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.
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Review
andquot;Delightfully quirky.andquot; andmdash;Ron Charles,and#160;
Washington Postand#160;
andquot;Fascinating...A conversational, thoroughly researched, and very engaging armchair tour of what might be seen as a parallel planet to the one we live in every dayandmdash;one in which nothing is ordinary...Alastair Bonnett is a most excellent traveling companion.andquot; andmdash;The Atlantic
andquot;Unruly [Places] overflows with amazing examples of the worldand#39;s hidden places.andquot; andmdash;Entertainment Weekly
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andquot;[Bonnett] takes us to one-of-a-kind, off-the-grid areasandmdash;from Cappadocia to Camp Zeist to Chitmahaisandmdash;in this inspired, instructive travelogue on earthand#39;s lost spaces, breakaway nations, no-manand#39;s-lands, floating islands, and secret enclaves.andquot; andmdash;Elle
andquot;Bonnett is an excellent guide and literary companion. He wears his learning and his prejudices lightly, leaving the reader to join the geopolitical dots. He succeeds in making the strange familiar and the familiar strange, fully justifying his conclusion that andquot;ordinary places are also extraordinary places; the exotic can be around the corner or right under our feet.andquot; andmdash;Los Angeles Times
andquot;A chronicle of the worldandrsquo;s missing and hidden treasures...Bonnett manages to imbue the mundaneandmdash;a traffic island in Newcastle, Englandandmdash;with the same gravitas given to the politically and historically weightyandmdash;an empty decoy city in North Korea meant to lure defectors from its southern neighbor.andquot; andmdash;The Daily Beastandquot;Alastair Bonnett shows us that our maps still hold plenty of secrets...The geography of the unknown has never been so comprehensible.andquot; andmdash;Mother Jones
andquot;[A] delightfully outlandish travelogue. Youandrsquo;ll never look at a mapandmdash;or your own backyardandmdash;the same way again.andquot; andmdash;O, The Oprah Magazine
andquot;Fascinating...A comforting read, much like dipping into a highly intelligent travel magazine, a book that teases the imagination while remaining firmly rooted in the factual.andquot; andmdash;Boston Globe
andquot;If youandrsquo;re someone who can happily while away the hours leafing through old atlases or scrolling through Google Maps, this is the book for you...[A] wonderful book.andquot; andmdash;Seattle Times
andquot;An ideal travel tome.andquot;and#160; andmdash;Pauline Frommer, Frommers.com
andquot;Looking at even the most familiar landscapes through his eyes opens up new ways of seeing. andquot; andmdash;The Columbus Dispatch
andquot;Thought-provoking...Unruly Places is a timely call to rethink our relationship to the map.andquot; andmdash;Menand#39;s Journal
andquot;Fizzingly entertaining and enlightening.andquot; andmdash;The Telegraph
andldquo;A fascinating delve into uncharted, forgotten, and lost places. . . . not just a trivia-tastic anthology of remote destinations but a nifty piece of psychogeography, explaining our human need for these cartographical conundrums.andquot; andmdash;Wanderlust
andldquo;Unruly Places works to re-enchant the world by introducing us to unlikely places: places that exist but cannot be found on any map, places on maps that do not exist, islands that disappear or suddenly appear, deserts that form out of lakes, and labyrinths beneath cities. Carefully avoiding nostalgia and rose-tinted topophilia, Bonnett manages to reveal a myriad of ways in which place and geography still matter.andrdquo; andmdash;Tim Cresswell, author of Place, An Introduction and professor of history and international affairs, Northeastern University
andldquo;Through dozens of punchy tales, Bonnett takes us on an imaginative grand tour of the most exceptional places in the world, reminding us that even in an age of seemingly total surveillance, the world is teeming with geographic mysteries.andrdquo; andmdash;Bradley Garrett, author of Explore Everything
andquot;An inspiring compendium of unusual destinations that will ignite your wanderlust.andquot; andmdash;Shelf Awareness
andquot;Bonnettandrsquo;s charming, pensive prose and light-handed erudition illuminates the stubborn human impulse to find a home in the unlikeliest places.andquot; andmdash;Publishers Weekly
andquot;A wonderful collection of a few dozen geographical enchantments, places that defy expectations and may disturb and disorient yet rekindle the romanticism of exploration and the meaning of place...A scintillating poke to our geographical imaginations.andquot; andmdash;Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review)
andquot;This book will satisfy armchair travelers as well as those who appreciate thought-provoking journeys.andquot; andmdash;Library Journal
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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
Robert D. Kaplan is chief geopolitical analyst for Stratfor, a private global intelligence firm, and the author of fourteen books on foreign affairs and travel translated into many languages, including
The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate; Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power; Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History; and
Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos. He has been a foreign correspondent for
The Atlantic for more than a quarter-century. In 2011 and 2012,
Foreign Policy magazine named Kaplan among the world’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers.”
From 2009 to 2011, he served under Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as a member of the Defense Policy Board. Since 2008, he has been a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington. From 2006 to 2008, he was the Class of 1960 Distinguished Visiting Professor in National Security at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis.
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