"Measuring just 1 x 1.5 inches with a simple black slipcase and housed in a cloth-clamshell case, ''The Conquest of Space'' [aka ''ATLAS''] is an artist''s book by Marcel Broodthaers originally published by Lebeer Hossmann Éditeurs, Brussels and Hamburg in 1975 in an edition of 50 numbered copies. As Broodthaers'' last book, it embodies the artist''s sardonic sense of humor with its plays on language and function--the title references the historic use of atlases by militaries for territorial conquests, but printed at such a miniature scale, it is unusable for its intended function. Furthering the level of intrigue with the book, Broodthaers did not follow established geographical organization, choosing rather to present only a small selection of countries organized alphabetically and graphically represented in identical size. This facsimile edition makes the artist''s book available again for the first time since the original printing in a limited edition of 500 copies." -- publisher''s statement