Author: Gideon Defoe
Publisher: Europa Editions
ISBN: 1609456815
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
"Prisoners of Geography meets Bill Bryson: a funny, fascinating, beautifully illustrated—and timely—history of countries that, for myriad and often ludicrous reasons, no longer exist. “Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. They’re all equally implausible once you get up close.” Countries die. Sometimes it’s murder, sometimes it’s by accident, and sometimes it’s because they were so ludicrous they didn’t deserve to exist in the first place. Occasionally they explode violently. A few slip away almost unnoticed. Often the cause of death is either “got too greedy” or “Napoleon turned up.” Now and then they just hold a referendum and vote themselves out of existence. This is an atlas of 48 nations that fell off the map. The polite way of writing an obituary is: dwell on the good bits, gloss over the embarrassing stuff. This book refuses to do so, because these dead nations are so full of schemers, racists, and con men that it’s impossible to skip the embarrassing stuff. Because of this – and because treating nation-states with too much reverence is the entire problem with pretty much everything – these accounts are not concerned with adding to the earnest flag saluting in the world, however nice some of the flags might be."
An Atlas of Extinct Countries
Author: Gideon Defoe
Publisher: Europa Editions
ISBN: 1609456815
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
"Prisoners of Geography meets Bill Bryson: a funny, fascinating, beautifully illustrated—and timely—history of countries that, for myriad and often ludicrous reasons, no longer exist. “Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. They’re all equally implausible once you get up close.” Countries die. Sometimes it’s murder, sometimes it’s by accident, and sometimes it’s because they were so ludicrous they didn’t deserve to exist in the first place. Occasionally they explode violently. A few slip away almost unnoticed. Often the cause of death is either “got too greedy” or “Napoleon turned up.” Now and then they just hold a referendum and vote themselves out of existence. This is an atlas of 48 nations that fell off the map. The polite way of writing an obituary is: dwell on the good bits, gloss over the embarrassing stuff. This book refuses to do so, because these dead nations are so full of schemers, racists, and con men that it’s impossible to skip the embarrassing stuff. Because of this – and because treating nation-states with too much reverence is the entire problem with pretty much everything – these accounts are not concerned with adding to the earnest flag saluting in the world, however nice some of the flags might be."
Publisher: Europa Editions
ISBN: 1609456815
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
"Prisoners of Geography meets Bill Bryson: a funny, fascinating, beautifully illustrated—and timely—history of countries that, for myriad and often ludicrous reasons, no longer exist. “Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. They’re all equally implausible once you get up close.” Countries die. Sometimes it’s murder, sometimes it’s by accident, and sometimes it’s because they were so ludicrous they didn’t deserve to exist in the first place. Occasionally they explode violently. A few slip away almost unnoticed. Often the cause of death is either “got too greedy” or “Napoleon turned up.” Now and then they just hold a referendum and vote themselves out of existence. This is an atlas of 48 nations that fell off the map. The polite way of writing an obituary is: dwell on the good bits, gloss over the embarrassing stuff. This book refuses to do so, because these dead nations are so full of schemers, racists, and con men that it’s impossible to skip the embarrassing stuff. Because of this – and because treating nation-states with too much reverence is the entire problem with pretty much everything – these accounts are not concerned with adding to the earnest flag saluting in the world, however nice some of the flags might be."
An Atlas of Countries That Don't Exist
Author: Nick Middleton
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452158835
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 239
Book Description
A “fascinating” journey to little-known and contested lands around the globe, from Tibet to the Isle of Man to Elgaland-Vargaland (Geographical Magazine). What is a country? Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton brings to life the origins and histories of fifty states that, lacking international recognition and United Nations membership, exist on the margins of legitimacy in the global order. From long-contested lands like Crimea and Tibet to lesser-known territories such as Africa’s last colony and a European republic that enjoyed independence for a single day, Middleton presents fascinating stories of shifting borders, visionary leaders, and “forgotten” peoples. “Engrossing . . . You’ll not find Middle-earth, Atlantis or Lilliput inside, but you will find something just as intriguing . . . sure to prompt discussions about what makes a country a ‘real country.’” —Seattle Times
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452158835
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 239
Book Description
A “fascinating” journey to little-known and contested lands around the globe, from Tibet to the Isle of Man to Elgaland-Vargaland (Geographical Magazine). What is a country? Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton brings to life the origins and histories of fifty states that, lacking international recognition and United Nations membership, exist on the margins of legitimacy in the global order. From long-contested lands like Crimea and Tibet to lesser-known territories such as Africa’s last colony and a European republic that enjoyed independence for a single day, Middleton presents fascinating stories of shifting borders, visionary leaders, and “forgotten” peoples. “Engrossing . . . You’ll not find Middle-earth, Atlantis or Lilliput inside, but you will find something just as intriguing . . . sure to prompt discussions about what makes a country a ‘real country.’” —Seattle Times
A Gap in Nature
Author: Tim Fridtjof Flannery
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN: 9780871137975
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
A short description of the extinct animal along with a color drawing.
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN: 9780871137975
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
A short description of the extinct animal along with a color drawing.
Atlas of Extinct Animals
Author: Radek Maly
Publisher: Albatros Media
ISBN: 9788000061269
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 88
Book Description
Publisher: Albatros Media
ISBN: 9788000061269
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 88
Book Description
The Atlas of Unusual Languages: An exploration of language, people and geography
Author: Zoran Nikolic
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008524041
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 275
Book Description
We communicate through the spoken and written word and language has evolved over the centuries. Many languages have survived although only in small pockets throughout the world. This book explores a selection of those languages.
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008524041
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 275
Book Description
We communicate through the spoken and written word and language has evolved over the centuries. Many languages have survived although only in small pockets throughout the world. This book explores a selection of those languages.
The Atlas of Unusual Borders: Discover intriguing boundaries, territories and geographical curiosities
Author: Zoran Nikolic
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008382972
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The world is not always what we think it is. This beautifully designed book presents unusual borders, enclaves and exclaves, divided or non-existent cities and islands. Numerous conflicts have left countries divided and often shattered. Remnants of countries can by design or accident be left behind as a legal anomaly in this complex world.
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008382972
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The world is not always what we think it is. This beautifully designed book presents unusual borders, enclaves and exclaves, divided or non-existent cities and islands. Numerous conflicts have left countries divided and often shattered. Remnants of countries can by design or accident be left behind as a legal anomaly in this complex world.
Human Geography of the UK
Author: Daniel Dorling
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761941361
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
Highly visual – with maps and figures on every page – the text uses different data to describe the social landscape of the United Kingdom. Organized in ten short thematic chapters.
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761941361
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
Highly visual – with maps and figures on every page – the text uses different data to describe the social landscape of the United Kingdom. Organized in ten short thematic chapters.
The Blind Accordionist
Author: C. D. Rose
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612199186
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
A supposedly long lost collection of fable-like stories supposedly written by the little-known middle European writer Maxim Guyavitch ... with a helpful intro and afterword making it hilariously clear that the keyword is "supposedly." In the novel WHO'S WHO WHEN EVERYONE IS SOMEONE ELSE, the character "C.D. Rose" (not to be confused with the author C.D. Rose) searches an unnamed middle-European city for the long-lost manuscript of a little-known writer named Maxim Guyavitch. That search was fruitless, but in THE BLIND ACCORDIONIST, "C.D. Rose" has found the manuscript--nine sparkling, fable-like short stories--and he presents them here with an (hilarious) introduction explaining the discovery, and an afterword providing (hilarious) critical commentary on the stories, and what they might reveal about the mysterious Guyavitch. THE BLIND ACCORDIONIST is another masterful book of world-making by the real C.D. Rose, absorbing in its mix of intelligence and light-heartedness, and its ultimate celebration of literature itself. It is the third novel in the series about "C.D. Rose," although the reader does not need to have read the previous two books. (The first in the series was THE BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF LITERARY FAILURE, containing portraits of dunsuccessful writers; the second was WHO'S WHO WHEN EVERYONE IS SOMEONE ELSE, in which the author of the DICTIONARY, "C.D. Rose," searches for the manuscript of his favorite dead writer, Maxim Guyavitch, while on a book tour for the DICTIONARY.) Like those books, THE BLIND ACCORDIONIST can be read both as a simple but wonderful collection of quirky stories, and as comedy--or as a beautiful and moving elegy on the nobility of writers wanting to be read.
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612199186
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
A supposedly long lost collection of fable-like stories supposedly written by the little-known middle European writer Maxim Guyavitch ... with a helpful intro and afterword making it hilariously clear that the keyword is "supposedly." In the novel WHO'S WHO WHEN EVERYONE IS SOMEONE ELSE, the character "C.D. Rose" (not to be confused with the author C.D. Rose) searches an unnamed middle-European city for the long-lost manuscript of a little-known writer named Maxim Guyavitch. That search was fruitless, but in THE BLIND ACCORDIONIST, "C.D. Rose" has found the manuscript--nine sparkling, fable-like short stories--and he presents them here with an (hilarious) introduction explaining the discovery, and an afterword providing (hilarious) critical commentary on the stories, and what they might reveal about the mysterious Guyavitch. THE BLIND ACCORDIONIST is another masterful book of world-making by the real C.D. Rose, absorbing in its mix of intelligence and light-heartedness, and its ultimate celebration of literature itself. It is the third novel in the series about "C.D. Rose," although the reader does not need to have read the previous two books. (The first in the series was THE BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF LITERARY FAILURE, containing portraits of dunsuccessful writers; the second was WHO'S WHO WHEN EVERYONE IS SOMEONE ELSE, in which the author of the DICTIONARY, "C.D. Rose," searches for the manuscript of his favorite dead writer, Maxim Guyavitch, while on a book tour for the DICTIONARY.) Like those books, THE BLIND ACCORDIONIST can be read both as a simple but wonderful collection of quirky stories, and as comedy--or as a beautiful and moving elegy on the nobility of writers wanting to be read.
The Map Book
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780153732515
Category : Geography
Languages : en
Pages : 156
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780153732515
Category : Geography
Languages : en
Pages : 156
Book Description
The Red Atlas
Author: John Davies
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022638960X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
The “utterly fascinating” untold story of Soviet Russia’s global military mapping program—featuring many of the surprising maps that resulted (Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian). From 1950 to 1990, the Soviet Army conducted a global topographic mapping program, creating large-scale maps for much of the world that included a diversity of detail that would have supported a full range of military planning. For big cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and London to towns like Pontiac, MI, and Galveston, TX, the Soviets gathered enough information to create street-level maps. The information on these maps ranged from the locations of factories and ports to building heights, road widths, and bridge capacities. Some of the detail suggests early satellite technology, while other specifics, like detailed depictions of depths and channels around rivers and harbors, could only have been gained by Soviet spies on the ground. The Red Atlas includes over 350 extracts from these incredible Cold War maps, exploring their provenance and cartographic techniques as well as what they can tell us about their makers and the Soviet initiatives that were going on all around us.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022638960X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
The “utterly fascinating” untold story of Soviet Russia’s global military mapping program—featuring many of the surprising maps that resulted (Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian). From 1950 to 1990, the Soviet Army conducted a global topographic mapping program, creating large-scale maps for much of the world that included a diversity of detail that would have supported a full range of military planning. For big cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and London to towns like Pontiac, MI, and Galveston, TX, the Soviets gathered enough information to create street-level maps. The information on these maps ranged from the locations of factories and ports to building heights, road widths, and bridge capacities. Some of the detail suggests early satellite technology, while other specifics, like detailed depictions of depths and channels around rivers and harbors, could only have been gained by Soviet spies on the ground. The Red Atlas includes over 350 extracts from these incredible Cold War maps, exploring their provenance and cartographic techniques as well as what they can tell us about their makers and the Soviet initiatives that were going on all around us.