This shorter version of the highly successful "Contemporary World Regional Geography‎,‎ 3e" gives readers a fresh new approach that combines fundamental geographical elements‎,‎ internal regional diversity‎,‎ and contemporary issues‎.‎ This approach allows serious discussion of cultural and environmental issues‎,‎ as well as political and economic issues‎.‎ The main innovation in this completely rewritten text is in the ordering of the material covered‎.‎ While other texts cut photos‎,‎ illustrations‎,‎ and boxed material from their WRG books‎,‎ this essentials version is a completely rewritten text by the authors of "Contemporary World Regional Geography‎,‎ 3e"‎.‎ Each of the nine regional chapters opens with a one‎- or two‎-page map of the region‎,‎ short accounts of people or events to provide a personal flavor of the region‎,‎ an outline of the chapter contents‎,‎ and a short section placing the region in its wider global context‎.‎ Each regional chapter is consistently organized by three sections‎.‎ The first section summarizes the distinctive physical and human geographies of the region‎;‎ the second section explores the internal diversity of the region at subregional‎,‎ selected country‎,‎ and local levels‎.‎ The third section focuses on a selection of contemporary issues that are important to the people of each region and frequently have implications for the rest of the world‎.‎ Each regional chapter follows the same framework‎,‎ allowing students to easily make comparisons from one world region to the next‎.‎ Students are encouraged to consider what it means to be part of a global community and to develop their geographical understandings of world events‎.‎ The authors have created a text that is readable‎,‎ with a consistent structure within chapters‎,‎ containing superior maps and illustrations‎,‎ and finally ‎- to offer a concise and more affordable text‎.‎