Love it! As a 25-year-old who cherishes the allure of reading and exploring new worlds through literature, I found Travis Elborough's "Atlas of Vanishing Places: The Lost Worlds as They Were and as They Are Today" to be a fascinating and enlightening read. This book is a journey through time and space, exploring the transient nature of our world and the myriad places that have faded into history or are on the brink of doing so.

Elborough's work is a captivating blend of geography, history, and storytelling. The book is divided into sections like Ancient Cities, Forgotten Lands, Shrinking Places, and Threatened Worlds, providing a comprehensive look at various vanishing locations across the globe. From the ancient city of Palenque to the mysterious vanishing of the Japanese islet Esanbehanakitakojima, Elborough masterfully narrates the stories of these places with a blend of factual accuracy and engaging storytelling​​​​.

One of the most striking aspects of this book is its vivid imagery and detailed maps, making it a visual treat as well as an informative read. The full-color photographs and maps enhance the reader's understanding and bring these vanishing places to life, enabling us to visualize the lost worlds and comprehend the changes they have undergone over time​​​​.

Elborough's writing is not just about listing lost places; it's a narrative that delves into the reasons behind their disappearance. Whether it's due to natural calamities, human interference, or the inevitable passage of time, each story is told with a sense of urgency and a call to preserve what remains of our shared heritage. The book serves as a reminder of the fragility of human civilizations and the impermanence of the landscapes we inhabit​​.

In conclusion, "Atlas of Vanishing Places" is more than just a coffee table book; it's an educational journey, a historical exploration, and a visual masterpiece rolled into one. It's a book that I would recommend to anyone with a passion for history, geography, and the ever-changing face of our planet. This book not only educates but also inspires a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around us!

I really enjoyed this exploration of places across the world which are either lost already, or (rather sadly) are on their way to disappearing forever. The photos didn't reproduce very well on Kindle and personally I feel this would be a lot better read as a coffee table book, as I'm sure the pictures must add a lot to the reading experience of a book such as this. I thought it had a good range of locations, and a good balance between the ancient manmade and natural world, and it definitely made for interesting and thought-provoking reading.

Atlas of Vanishing Places (Travis Elborough, Aurum, 2022) is an interesting collection of exploration, research and anecdotes relating to forgotten lands and ancient cities,  such as Xanadu, Petra, Alexandria, London’s River Fleet, Timbuktu, Venice, The Dead Sea, The Great Wall and many other lost sites.  It is an account of the complex threats, historical, ecological,  cultural, human, that exist to our global heritage including the pilfering of stones from The Great Wall of China by souvenir hunters!  The work is an atlas as described, with different entries for each place, and therefore quite difficult to read from front to back, especially on kindle.  In fact my complaints are not about content at all but about production qualities, none of which I imagine would have applied to the original hard copy.  This is definitely not a book that translates to an e-reader.

***

“For as long as anyone could remember, there’d been a small island lying roughly 5400m off the coast from Sarufutsu villiage on the northern tip of Hokkaido.  It wasn’t much to write home about and was less uninhabited than almost entirely uninhabitable by humans; a truly unwelcoming, frigid, wind- and snow-lashed piece of rock.”

This hostile piece of rock known as Esanbehanakitakojima, floating in the chilly waters of the Sea of Okhotsk, was nevertheless considered important to Japan as part of the definition of its territorial waters.

I say ‘was’ because the island has vanished.

The authors write:  "It’s possible that it was eroded over time, or that it’s surface area gradually sunk beneath the sea."

A stark reminder of land masses that have disappeared throughout time, and will continue to do so as the oceans rise.  The world's oceans are currently warming much faster than previously thought.

***

The story of Xanadu is like the game of Chinese Whispers, the author says, an ever changing story which becomes more and more distorted as it passes from hand to hand.  Coleridge’s famous poem

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure dome decree

Where Alph the sacred river ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

was inspired by reading an account of the travels of Marco Polo contained in a seventeenth century travel book by one Samuel Purchas.

“It was a volume filled with wild accounts of voyages to far flung and exotic lands… .Among them was something taken from Marco Polo’s reminiscences…”

Kubla Khan was the grandson of Genghis, fearsome leader of the mongol empire and subject of many a Disney movie.  In Kubla Khan’s time (1260) the city of Xanadu he had built was used as his capital on the plains in Northern China.  It was laid out over 96 square miles but later fell into ruin and disrepair.  It seemed odd to me that this section of the book made no mention of the work of William Dalrymple who travelled to Xanadu in the footsteps of Marco Polo and published his book In Xanadu in 1990.

I did enjoy reading sections of Atlas of Vanishing Places although I did wonder if it tried to do too much.  Also the text can feel a little clinical.   As I mentioned, many of the maps and photographs were poorly reproduced on kindle.  A great deal of research, travel and effort must have gone into the making of this book and I felt it would be more enjoyable in hardback coffee table edition with colour maps and photographs.  And maybe that is how the book was originally produced.  I hope so.  Although there is a selected bibliography, there is little reference in the text of the massive corpus of writings that already exist on these vanished lands.

I am grateful to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me a review copy.

this was a very informative collection of various places around the world! i didn't read every single one all the way through but i did enjoy what i did read. would love to own a physical copy of it in the future.

Hugle informative and enjoyable! This book takes you to places which are non existent on the map of the world, completely vanished with little to know about them. I absolutely loved reading the book!

Hugely readable and informative! I loved how it was in bite size chunks and covered areas all over the globe. I’ve been fortunate to travel widely but this book made me want to book a trip again and appreciate far-flung places again. A great read, great facts, and a definite conversation starter. A great addition to anyone’s book collection!

‘Atlas of Vanishing Places’ is a very brief, but fascinating collection of facts about… you guessed it, places that vanished of are vanishing from their places of existence due to time, human activity, raising waters (or disappearing ones), etc. I found this book to be really interesting, mostly because it covers quite large amount of places all over the world and provides brief, but informative facts and anecdotes about each of them. I think it’s a book worth recommending!

As I read this book in a ebook format, which lacked the maps and had some very weird editing, I believe it would be unfair of me to rate it lower just because of this. However, it’s a pity I couldn’t appreciate this book fully due to this.

I previously read and totally relished reading another book in Elborough’s Atlas series (Atlas of Forgotten Places). This book is no different. If I (or you) choose to go anywhere at all, many of the places in this book should be on that bucket-list. With stunning photos, beautiful and detailed maps and drawings as well as a beautiful narrative and descriptions, Elborough provides readers an intimate look into the place (no matter what it is).

To give you an idea of all the ‘go anywhere’ spots this book includes, we have:

Ancient Cities (including Mohenjodaro, Petra, and Temgad)
Forgotten Lands. From Bodie, California (which has been on my list to see since I learned about it on a trip to Columbia, Caliornia) to Bagerhat, Bangladesh.
Shrinking Places (The Dead Sea for example)
Threatened Worlds (from Venice to the Great Barrier Reef, and more)
A must-read that is sure to engage and educate readers of all ages, for those who love to go anywhere and everywhere, and for those who love to stay put too (and can go anywhere through books!)

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC for this book from NetGalley and/or Edelweiss, and these are my honest opinions.

Ah I loved this book. If you're a map or geography freak like I am you need to get a copy of this book right now. Can't recommend it enough.

A really interesting read. Sadly, I don't believe I got to appreciate the full book due to the digital version missing some photos and maps which would have been really beneficial. Even though this was a fascinating book and I learnt a lot from it. A good book for anyone interested in history or geography.

What a neat and unique book! Wonderful content and illustrations documenting many places that used to be. I loved considering how places change over time.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

What a delight. The anecdotes. The history. The maps. I was completely absorbed. It was fun to read, and sobering. The only thing I can say by way of criticism is that I wish it had been longer.

The information in this book was well written and researched, if somewhat inconsistent in tone. Elborough switches from the academic to the casual, sometimes mid-sentence, which didn't always lend the prose a great deal of flow. But the research was clear, and I was generally impressed by the amount of relevant information fit into such a small word count for each place. It was definitely a good read, and one I'd be happy to recommend.

I've spotted this as a hardback and thought the idea was fascinating! I've always loved the concept of Atlantis as a kid and this satisfied a craving for a more grown up conversation on similar places.

I like that it's a little shorter in page count with plenty of well-written chapters so it makes for a perfect brain snack, OR if you don't really have time then dip in or out on your commute. Highly recommend!

Wow a stunning book! Following the international bestselling success of Atlas of Improbable Places and Atlas of the Unexpected, Travis Elborough takes you on a voyage to all corners of the world in search of the lost, disappearing and vanished. Discover ancient seats of power and long-forgotten civilizations through the Mayan city of Palenque; delve into the mystery of a disappeared Japanese islet; and uncover the incredible hidden sites like the submerged Old Adaminaby, once abandoned but slowly remerging.

A very cool non-fiction book showcasing all the civilizations that used to exist and where they were! It's always nice to learn about these cultures and what happened to them!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Amazing photos accompany the sad tales of places vanishing from the earth. Perfect for history and travel lovers.

For those who love history, geography, archaeology, travel and nature, this book is a fascinating - if sad - look at the world as it once was. To consider the Great Barrier Reef and Great Wall of China in their glory in the past, it is heart-breaking to think of them crumbling and decaying.

Of course, lost cities and vanished places do have an air of mystery and an almost magical sense of discovery, so it's not all doom and gloom. Far from it, as the glorious maps, photographs and illustrations make this an exciting book. Included in many of the entries are bits of folklore and tasters of ancient civilisations, such as the Mayans (one of my childhood fascinations) some that have totally disappeared and some simply buried under water or by forests.

Interesting too, is how rivers have changed course or lost an arm and forests have been wiped out through various reasons. Glaciers shrinking at an alarming rate changing the landscape before our very eyes. All these vanishing places.

This is a book to dip into as each entry is discrete. It is engaging in style and easy to understand and accessible to all. Happy to have it in my collection.

This was a fascinating look at ancient cultures and places, most of which have either long-since vanished completely or are rapidly in the process of doing so. Seeing the devastation wrought by humanity upon our natural world is heartbreaking.

*This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley & White Lion Publishing & came out in September 2019.

My comments have to stay the same as they were with the hardback:-

A wonderful book. For those who did Ur early in secondary school, and who can rattle off factoids about Hammurabi at will, comes this volume, which introduces us to what could be called the most important places that don't exist, and, gleefully, many are places you won't have heard of. The Hittites, yes, but their capital city, resplendent within miles of walls surrounding an imposing – if heavily restored – citadel? Alright, it only took until the third place here, Leptis Magna, before I hit one I'd actually heard of, but the fact remains – for someone such as I, who would claim some geographical nous on a TV quiz show, will have copious holes in their knowledge filled by these pages. Sticking with Leptis Magna – I might have been alright remembering its name, but could tell you nothing about it – but this volume can tell you what is known about it, map it, photograph it – and never have the feel of pure armchair research, which is superlative. Splitting it up into spurious categories of kinds of place, so cities and towns are replaced by a chapter of cities, towns, rivers and a whole island that's vanished, is daft, but that's the nearest thing to a flaw. The reasons for the places having vanished differ, but you do see an environmental thread before too long; it's good then that the focus is both on manmade environments as well as naturally occurring ones. This was right up my street – a road in several cases to nowhere I even knew existed.