flags that are both cheaper and more up to date. One thing you learn about flags is that a new national flag will replace an old one somewhere in the world at reasonably regular intervals, because of political changes. After all, flags are the ultimate political symbol. The 1990's saw many changes. The break-up of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia meant lots of new national flags, but South Africa and many other countries also changed their flags.Besides the flags of all nations, you can learn much from this book about the origin and history of flags and about many other flags in current use - regional, local, state and provincial flags, as well as maritime flags, protest flags (like the Basque separatist flag), organizational flags (like the Red Cross) and commercial flags.Of course, even in a book this size, it is not possible to cover everything comprehensively, but the author manages to make the development of flags seem interesting, explaining how various basic designs evolved and were copied by other countries.I have seen the development of the stars and stripes explained and illustrated in greater depth than it is here, but the description here is a good starting point for anybody not familiar with it.For anybody wanting to explore the history of flags, this is the best book available. Even if you buy this, you may still occasionally want to buy a book devoted to current flags to keep up to date with all the changes.

My son found this book to be very informative, and colourful. The quality is excelente as well! Thanks