Period, yes, but
fun too

Historical atlas
Prehistory
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Greece
Rome
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Industrial age
Victorian times
Depression
WWII
Cold war
Information age
Future
King's mistress

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Where is that town, that island? Why did it happen?

Some of the pleasure of reading about history goes away if you have no idea where on earth is the action. I go to a lot of houses where there is no atlas at all, even a modern one. I know a lot of people who never read a map. This is because they think that a map is made to look at. It is not the case: a map is made to answer questions, such as: why we battle in Irak, what territories Napoleon or Hitler had in mind, how the civil war was fought, where are the cities of the Bible, how come Russia was always interested in Afghanistan, what towns could a missile reach, where is the access to the sea. It is all explained by maps. Looking at historical maps with kids develops what they need most to be successful: an active brain. You will find books on the history of mapping here.

Here come a few atlas: pick what corresponds to your taste!
If you do not know where your taste will go, or if your budget is small. take one of these:
Hammond Historical World Atlas
Rand McNally Historical World Atlas
Historical Atlas of North America by Eric Homberger (see also DVD)

You may also pick an atlas for the subject you like best: all these books are very recent and thus up to date (an old historical atlas is not very reliable).
Historical Atlas of the Middle East by G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville and Lorraine Kessel
Historical Atlas of the Holy land by Karen Farrington
Atlas of ancient Mesopotamia by Norman Bancroft Hunt
Historical Atlas of Greece by Robert Morkot
Atlas of ancient Rome by Chris Scarre
Atlas of the medieval world by Andrew Jotischky, Caroline Hull, Simon Hall, and John Haywood
Atlas of the Renaissance by Robert Ritchie
Atlas of the British empire by Nigel Dalziel and John Mackenzie
Atlas of recent history: Europe Since 1815 by Colin McEvedy and David Woodroffe
Historical Atlas of the cold war by Jonathan Swift

Try the best of real bookstores if you dislike virtual ones:

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