Beyond the Map
Unruly Enclaves, Ghostly Places, Emerging Lands and Our Search for New Utopias
by Alastair Bonnett
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Pub Date Apr 24 2018 | Archive Date Jun 15 2018
University of Chicago Press | University Of Chicago Press
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Description
In Beyond the Map, Bonnett presents stories of the world’s most extraordinary spaces—many unmarked on any official map—all of which challenge our assumptions about what we know—or think we know—about our world. As cultural, religious and political boundaries ebb and flow with each passing day, traditional maps unravel and fragment. With the same adventurous spirit he effused in the acclaimed Unruly Places, Bonnett takes us to thirty-nine incredible spots around the globe to explore these changing boundaries and stimulate our geographical imagination. Some are tied to disruptive contemporary political turbulence, such as the rise of ISIL, Russia’s incursions into Ukraine and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom. Others explore the secret places not shown on Google Earth or reflect fast-changing landscapes.
Beyond the Map journeys out into a world of mysterious, daunting and magical spaces. It is a world of hidden cultures and ghostly memories, of uncountable new islands and curious stabs at paradise. From the phantom tunnels of the Tokyo subway to a stunning movie-set re-creation of 1950s-era Moscow; from the caliphate of the Islamic State to virtual cybertopias—this book serves as an imaginative guide to the farthest fringes of geography.
Advance Praise
"Ranging from downright funny to deadly serious, each chapter in this guide from social geography professor Bonnett takes the reader on a journey to an unusual location. . . . By turns delightful and sobering, this book, like the best travel, inspires both the mind and the imagination."
Booklist
“These essays about islands that appear and disappear with the tides, guerrilla gardeners planting on traffic circles, and clothing malfunctions in Second Life are entertaining as well as thought provoking. . . . Having visited most of the places, the author is lively and personally engaging, making this a recommended collection for public libraries.”
Alberto Manguel, coauthor of The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
“Beyond the Map is in fact very much a map of our existing world or, better still, of our imagination of the world. Places we never knew were there, places that are there because we’ve dreamt them up so forcefully, places that were there and then vanished into oblivion are all beautifully described in this witty, erudite, original volume that deserves a place between Mandeville’s Travels and Umberto Eco’s Book of Imaginary Lands.”
Prospect
"Full of rich, strange anecdote, Beyond the Map skips restlessly around the globe, from the islands emerging out of the Gulf of Bothnia, to trap streets. Along the way Bonnett poses challenging, often uncomfortable, questions about the roles that power, money and identity have come to play in negotiating—or, just as often, dictating—our sense of place...This fine book is an expert, engaged guide to how one might begin to start mapping these often perplexing processes."
Bradley Garrett, coauthor of Global Undergrounds: Exploring Cities Within
“At a time when many of us imagine the world as known, measured, bounded, and recorded, Bonnett gives us the gift we most desire—the ability to be surprised again. Beyond the Map takes us on woozy romp through some of the kookiest, eeriest, and most impossible places on Earth, under the sea, and in cyberspace. In challenging us to imagine and explore the great unknown still out there, Bonnett has, once again, made geography sexy.”
Geographical
"Whether exploring modern legends that suggest that commuters go missing in Tokyo’s enormous Shinjuku train station, or chronicling humanity’s search for utopias in cyberspace and perpetual mobility, Bonnett has an eye for the fascinating corners of his subject, not all of which are remote and inaccessible. . . . . There’s much to enjoy here; and a useful warning, too—if one is needed—as to the inadvisability of combining red wine with late-night online shopping."
Geoff Manaugh, author of A Burglar’s Guide to the City
“Fans of Bonnett’s earlier work, followers of Atlas Obscura, and academic geographers in search of a fun read will no doubt find this book essential.”
Engineering & Technology
"An engrossing look at geographical eccentricities that will be revealing for even seasoned armchair travellers."
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780226513843 |
| PRICE | $25.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Featured Reviews
George S, Media/Journalist
I really enjoyed this fascinating book. Anyone who likes geography or travel will too.
In with qickmvignwttes, The author tales the reader to quirky,offbeat places around the world, weaving in some profound thoughts in the journey.
My favorite place visited was Dau, a Russian film set that was designed to mirror reality and where fiction starts to take over reality, sometimes in horrific ways.
Carianne C, Reviewer
I've long been fascinated by placemaking, although this was a different take to what I was expecting. This had an element of Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography, which I liked. I really liked the mix of locations the author chose, from islands most people have never heard to places like ISIL that dominate the news cycle. My personal favorite was the lens with which he looked at Jerusalem and explored the question of whether religion was the best way to consider these layers. I also enjoyed the mix of naturally occurring locations vs. man made ones such as Christiana. THe addition of warnings of places, such as Japan's tsunami markers and warnings of radioactive material was also an interesting addition. An interesting read.
Mike D, Reviewer
My recent first ever destination birthday made me think of other destinations. Time to armchair travel then and this book was just waiting for me courtesy of Netgalley. In all fairness this isn’t merely a travelogue, the 39 destinations here aren’t strictly geographical, they are also geopolitical, imaginary, ghostly and way, way off the beaten track. Some of them aren’t even on the map. They are…well, beyond the map. In fact the sheer range of the author’s choices is awesome, particularly for such a relatively compact volume. It’s terrifically educational, ranging from cyberutopias to trap streets, I’m hoping to retain a good amount of this information, because it was all completely fascinating and quite often completely bizarre too. And presented so cleverly, with such erudition…it’s the perfect nonfiction, the one that both entertains and engages. Read it in one day, which should speak volumes to the quality and readability of this book. Nonfiction tends to be something of a slog, but this sped by. The only think to improve upon would be some visual aid besides the black and white sketches, some photos of these wild locations would have been great. Maybe they are included in the final version, I did read an ARC published by the Universtity of Chicago, a fact announced on every single freaking page…and this was still worth it. Way to make geography fun. Armchair traveler’s delight, this one goes places the every changing world doesn’t readily display and can (and really shouldn’t) get overlooked. Immensely enjoyable trip. Thanks Netgalley.
Sonia A, Reviewer
This was a very good book, very interesting and entertaining at the same time. Beyond the Map takes us on a journey to places that we might not want to know personally (like the poorest slum in Colombo, or the islands of garbage in the pacific), but that we really need to know they exist, even if (or especially if) the maps do not shown them to us.
More than knowing that they exist, we need to reflect on why they exist and what does that say about us as a society. The idea that the public space in the cities belongs to everyone and, as a consequence, does not belong to anyone in particular hence no one really takes ownership, responsibility or feels very comfortable in it, was an idea that I already had in my mind but had never seen so clearly explained.
It also contains some anecdotal chapters, like the smallest country in the world that occupies a building, exists for centuries and has the right to be an UN observer (you have to read the book to find out what I'm talking about) that enrich the book and make it easier to read.
Recommended to everyone who likes non-fiction books and likes to think about our world apart beyond the obvious layers, see below the surface.
Joel S, Reviewer
An Idiosyncratic and Engaging Survey
The premise, a survey of places that exist beyond standard maps, is a good one. Our guide, Alastair Bonnett, is congenial, well-informed, and opinionated in a mild and amiable fashion. The execution is clever and imaginative.
This book will have something for everyone, mostly because Bonnett has devoted great creative energy to identifying what sorts of "places" qualify as beyond-the-map. So, sure, we get islands that rise out of the sea and then disappear, and we get abandoned places, hidden places, enclaves, utopias, and so on. But Bonnett works more variations than that. You also get other "spaces" - an Eruv on Bondi Beach, the state? of Malta, communities defined by exotic languages, virtual places, abandoned movie sets, and underground and undersea installations. Some of this is fascinating, some is a bit coy, (a garden on a traffic island), but all of it is interesting.
This doesn't strike me as a cover-to-cover read. It's a dip in and out sort of book, and one can read as much or as little at a time as one cares for. That's not a criticism. Bonnett is good company. Some bits are brief or superficial, and some seem to be in the book just to round out the premise, but the fast pace, good humor, and wide range offer a pleasant and thought provoking diversion, and might well prompt the reader to further investigate places of special interest. This struck me as a real find for any armchair traveller with a taste for the eccentric.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
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