I'm not familiar with the historical atlas by Cappon et al. Sounds interesting, I'll look for it!

The Goetzmann and Williams atlas was published in 1992. It is organized around North American geographic explorations and time periods, beginning with the Norse in 900 AD and going on to the Race to the Pole in the early 20th century. It combines historic drawings and maps made by the explorers, with contemporary maps nicely annotated with the routes, dates, and major events. Some pretty humorous maps by charlatans in the 1500s clearly document false explorations, discoveries of water passages to the western sea, etc. I am not a history expert. I found that I could understand the history presented in this book much more clearly than the usual history book chapters of endless text.