Unruly Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and Other Inscrutable Geographies

By: Alastair Bonnett

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Synopsis: This &“guide to weird, ruined, and wonderful spots&” across the globe explores disappearing islands, forbidden deserts, and much more—a &“terrific book&” (Los Angeles Times). At a time when Google Maps Street View can take you on a virtual tour of Yosemite&’s remotest trails, it&’s hard to imagine there&’s any uncharted ground left on the planet. But in Unruly Places, Alastair Bonnett rekindles our geographical imaginations with excursions into some of the world&’s most peculiar places—such as moving villages, secret cities, no man&’s lands, and floating islands. Bonnett investigates Sandy Island, a place that appeared on maps until just two years ago despite the fact that it never existed; 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; Baarle, a patchwork of Dutch and Flemish enclaves where walking from the grocery store&’s produce section to the meat counter can involve crossing national borders; and many other curious locales. In this &“delightfully quirky&” guide down the road much less traveled, Bonnett reveals that the most extraordinary places on earth might be hidden in plain sight (Ron Charles, Washington Post).