Synopses & Reviews
A tour of the worldandrsquo;s hidden geographiesandmdash;from disappearing islands to forbidden desertsandmdash;and a stunning testament to how mysterious the world remains todayAt a time when Google Maps Street View can take you on a virtual tour of Yosemiteandrsquo;s remotest trails and cell phones double as navigational systems, itandrsquo;s hard to imagine thereandrsquo;s any uncharted ground left on the planet. In Unruly Places, Alastair Bonnett goes to some of the most unexpected, offbeat places in the world to reinspire our geographical imagination.
Bonnettandrsquo;s remarkable tour includes moving villages, secret cities, no manandrsquo;s lands, and floating islands. He explores places as disorienting as Sandy Island, an island included on maps until just two years ago despite the fact that it never existed. Or Sealand, an abandoned gun platform off the English coast that a British citizen claimed as his own sovereign nation, issuing passports and crowning his wife as a princess. Or Baarle, a patchwork of Dutch and Flemish enclaves where walking from the grocery storeandrsquo;s produce section to the meat counter can involve crossing national borders.
An intrepid guide down the road much less traveled, Bonnett reveals that the most extraordinary places on earth might be hidden in plain sight, just around the corner from your apartment or underfoot on a wooded path. Perfect for urban explorers, wilderness ramblers, and armchair travelers struck by wanderlust, Unruly Places will change the way you see the places you inhabit.
and#160;
Review
"I admit I'm a geographic klutz, constantly turned around the wrong way. But I never felt lost for a moment inside Maphead. Forget new worlds: Jennings's charming, witty account reveals a whole other universe." Sam Kean, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Disappearing Spoon
Review
"Ken Jennings offers an engaging excursion through the worlds of map making, map collecting, and map use. If you enjoy maps, don't miss it." Mark Monmonier, author of How to Lie with Maps
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author and well-known Jeopardy! contestant Ken Jennings explores the world of maps and map obsessives.
Synopsis
It comes as no surprise that, as a kid,
Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings slept with a bulky Hammond world atlas by his pillow every night.
Maphead recounts his lifelong love affair with geography and explores why maps have always been so fascinating to him and to fellow enthusiasts everywhere.
Jennings takes readers on a world tour of geogeeks from the London Map Fair to the bowels of the Library of Congress, from the prepubescent geniuses at the National Geographic Bee to the computer programmers at Google Earth. Each chapter delves into a different aspect of map culture: highpointing, geocaching, road atlas rallying, even the "unreal estate" charted on the maps of fiction and fantasy. He also considers the ways in which cartography has shaped our history, suggesting that the impulse to make and read maps is as relevant today as it has ever been.
From the "Here be dragons" parchment maps of the Age of Discovery to the spinning globes of grade school to the postmodern revolution of digital maps and GPS, Maphead is filled with intriguing details, engaging anecdotes, and enlightening analysis. If you're an inveterate map lover yourself or even if you're among the cartographically clueless who can get lost in a supermarket let Ken Jennings be your guide to the strange world of mapheads.
Synopsis
The real-life answers to Italo Calvinoand#8217;s
Invisible Cities,
Unruly Places explores the most extraordinary, off-grid, offbeat places on the planet. Alastair Bonnettand#8217;s tour of the planetand#8217;s most unlikely micro-nations, moving villages, secret cities, and no manand#8217;s lands shows us the modern world from surprising new vantage points, bound to inspire urban explorers, off-the-beaten-trail wanderers, and armchair travelers. He connects what we see on maps to whatand#8217;s happening in the world by looking at the places that are hardest to pin down: inaccessible zones, improvised settlements, multiple cities sharing the same space.
Consider Sealand, an abandoned gun platform off the English coast that a British citizen claimed as his own sovereign nation, issuing passports and making his wife a princess. Or Baarle, a patchwork city of Dutch and Flemish enclaves where crossing the street can involve traversing national borders. Or Sandy Island, which appeared on maps well into 2012 despite the fact it never existed. and#12288;
Illustrated with original maps and drawings, Unruly Places gives readers a new way of understanding the places we occupy.
About the Author
Ken Jennings was born outside Seattle, but grew up overseas where he watched Jeopardy! every afternoon. He first appeared on Jeopardy! in June 2004 and continued to win every show until November 30 of that year. In total, Jennings won seventy-four games and $2.52 million, both U.S. game show records. He appeared on shows, from The Late Show with David Letterman to Sesame Street, and Barbara Walters named him one of the ten most fascinating people of the year. Jennings’s book, Brainiac, about his Jeopardy! adventures, was a critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, as was his follow-up, Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks. He is also the author of Ken Jennings’s Trivia Almanac. Jennings lives in Washington with his wife Mindy, his son Dylan and daughter Caitlin, and a deeply unstable Labrador retriever named Banjo.
Table of Contents
and#160;and#160;and#160;INTRODUCTIONand#160;and#160;and#160; ix
and#160;and#160;and#160;Lost Spacesand#160;and#160;and#160; 1
Sandy Islandand#160;and#160;and#160; 3
Leningradand#160;and#160;and#160; 8
Arneand#160;and#160;and#160; 12
Old Meccaand#160;and#160;and#160; 15
New Mooreand#160;and#160;and#160; 20
Time Landscapeand#160;and#160;and#160; 24
The Aralqum Desertand#160;and#160;and#160; 28
and#160;and#160;and#160;Hidden Geographiesand#160;and#160;and#160; 35
The Labyrinthand#160;and#160;and#160; 37
Zheleznogorskand#160;and#160;and#160; 42
The Underground Cities of Cappadociaand#160;and#160;and#160; 46
Fox Denand#160;and#160;and#160;51
North Cemetery, Manilaand#160;and#160;and#160; 55
North Sentinel Islandand#160;and#160;and#160; 59
and#160;and#160;and#160;No Manand#8217;s Landsand#160;and#160;and#160;67
Between Border Posts (Guinea and Senegal)and#160;and#160;and#160; 69
Bir Tawiland#160;and#160;and#160; 73
Nahuateriqueand#160;and#160;and#160; 77
Twayil Abu Jarwaland#160;and#160;and#160; 82
Traffic Islandand#160;and#160;and#160; 87
and#160;and#160;and#160;Dead Citiesand#160;and#160;and#160; 93
Wittenoomand#160;and#160;and#160; 95
Kangbashiand#160;and#160;and#160; 100
Kijong-dongand#160;and#160;and#160; 104
Agand#728;damand#160;and#160;and#160; 108
Pripyatand#160;and#160;and#160; 114
The Archaeological Park of Sicilian Incompletionand#160;and#160;and#160;119
and#160;and#160;and#160;Spaces of Exceptionand#160;and#160;and#160; 125
Camp Zeistand#160;and#160;and#160; 127
Geneva Freeportand#160;and#160;and#160; 132
Bright Light, 4 Mures Street, Bucharestand#160;and#160;and#160; 136
International Airspaceand#160;and#160;and#160; 141
Gutterspaceand#160;and#160;and#160; 144
Bountifuland#160;and#160;and#160; 148
Mount Athosand#160;and#160;and#160; 153
Ranch of Sprouts: Brotas Quilomboand#160;and#160;and#160; 158
FARC-controlled Colombiaand#160;and#160;and#160; 163
Hobyoand#160;and#160;and#160; 168
and#160;and#160;and#160;Enclaves and Breakaway Nationsand#160;and#160;and#160; 175
Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertogand#160;and#160;and#160; 177
Chitmahalsand#160;and#160;and#160; 183
Sealandand#160;and#160;and#160; 188
United Kingdom of Lunda Tchokweand#160;and#160;and#160; 193
Gagauziaand#160;and#160;and#160; 198
and#160;and#160;and#160;Floating Islandsand#160;and#160;and#160; 205
Pumice and Trash Islandsand#160;and#160;and#160; 207
Nipterk P-32 Spray Ice Islandand#160;and#160;and#160; 212
The Floating Maldivesand#160;and#160;and#160; 216
The Worldand#160;and#160;and#160; 221
and#160;and#160;and#160;Ephemeral Placesand#160;and#160;and#160; 227
Hogand#8217;s Back Lay-Byand#160;and#160;and#160; 229
LAX Parking Lotand#160;and#160;and#160; 234
Nowhereand#160;and#160;and#160; 238
Staceyand#8217;s Laneand#160;and#160;and#160; 242
and#160;and#160;and#160;CONCLUSIONand#160;and#160;and#160; 247
and#160;and#160;and#160;BIBLIOGRAPHYand#160;and#160;and#160; 252
and#160;and#160;and#160;ACKNOWDLEGMENTSand#160;and#160;and#160; 253
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;INDEXand#160;and#160;and#160; 254