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You’ll want to be reading excerpts to your friends, but don’t do it. They’ll want to take a look at it “for a minute.” A quarter of an hour later, you’ll be able to get back to the crazy story of the Tangier International Zone, or the Free State of Bottleneck (both real things). Each former “country” gets a cause of death, from “too louche” to “probably not existing in the first place.” Treat yourself to this one.
— DaveThe remarkable (and occasionally ridiculous) stories of 48 nations that fell off the map.
"Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. They're all equally implausible once you get up close."
Countries die. Sometimes it's murder, sometimes it's by accident, and sometimes it's because they were so ludicrous they didn't deserve to exist in the first place. This is an atlas of 48 nations that fell off the map. Their causes of death range from the implausible (jerky prices) to the unfortunate (too evil) to the downright bizarre (the flip of a coin). The polite way of writing an obituary is: dwell on the good bits, gloss over the embarrassing stuff. This book refuses to do so, because these dead nations are so ridiculous that it's impossible to skip the embarrassing stuff.
★ "This book is a sparkling gem."--Booklist (Starred Review)
"Perfect for fans of Atlas Obscura."--Publishers Weekly