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Atlas of Improbable Places Travis Elborough

Atlas of Improbable Places By Travis Elborough

Atlas of Improbable Places by Travis Elborough


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Summary

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 Summary

Atlas of Improbable Places: A Journey to the World's Most Unusual Corners by Travis Elborough

'Atlas of Improbable Places has that rare, through-the-wardrobe quality. It is a delightful compendium of the strangest places on the planet.'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

2020 WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR Atlas of Vanishing Places.

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.

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.

'This engrossing book traverses the heights and depths, the beauty and terror, of our world.'
THE OBSERVER

'Understatedly expressive.'
NEW YORK TIMES

'Deeply researched - and really worth your time.'
GQ

About Travis Elborough

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.

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

Additional information

GOR011675063
9780711264014
0711264015
Atlas of Improbable Places: A Journey to the World's Most Unusual Corners by Travis Elborough
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Aurum Press
20210706
208
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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