About this item
It is perhaps the eighth wonder of our world that despite modern mapping and satellite photography our planet continues to surprise us. Hidden lairs beneath layers of rock, forgotten cities rising out of deserted lands and even mankind's own feats of engineering eccentricity lie in the most unusual of destinations. Travis Elborough goes in search of the obscure and bizarre, the beautiful and estranged. Taking in the defiant relics of ancient cities such as Ani, a once thriving metropolis lost to conquered lands, and the church tower of San Juan Parangaricuto, that miraculously stands as the sole survivor of a town sunk by lava. Through the labyrinths of Berlin and Beijing - underground realms dug for refuge, espionage and even, as Canada's Moose Jaw, used as the playground for gangsters trading liquor and money over cards.
About the Author
Travis Elborough is an author and social commentator, described by The Guardian as 'one of Britain's finest pop cultural historians'. His books include The Bus We Loved, a history of London's Routemaster bus; The Long-Player Goodbye, a hymn to vinyl records published as The Vinyl Countdown in the Unites States; Wish You Were Here, a survey of the British beside the seaside and A Walk in the Park, a loving exploration of public parks and green space, hailed as 'a fascinating, informative, revelatory book' by William Boyd. Atlas of Improbable Places, his collaboration with the cartographer Alan Horsfield, was saluted by Monocle magazine for 'making the world feel bigger.'He has also compiled such anthologies as Our History of the 20th Century: As Told in Diaries and Letters to Change the World: From Pankhurst to Orwell. A regular contributor to international print and broadcast media, he has penned articles on all aspects of travel and culture, from pirates in the Caribbean to donkeys at the British seaside.
