It is a common notion that utopias seem to gain particular relevance in a context of crisis. This may explain why, as in May 1968, social movements throughout Europe are resorting to the concept of utopia in order to respond to the current economic crisis. What seems to be at stake, now, is a changeover to a new paradigm. However, for the common citizen, the word utopia is still resonant with the vain hopes of May 1968 or with the failure of the communist projects. This is why the recent publication of a special issue of the French daily evening newspaper Le Monde is so timely.Founded in 1944 and reporting a circulation of over 320,000 per issue, forty thousand of which are sold abroad, Le Monde has been investing in the publication of special issues with regard to different topics: eminent authors in the collection “Une oeuvre, une vie” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Marguerite Duras, Simone de Beauvoir), the history of religion in the collection “Le Monde des Religions” (Le message du Bouddha, Le message de Jésus), and other controversial issues in the collection “États-Unis” (L'Amérique d'Obama—La Décennie Ben Laden). The “Atlas” collection is one of the most compelling publications offered by Le Monde, as it presents the reader with a schematic representation of the history of different topics under the form of geopolitical maps (L'Atlas des Civilisations, L'Atlas des Minorités, L'Atlas des Religions, L'Atlas des Mondialisations, L'Atlas des Migrations) carefully edited and benefiting from the contribution of mainly French writers, geographers, historians, philosophers, linguists, and specialists in a variety of subjects, ranging from ecology to law.L'Atlas des Utopies was published in October 2012 and promises to offer the reader two hundred maps, as well as information on twenty-five centuries of history. Ambitious though this promise may seem, it has not been made in vain: divided into five sections, the publication covers the topics pertinent to the field of utopian studies, starting with a conceptual discussion (section 1) and with a reflection on the origins of utopia (section 2) and moving then to the consideration of utopias that have been realized and/or are been realized now (section 3) and to very concrete examples of pragmatic utopias (section 4) in order to lead the reader to a reflection on the future that may be awaiting us (section 5). All this is provided with colorful maps and a very modern graphic representation of the material and the pictures of the contributors to the issue. As a result, utopia is presented as an interesting, dynamic, relevant, and rather attractive topic.Section 1, “Qu'est-ce qu'une utopie?” (What is a utopia?), opens with philosopher Miguel Abensour's contention that the definition of utopia cannot be found in dictionaries as it lines up with the collective dream (8–9). Abensour clarifies that utopia is not the cradle of totalitarianism; instead, it is totalitarianism that is the coffin of utopia. In this sense, a world without utopias would be the best definition of totalitarianism. This certainly gives Abensour grounds for an appeal to revolution through utopia. Quoting Walter Benjamin's suggestion that the dream secretly awaits the awakening, Abensour sustains that the task of utopia lies in its capacity to transform itself into a “technique of awakening.” The first map appears on the next pages (10–11), displaying utopian historical landmarks from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century: old villages that became mythical (e.g., Babylonia, Tiahuanaco), imaginary countries (e.g., Prester John's kingdom, Eldorado), utopian philosophers (e.g., Plato, Campanella, Fourier, Bloch), critiques of utopias and dystopias (e.g., Swift, Zamyatin), utopias on film (e.g., Akira, Blade Runner), urban and architectural utopias (e.g., Hippodamus of Miletus, Ledoux, Lloyd Wright), and utopian communities (e.g., New Lanark, Auroville). The rest of the section consists of attempts to define utopia from the point of view of an architect (Dominique Perrault, to whom the void is the place for all possibilities [12–14]), a scientist (Claudie Haigneré, who claims that science can really contribute to progress [15]), a jurist (Mireille Delmas-Marty, who contends that humanizing mondialisation is a dynamic and realistic utopia [16]), a farmer (Pierre Rabhi, to whom agroecology, as a utopia, implies a change of paradigm [17]), a poet (Gabriel Okoundji, who argues that utopia is part of a dream that the human being is not prepared to live, thus inciting to the auscultation of the emotions of our heart), and a psychiatrist (Boris Cyrulnik, who puts forward the polemic notion that “without utopia we get lost, with utopia we become assassins” [19]). Philosopher Edgar Morin's claim that the desire for a better, libertarian, and fraternal society can easily slip into a nightmare when it is imposed closes the first section. The tone is not pessimistic, though, as Morin contends that hope should always inspire our lives and that the change of the world strictly depends on the actions that we, as individuals, are to take (20–21).Section 2, “Aux sources de l'utopie” (On the sources of utopia), profusely illustrated with maps, opens with an article by Michèle Riot-Sarcey, who says that utopia, originally a literary genre, acquired the manner of political doctrines and messianic projections but remained, in its principles, incompatible with the prevailing order (24–25). Sonia Darthou takes us back to ancient Greece, to evince that the idea of an ideal society has been feeding, from classical antiquity, the reflections of both urbanists and philosophers (26–27), while Mikael Corre writes about the “geography” of different religious paradises (28–29), Raphael Voix examines the origin and developments of messianic doctrines (30–31), and Régis Burnet describes the expansion of the first Christian movements, from Jerusalem to Rome (32–33). Babylon, Alexandria, and Jerusalem are some of the mythical places reviewed by Virgine Larousse (34–35); Antoine Hatzenberger analyzes Thomas More's Utopia, presenting it as a counterpoint to sixteenth-century England, and looks at other subsequent utopias, presenting us with an interesting map of the utopias and dystopias of the protagonist of Voltaire's Candide (36–39). The rest of the second section is composed of articles on the birth of the Protestant churches (Bernadette Sauvaget, 40–41), the New World (Bertand Van Ruymbeke, 42–43), the Freemasonry (Isabelle Francq, 44–45), the architecture of the Enlightenment (Yannick Bosc, 46–47), the French Revolution (Serge Bianchi, 48–49), imagined countries (Francesca Pellegrino, 50–51), and the utopia of the planisphere (Christian Grataloup, 52–55).Section 3, entitled “Les utopies en marche” (Utopias in process), starts with an article by Simone Debout, where the author states that the nineteenth-century utopists were the first to realize that societies could move from a static to a dynamic state. According to the author, the utopian, peaceful, and radical revolution will always take the shape of a political, ethical, and philosophical transformation (58–59). The section proceeds with a series of different articles: on mobility and communication (Mathieu Flonneau, 60–61); on Esperanto (Jean Sellier, 62–63); on the triumphs of medicine and its utopian promises (Paul Benkimoun, 64–65); on the utopian idea—but also on the monstrosity—of eugenics (Joséphine Bataille, 66–67); on utopia and education (Luc Cédelle, 68–69); on social tourism (Carine Fournier, 70–71); on feminism as a utopia (Eleni Varikas, 72–73); on nineteenth-century communities, with a close examination of English (Armand Mattelart, 74–76) and French communities (Thierry Paquot, 80–81); on the utopian disposition of the artistic creation (Philippe Dagen, 82–83); and on nineteenth- and twentieth-century urbanism (Thierry Paquot, 84–87). Although maps abound in this section too, a reference to the map on pages 78–79 should be made, as it highlights the profusion of utopian communities in the nineteenth century all over the world, thus conveying a very powerful representation of utopian ideals. The section closes with a very pertinent study of the links between utopia and Anarchism (Gaetano Manfredonia, 88–89), Communism (René-Éric Dagorn, 90–91), pacifist movements (Laurent Grzybowski, 92–93), Zionism (Denis Charbit, 94–95), and Pan-Arabism (Georges Corm, 96–97) and with a map of the tragic universe of dystopias created by authors such as Zamyatin, Huxley, and Orwell (Claude Mouchard, 98–99).Although the title of section 4 is “La fin des utopies?” (The end of utopias?), this part deals in fact with the way utopias became “pragmatic.” The section begins with an article by philosopher Frédéric Lenoir on ecology as a new bond of fraternity. According to Lenoir, the struggle for the defense of our planet is the individual and collective battle in which we all are engaged (102–3). The following articles deal primarily with environmental issues: food security (Filles Fumey, 104–5), recycling (Gilles can Kote, 106–7), the need to create a World Environmental Organization (Olivier Nouaillas, 108–9), and vertical towns and gardens (Marie-Douce Albert, 110–13). The remaining articles examine the way the vocabulary of desire has inflated social movements such as that of the Indignants (Arnaud Gonzague, 114–15). The idea of a world without development, where production will be relocalized, is dealt with by Hervé Kempf (117–18), whereas contemporary communities, such as Rancho Amigos, Christiana, Celebration, Twin Oaks, Auroville, and Monte Veritá, among others, are analyzed by Isabelle Spaak (118–19). Again, the section closes with a map of the world providing a very interesting overview of contemporary utopian communities.The article by Jeremy Ritkin opens the last section, adequately entitled “Les utopies de Demain” (The utopias of tomorrow). According to the American essayist, we are experiencing an unprecedented world crisis, which stems from the second industrial revolution and is based on the generalized use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy. This situation clearly calls for a new vision, leading to an economic and civilizational revolution. But the good news is that the third industrial revolution has already begun: as Rifkin sustains, an investment in renewable energies may well be our way out of the crisis (144–45). In the second article of this section, Sophie Landrin argues that urban utopias are not dead and that the future will certainly provide us with the realization of architectural utopias. Landrin's vision includes “vegetable cities,” “life without cars,” the “conquest of the sea,” “life underground,” and “cities in the sky” (146–48). The next articles put forward a series of relevant questions: Is it true that if the world were to be governed by women, cooperation, rather than competition, would prevail (Barbara Loyer, 150–51)? Will marriage still be the principal form of arrangement for couples (Pascal Paillardet, 152–53)? Will a world without conflicts be possible (Anne Guion, 154–55)? Will an end finally be put to the “North–South fracture” (Laurent Carroué, 156–57)? Will a world without frontiers be realizable (Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, 158–59)? Does the hope for a society based on the ideas of sharing, equality, and transparency lie in cyberspace (Alix Desforges, 160–61)? And what about the utopias of the eternal human being (Frédéric Joignot, 162–63), of the advancement of synthetic biology (Rafaele Brillaud, 164–65), and of transhumanism (Jean-Claude Guillebaud, 166–67)? The next articles deal with the problems of mastering climate changes (Stéphane Foucart, 168–69), of promoting an effective use of green energy (Marie-Béatrice Baudet, 170–71), of confirming the value of nuclear fusion (Guy Laval, 172–73), of exploring Mars (Charles Frankel, 174–75), and of dealing with the possibility of forms of extraterrestrial life (Jean Sellier, 176–77).The publication closes with an interview with Albert Jacquard, the French academic specialized in population genetics and author of Mon Utopie (My Utopia, 2006). To Jacquard, the utopian is one who demands it all, not just bits of it. It is therefore mandatory that we start claiming a better world, keeping in mind that it only depends on our hope and our contribution. The magazine ends in a very positive tone, with Jacquard saying that although he does not believe in the human being, he believes in our ability to succeed in gradually making the world a better place. The two hundred maps of L'Atlas des Utopies certainly contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of utopia and—even more important—of the utility of a concept that has historically been too often viewed as a mere chimera or a terrifying nightmare.