Atlas of Improbable Places: A Journey to the World's Most Unusual Corners (Unexpected Atlases)

Product Information

Atlas of Improbable Places shows the modern world from surprising new vantage points that will inspire urban explorers and armchair travellers alike to consider a new way of understanding the world we live in.

Atlas of Improbable Places has that rare, through-the-wardrobe quality. It is a delightful compendium of the strangest places on the planet.’- DAILY TELEGRAPHOn the flip side, since this has very few images and very short chapters it is actually a book one can easily read through rather than dip into periodically. Once I approached it as a more shallow overview rather than something that would make me feel I really knew these places, it became a decent read. I just didn't actually anticipate this kind of book. The places I had been I felt were given too short of an introduction which makes me wonder what wasn't brought up in the other entries. I have been to only two; Colma City just South of San Francisco which is home to over 1,000,000 million graves and whose moto is “It’s great to be alive!” and Aokigahara near Mt. Fuji Japan that has the 2nd highest number of suicides just behind the Golden Gate Bridge. This engrossing book traverses the heights and depths, the beauty and terror, of our world.’ - THE OBSERVER Atlas of Improbable Places has that rare, through-the-wardrobe quality. It is a delightful compendium of the strangest places on the planet.' In Atlas of Improbable Places, Travis Elborough goes in search of the obscure and bizarre, the beautiful and arcane. His unique atlas shows you the modern world from surprising new vantage points. Discover the secret Soviet city of Zheleznogorsk and the church tower of San Juan Parangaricutiro, miraculously still standing as the sole survivor of a town sunk by lava. Explore the underground realms of Beijing and Berlin, dug for refuge and espionage, and the floating worlds of remote Palmerston and the macabre Island of Dolls.

As I read this book, I was googling the locations and interesting many would appear as the first possible match after only 2 or 3 letters. With beautiful maps and stunning photography illustrating each destination, Atlas of Improbable Places is a fascinating voyage to the world's 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 man's own relationship with the world around us. The chapter headings give a suggestion of the sorts of places covered, although sometimes that’s a stretch.

WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR Atlas of Vanishing Places. With beautiful maps and stunning photography, Atlas of Improbable Places is a fascinating voyage to the world’s most incredible destinations. These curious places are not just extraordinary sights but reflections on man’s own relationship with the world around us. In a time when exploring the world is something to look forward to but due to pandemic restrictions not easily doable, travel books are a great way to discover new places and stir up anticipation for the time after. Travis Elborough has found places which are not on the average agenda for a trip. In the subtitle, he calls them “the world’s most unusual corners” and I couldn’t agree more with that. I would still recommend this to readers who want to know about some of the more "improbable" or unusual places in the world, especially readers who want to simply have a list of places that they can then research on their own.

Atlas of Improbable Places is a fun read (this is a reissue) but fell a little short of my expectations. I didn't mark it down very far because if I remove my personal disappointment I enjoyed it quite a bit. First, my expectations. I expected more photographs and/or drawings/maps. I was thinking more along the lines of a coffee table or end table book, which usually means visually attractive as well as informative. This fell far short of what I would call visually appealing, though for a book that isn't supposed to be aesthetically pleasing it functions just fine. Architectural Oddities - did you know that the London Bridge built in 1831 today stands in Arizona? The author offers a great variety, from formerly closed soviet cities and other deserted military places over utopian places like Christania and villages abandoned after wars or other incidents to modern creations like the artificial island “The Palm” and underground ways which were never meant to be discovered. Atlas of the Unexpected is a journey tofar-off lands, obscure discoveriesand unimaginable locations, with45 beautiful, uniquemaps and evocative photography.The truths and myths behind these hidden lairs, forgotten cities and improbable wonders are as varied as the destinations themselves. These curious places are not just extraordinary sights but reflections on our relationship with the world around us. Acclaimed author and social commentator, Travis Elborough, is a marvellous travel guide to the world's most unusual corners.