Overview

Inspiring urban explorers and armchair travellers alike to consider a new way of understanding the world we live in, this unique atlas shows you the modern world from surprising new vantage points. Hidden lairs beneath layers of rock, forgotten cities rising out of deserted lands and even mankind's own feats of engineering eccentricity lie in the most unusual of destinations. Go in search of the obscure and bizarre, the beautiful and estranged, taking in the defiant relics of ancient cities such as Ani, a once thriving metropolis lost to conquered lands, and the church tower of San Juan Parangaricuto, that miraculously stands as the sole survivor of a town sunk by lava. Through the labyrinths of Berlin and Beijing - underground realms dug for refuge, espionage and even, as Canadas Moose Jaw, used as the playground for gangsters trading liquor and money over cards - never forgetting the freaks and wonders of natures own unusual masterpieces: the magical underground river shaped like a dragons mouth in the Philippines and the floating world of Palmerston. With beautiful maps and stunning photography illustrating each destination, Atlas of Improbable Places is a fascinating voyage to the worlds most incredible destinations. As the Island of Dolls and the hauntingly titled Door to Hell - an inextinguishable fire pit - attest, mystery is never far away. The truths and myths behind their creation are as varied as the destinations themselves. Standing as symbols of worship, testaments to kingships or even the strange and wonderful traditions of old and new, these curious places are not just extraordinary sights but reflections on mans own relationship with the world around us. Also in the Unexpected Atlas series: Atlas of Untamed Places, Atlas of the Unexpected, Atlas of Vanishing Places.

Full Product Details

Author:   Travis Elborough ,  Alan Horsfield
Publisher:   Quarto Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Aurum
ISBN:  

9780711264014

ISBN 10:   0711264015
Pages:   208
Publication Date:   06 July 2021
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

DREAM CREATIONS FLEVOPOLDER The region reclaimed from the sea   ZHELEZNOGORSK Former closed Soviet city   FREE CHRISTIANIA Squatter-city   AUROVILLE 1960s utopian city   SLAB CITY The squatter metropolis   PORTMEIRION The Village   ZVYOZDNY GORODOK Star City   HEARST CASTLE Randolph Hearst’s Xanadu-esque home   DESERTED DESTINATIONS TEUFELSBERG Abandoned U.S. spy station   PRESIDIO MODELO Cuba’s most notorious former penitentiary   BATTLESHIP ISLAND Deserted mining settlement   NO MAN’S LAND FORT A long shunned coastal bulwark   THE LOST CITY OF SAN JUAN PARANGARICUTIRO Abandoned after the eruption of 1943   HUMBERSTONE AND SANTA LAURA Redundant saltpetre works   WONDERLAND Abandoned Disneyland-style theme park   ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE Village left abandoned since the Second World War   MUYNAK Drained port   WITTENOOM Asbestos-ridden industrial town   ANI, KARS Ruins of one-time capital of the Armenian Empire   CONCRETE CITY Garden city of the anthracite region   VAROSHA Abandoned tourist resort   ARCHITECTURAL ODDITIES MARYHILL STONEHENGE Concrete Stonehenge   SPIJKENISSE The ‘real’ fictional euro bridges   KABAYAN The Ibaloi mummy caves   SANTURIO MADONNA DELLA CORONA Chapel hangs midway down a sheer cliffside   LONDON BRIDGE, LAKE HAVASU The 1831 London Bridge   THE AFRICAN RENAISSANCE MONUMENT Controversial symbol of independence   TEN COMMANDMENTS MOUNTAIN The Fields of the Wood   FLOATING WORLDS THE PALM 105 An artificial island paradise   THE KINGDOM OF REDONDA Uninhabited Caribbean island   POVEGLIA ISLAND Former plague quarantine island   GREAT BLASKET Uninhabited since 1954   HOLLAND ISLAND Island slowly being eroded by the water   PALMERSTON A community formed in its founder’s image   WRANGEL ISLAND A place frozen in time   MOUNT RORAIMA The Lost World   ROSS ISLAND British Indian penal settlement   HIRTA The Edge of the World   OTHERWORLDLY SPACES AOKIGAHARA The Demon Forest   COLMA City of the dead   LEAP CASTLE The world’s most haunted residence   DARVAZA CRATER Door to Hell   THE HILL OF CROSSES Home to some 100,000 crosses   THE ISLAND OF DOLLS A terrifying attraction   SUBTERRANEAN REALMS THE UNDERGROUND POSTAL RAILWAY Rail Mail   COLD WAR SPY TUNNEL The telephone tapping centre   BEIJING UNDERGROUND Bunkers to beat the bomb   MOOSE JAW Illicit tunnels   CINCINNATI Abandoned subway   ZKP TAGANSKY, AKA BUNKER 42 Cold War communications bunker   PUERTO PRINCESA Subterranean river    

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Author Information

Travis Elborough is an author and social commentator. His books include the four titles in the Unexpected Atlases series - Atlas of Improbable Places, Atlas of the Unexpected, Atlas of Vanishing Places and Atlas of Forgotten Places, together with A Traveller's Year, A London Year, The Long-Player Goodbye, Being A Writer and A Walk in the Park: The Life and Times of a People's Institution. Travis is a regular contributor to Radio 4 and the Guardian, and has penned articles on all aspects of travel and culture, from pirates in the Caribbean to donkeys at the British seaside. He has written for the Times, Sunday Times, New Statesman, BBC History Magazine and Kinfolk among others.

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