Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The more recent examples were more interesting because there was greater uniqueness to each one. I would have liked this better with more vibrantly colored illustrations and maps. More photos would also have been better.

This is a really fun armchair travel book. You can travel to real places lost to time and places that only exist in mythology. Along with the text there are wonderful maps and photographs. The writing is good and it is easy to read. Since I cannot travel to real places now I enjoyed traveling to these forgotten places. Enjoy

This is a really interesting book that gives an insight into some of the places on earth that are vanishing or perhaps never existed in the first place.

The information contained in well researched, if not exhaustively so, and works as a book to dip in and out of. The maps and photos are of a high quality and will be sure to pique the interest of any amateur armchair explorer.

Great addition to the ever expanding list of “Atlas of .....” books
Lots of fascinating places explored with good pictures and maps

A lovely fascinating book a look at vanishing places.A geography lesson that amazed me a book to go back to again a book I will be gifting friends to treasure.#netgalley#quartobooks

I have always been interested in the unknown or something that used to be but no longer is. This was an easy read for me, and the writing was spot on.

If your one of those people who read books like "100 Places to See Before You Die", this is actually a geographic study of where those places are (maps and/or pictures), and how soon they will disappear. Actually, many of these places have already disappeared, either destroyed over the eons or by other Empires of the pre-christian times. Some like Pompei were destroyed by nature, others like Palmyra (which had been partially restored) are damaged by fanatics who look at them as the construction of Devil Worshipers.

Not all these places are impossible for you to go because of ongoing wars (many of the Crusader castles are located in areas of armed conflict) or other dangers (such as Timbucktu, which is in a non-governmental controlled area). These will be lost to all of us, but the people in control of these areas don't want tourists or others coming to there homelands.

In the future we will lose the use of some due to the rise of ocean levels (Yangoo, Dhaka or Venice) that will put them under water. Many of these are island nations like the Maldives, who have little land higher than 15 ft above sea level and will just sink below the waves. I will be a boon to those who like to SCUBA. In the years to come it will become a reminded of things that we have lost.

The title intrigued me and this book did not disappoint. I've always been fascinated with how maps change, what we remember from history and how our actions today could be and are changing the future.

It is one of those books you browse when you're in a curious mood, when you want to learn *something* but you're not exactly sure what . My partner and I took turns picking ones at random and reading them to each other, and suffice it to say we ended up on many wikipedia pages afterward.

I loved how it categorized vanishing places into ones we have forgotten, ancient cities, threatened worlds and shrinking places. This allowed for a good mix of some almost mythological seeming stories and a sobering reminder of how our actions are still changing the world, and vanishing parts of it in the process with some surprising factoids sprinkled in between.

This will likely be one I'll add to my collection.

[I got this book as a giveaway from NetGalley]

My first ever book from a giveaway, and I need to say that I am very happy to have received this book, thanks to NetGalley and White Lion Publishing.

The book is very informative, more so from the fact it covers both the places from long forgotten past as well as those that are vanishing right in front of our eyes.

This book is divided into four parts: Ancient Cities, Forgotten Lands, Shrinking Places and Threatened Worlds. Each section covers varied places from across the world. While information about many of these places can be easily googled, the fact that the author has brought all of these places into an interesting compendium of ready reckoner.

Each place is covered in good detail, without getting too long to become boring. This, according to me, is the strength of this book. Further details can always be gained through the selected bibliography provided at the end.

I only wish all the images were rendered properly - I am not sure if this was an issue of the book shared by the publisher or Adobe Digital Editions app. This was the only downside in my whole experience.

Atlas of Vanishing Places is an encyclopedic tour via brief (2 or 3 pages) entries of 37 settings that have for natural and human-made reasons either disappeared entirely or are on the way to doing so. Beyond simple description, it’s also, as the introduction says, meant to stand as “a clarion call for the urgency of preserving what we hold dear.”

While one could certainly “read” it in a setting or two, it probably works best as a nice browsing book: read a number of entries at a time, set it aside, pick it up and read another grouping. The sites are divided into four broad categories: Ancient Cities, Forgotten Lands, Shrinking Places, and Threatened Worlds. One’s familiarity with the sites will vary of course. I found I knew, and had even visited, a number of them, but even with those I usually found a tidbit of interesting information I hadn’t known. The book is well researched and engaging, with the textual information supplemented by nice, clear maps/city plans as well as photographs. The text does an excellent job of concisely placing the site in historical context, explaining its significance, how it was lost (and sometimes how it was rediscovered). Conciseness is the key; this is more of an introduction to these places, not a deep dive into details. Meant more to whet the appetite of the curious reader to do their own further explanation, Atlas serves that purpose quite well.

This particular book was different from the previous two Atlas' that I read. This is more of a paced history/geography lesson. It goes in order, introducing us to a place- both as it stands(or doesn't) now and how it used to be. There are pieces of information about the socio-economic conditions when it was a thriving location, the amount of information varies from place to place. It factors in the amount of upheaval that the place saw before 'Vanishing' from our current maps.

I am not sure if I will be purchasing this as well since I bought the last two and I am yet to re-read them. This is a beautiful series though and serves as a good coffee table edition, and can spark new life into flagging conversation at parties.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.

I loved the idea, and possibly some of the problems I had with the book were the result of reading an ARC instead of the actual book, but the language I found confusing sometimes and there were not enough attributions to stated data. The maps were great, the photos were a little bit surprising (there is a list in the end of the book - I had hoped the citations weren't with each photo because the author took them all himself, but most of them were Getty images....), and I will order this book in print for the library (maybe it will be a smoother experience in print?).

I imagine this is meant to be an attractive and mildly entertaining coffee table book that people leaf through, skimming the brief commentary for interesting factoids. I think the book fills that niche very well.
It is made up of short, several page long chapters on obscure places vanishing (or vanished years ago) in various ways - from depopulation, flooding, droughts etc. They are grouped into topical sections in ways I don’t entirely understand.
Overall, I really enjoyed finding out the little interesting bits of information Elborough unearths and have nothing untoward to say about the text portion of the book. It does what it is meant to do. The graphics were a letdown though. This being an atlas I expected some high quality, diverse and engaging maps, but they are all fairly bland and simplistic, not delivering much information and not doing so in creative ways. Perhaps, it is the fault of the digital edition, and they all look much more impressive crisply printed on quality paper, but their informational paucity will persist printed or not. It seems like a real missed opportunity.

What an amazing book. All of the places that used to exist and are no longer there. It was scary to see the places that are vanishing still and threatened.

I love the history of the world and this book was really interesting to me.

Astonishingly pretty, very interesting and very much a book you need in the flesh. One I will be purchasing soon.

Completely fascinating. I got lost down so many awesome Google rabbit holes while reading about all of these vanished/vanishing cities, islands, landmarks, natural wonders and civilizations that it took me 5 times longer to read this than it should've. Loved the maps overlaying the disappeared places with the current locations. Really, really cool idea for a book.

I loved the concept of this book as soon as I read the title and description. Our world is constantly changing and shifting, nothing is permanent, and documenting the places and things before they are gone is meaningful for ourselves as well as future generations. The author truly does these places justice. A wide variety of places are represented, not just the most famous or relatable examples. Each place gets a few pages, so it is not overwhelmingly long. The images are good quality and help to visualize the past.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

From well-known sites like the Dead Sea or the Great Barrier Reef to unsung places like Esanbehanakitakojima in Japan, Atlas of Vanishing Places takes you on a journey through "Ancient Cities", "Forgotten Lands", "Shrinking Places", and "Threatened Worlds". Elborough manages a statisfying balance between supplying plenty information about the places and keeping each chapter brief enough to make it a perfect pick for your daily commute or bedtime reading. Highly recommendable!

Atlas of Vanishing Places: The lost worlds as they were and as they are today by Travis Elborough

Quarto Publishing
White Lion
Nonfiction, travel
160 pages
September 17, 2019
Rating: 4/5
8/25/19-8/29/19

I received this digital ARC from NetGalley and White Lion Publishing in exchange for an unbiased review.

Related to earlier book Atlas of Improbable Places
Arak Sea in Uzbekistan, once the 4th largest lake in world, 1950s River diverted (Anu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers) to irrigate land for cotton. The author explores the evolution of land and changes occurred through nature and man which have continued to erode with each passing civilization.

There are many illustrated picture and maps of these once inhabited places. I found the history and archeological aspects interesting. It seems that I “knew” of these places but honestly never gave thought to whether they still existed. Some places seemed to exist only from history books and mythology.

The author provides detailed information on ancient cities, forgotten lands, shrinking places and threatened worlds. It provides thought provoking history of our ever changing world as a result of changes in each civilization.