Introduction The Firefly World Factbook contains articles and maps for all the countries of the world, arranged in alphabetical order. A simple locator map shows the position of the country within its region, and the national flag is illustrated with an explanation of its origin. The smallest countries or islands, such as the islands of the Pacific Ocean, are grouped together within their region, and a shared map. Other small countries are found alongside their larger neighbors; for example, Bhutan and Nepal are included in the entry for India. The country maps are physically colored and are usually a column width in size, but a country's shape, area, and importance has sometimes merited a larger map. Where neighboring countries are in dispute, the maps show the de facto boundary between nations; that is, the boundary that exists in the real world rather than the boundary that a particular country may wish to be shown on a map. Each map contains a number of symbols indicating the major towns and cities, principal roads and railroads, with the main border crossings. Major international airports and the highest point in most countries are also shown. A scale bar indicates the distances between places, and the lines of latitude and longitude shows the country's global position. The spellings of the placenames on the maps match the forms that are used in everyday English; for example Rome (not Roma), Munich (not München), Moscow (not Moskva). Only the more common accented characters of the Western European languages have been used. At the end of the book is a short index. Each entry has a page number and the quadrant of the map where that name begins; in a clockwise direction, "a" indicates the top left quarter, "b" is top right, "c" is bottom right, and "d" is the bottom left quarter. Excerpted from Firefly World Factbook by Keith Lye All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
