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Uma viagem pelos países que não existem
Have you ever heard of South Ossetia, Transnistria or Somaliland? And what about Abkhazia or Nagorno-Karabakh? Can you guess what these strange names have in common? These are all countries that, despite being independent, are not recognised by the United Nations. In other words, they are countries with borders, populations, visas, their own currencies, and even their own systems of government, but that are not among the 193 members of the United Nations. Apart from these, which are completely unknown to most of the world’s population, this list also includes some more familiar names, including Palestine, Kosovo, Kashmir, Tibet and Taiwan.
Traveller Guilherme Canever visited 16 countries that are not recognised by the United Nations, and has presented us with reports, stories and questions about each of these places, scattered on the map. He met people, stayed with the locals, tried local food, hitchhiked, and visited tourist spots. He was also able to take in a bit of the culture, observing the habits of these “non-citizens of countries that do not exist,” and has put all this experience in a book which, even though it is provocative, is a pleasure to read. The book starts with an explanation of what makes a country be “a country” and how new countries come into being. Next, each chapter brings a different “non-country,” with its location on the map, its main characteristics, the report on his experience in each of them, tips about what a visitors can do there, and other curiosities.
The preface is signed by Guga Chacra, who has a master’s degree in International Relations from the Columbia University, and is a news commentator at Globo News.
Traveller Guilherme Canever visited 16 countries that are not recognised by the United Nations, and has presented us with reports, stories and questions about each of these places, scattered on the map. He met people, stayed with the locals, tried local food, hitchhiked, and visited tourist spots. He was also able to take in a bit of the culture, observing the habits of these “non-citizens of countries that do not exist,” and has put all this experience in a book which, even though it is provocative, is a pleasure to read. The book starts with an explanation of what makes a country be “a country” and how new countries come into being. Next, each chapter brings a different “non-country,” with its location on the map, its main characteristics, the report on his experience in each of them, tips about what a visitors can do there, and other curiosities.
The preface is signed by Guga Chacra, who has a master’s degree in International Relations from the Columbia University, and is a news commentator at Globo News.
- GenresNonfictionTravel
192 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2020
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215 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 30, 2021
“Uma viagem pelos países que não existem” talvez deva ser o mais fascinante guia de viagem escrito não com esse propósito. Os relatos das passagens de Canever por nações pouco ou nada reconhecidas pela comunidade internacional traz algo de anacrônico: relembram fábulas de terras distantes, míticas, inexistentes.
Leitura rápida e de conteúdo interessante. Uma pena que o texto não tenha recebido o devido preparo e revisão — mas, se o autor se esforçou e conseguiu se comunicar com pessoas no Kosovo, na Somalilândia, na República Turca do Chipre do Norte, entre outros, então nós podemos fazer uma força para passar por cima das gralhas do texto.
Mais do que uma lista do que fazer (e do que não fazer, como visitar o Azerbaijão depois de ter entrado na República de Nagorno-Karabach pela fronteira com a Armênia…), Canever nos fornece um panorama de culturas, povos e terras que, se por um lado, parecem esquecidos, por outro, são habitados por gente como a gente.
Leitura rápida e de conteúdo interessante. Uma pena que o texto não tenha recebido o devido preparo e revisão — mas, se o autor se esforçou e conseguiu se comunicar com pessoas no Kosovo, na Somalilândia, na República Turca do Chipre do Norte, entre outros, então nós podemos fazer uma força para passar por cima das gralhas do texto.
Mais do que uma lista do que fazer (e do que não fazer, como visitar o Azerbaijão depois de ter entrado na República de Nagorno-Karabach pela fronteira com a Armênia…), Canever nos fornece um panorama de culturas, povos e terras que, se por um lado, parecem esquecidos, por outro, são habitados por gente como a gente.
December 26, 2020
O conteúdo em si é muito bom, mas os vários erros de grafia e gramática brocharam a minha leitura.
December 17, 2018
Já fui a alguns, espero ir a outros.
Gostei tanto de ler esta experiência de vida que me apeteceu fazer a mala e ir passear para alguns dos locais descritos.
Gostei tanto de ler esta experiência de vida que me apeteceu fazer a mala e ir passear para alguns dos locais descritos.
October 1, 2023
I picked this up when it was on promotion on Amazon a couple of years ago, but I left it on the back burner until this week, when Nagorno-Karabakh started making headlines again.
Unrecognized Nations delves into countries that are just that—unrecognized or only partially recognized by the rest of the world. Short chapters describe Transnistria, Kosovo, Somaliland, Western Sahara, Northern Cyprus, Palestine, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Taiwan; a brief section at the end also mentions various Russian republics, Tibet, Karakalpak[stan], Kashmir, East Turkestan, and Kurdistan.
Parts of this book engaged me. I didn't know that Western Sahara is a disputed territory, for example (weird because I am absolutely the sort of person who spends a lot of time poking at maps), and there are some interesting details to be found:
One United States Dollar is worth 6,500 Somaliland Shillings (SLSH), which means thirteen notes of 500 shillings each, the largest in circulation. (38)
At the street markets you can buy anything. There are bazaars scattered around the city centre. With one hundred dollars one can even buy a Somaliland passport, but this would be just an expensive souvenir, as it is not valid in any country. (38)
One interesting fact is that, despite the low international recognition of Taiwan as a country, the Taiwanese passport is considered very strong, and is accepted in 161 countries and territories. This passport is even stronger than the Brazilian Passport, even though Brazil is recognised as a country by all the countries in the world. (107)
I'd recommend looking elsewhere for detailed information on any of the countries within, though. It's a very short book, and each country/region/disputed territory gets some brief facts, a little history essay, a brief account (when applicable) of Canever's visit there, and some suggested to-dos for other visitors. The writing is pretty flat, though, and the English translation at least does not appear to have been proofread—lots of errors like "well" instead of "wall" (49), "Albanese" instead of "Albanian" spoken in Kosovo (23), etc. It's not a big deal in terms of reading, but repeated small errors make me distrust any bigger information within. That said, it seems like a fascinating project for a traveller, and it's nice to have my eyes opened to regions of the world I wouldn't usually think of.
Unrecognized Nations delves into countries that are just that—unrecognized or only partially recognized by the rest of the world. Short chapters describe Transnistria, Kosovo, Somaliland, Western Sahara, Northern Cyprus, Palestine, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Taiwan; a brief section at the end also mentions various Russian republics, Tibet, Karakalpak[stan], Kashmir, East Turkestan, and Kurdistan.
Parts of this book engaged me. I didn't know that Western Sahara is a disputed territory, for example (weird because I am absolutely the sort of person who spends a lot of time poking at maps), and there are some interesting details to be found:
One United States Dollar is worth 6,500 Somaliland Shillings (SLSH), which means thirteen notes of 500 shillings each, the largest in circulation. (38)
At the street markets you can buy anything. There are bazaars scattered around the city centre. With one hundred dollars one can even buy a Somaliland passport, but this would be just an expensive souvenir, as it is not valid in any country. (38)
One interesting fact is that, despite the low international recognition of Taiwan as a country, the Taiwanese passport is considered very strong, and is accepted in 161 countries and territories. This passport is even stronger than the Brazilian Passport, even though Brazil is recognised as a country by all the countries in the world. (107)
I'd recommend looking elsewhere for detailed information on any of the countries within, though. It's a very short book, and each country/region/disputed territory gets some brief facts, a little history essay, a brief account (when applicable) of Canever's visit there, and some suggested to-dos for other visitors. The writing is pretty flat, though, and the English translation at least does not appear to have been proofread—lots of errors like "well" instead of "wall" (49), "Albanese" instead of "Albanian" spoken in Kosovo (23), etc. It's not a big deal in terms of reading, but repeated small errors make me distrust any bigger information within. That said, it seems like a fascinating project for a traveller, and it's nice to have my eyes opened to regions of the world I wouldn't usually think of.
July 17, 2020
Interesting Topic
As a geography teacher, I was interested in the subject of this book. It has a brief historical background and travel advice for each place covered. This edition has several typos, and the actual accounts of the author's travels aren't conveyed very eloquently - might be due to the fact that the author's first language isn't English, so maybe this is a translation.
As a geography teacher, I was interested in the subject of this book. It has a brief historical background and travel advice for each place covered. This edition has several typos, and the actual accounts of the author's travels aren't conveyed very eloquently - might be due to the fact that the author's first language isn't English, so maybe this is a translation.
March 28, 2021
This is really just an overview for travelers, preferably those with Brazilian passports. For one thing, the book (pamphlet?) is only 126 pages long and tries to cover about 12 countries in that span. The author doesn’t speak any of the languages of the countries he visits, not even a regional language France like Russian. Finally, there are quite a few typos and instances of poor translation.
March 11, 2024
It is on a topic I enjoy reading about and have read a fair amount about before. I like the author's take on it by visiting these places themself. And as a language teacher I really appreciate the author writing in what I assume is not their first language, and I think they did a tremendous job at it. However, I feel that they should have used another / an additional editor. Every few pages there is a word that's off, or a phrase that doesn't quite make sense in English, that I assume makes more sense in the author's first language. And the name for Western Sahara: Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is repeatedly listed as Sahrawi Democratic Arab Republic by mistake.
November 28, 2020
Quick easy read
Liked the topic, but felt the author should have delved deeper into the culture and not keep it so travel book esque
Liked the topic, but felt the author should have delved deeper into the culture and not keep it so travel book esque
April 9, 2021
“O Ocidente acha que precisamos do reconhecimento deles, mas não precisamos, não estamos nem aí. Nossa vida não mudaria nada (…)"
O livro é não-ficção. Nele o autor conta a experiência que foi visitar, como um viajante mesmo, vários países que não são reconhecidos internacionalmente. É um tema muitíssimo interessante pra mim e eu achei a leitura bastante agradável e instigante, com certeza me deu vontade de conhecer vários desses países, e além da viagem o autor também situa o leitor na história do não país e porque ele não é reconhecido.
Alguns não países podem surpreender, como a Palestina, Tibete, Taiwan e Kosovo, que muita gente acha que são reconhecidos. Eu sabia, mas meus irmãos não haha e alguns são totalmente desconhecidos, como a Somalilândia, Transnístria, Abecássia e Nagorno Karabakh. Além desses, o autor também fala sobre o Saara Oriental, Chipre do norte, Ossétia do Sul e as repúblicas russas (Karakalpak, Caxemira, Turquistão oriental e Curdistão).
O livro é rápido de ler e está disponível no Kindle Unlimited.
O livro é não-ficção. Nele o autor conta a experiência que foi visitar, como um viajante mesmo, vários países que não são reconhecidos internacionalmente. É um tema muitíssimo interessante pra mim e eu achei a leitura bastante agradável e instigante, com certeza me deu vontade de conhecer vários desses países, e além da viagem o autor também situa o leitor na história do não país e porque ele não é reconhecido.
Alguns não países podem surpreender, como a Palestina, Tibete, Taiwan e Kosovo, que muita gente acha que são reconhecidos. Eu sabia, mas meus irmãos não haha e alguns são totalmente desconhecidos, como a Somalilândia, Transnístria, Abecássia e Nagorno Karabakh. Além desses, o autor também fala sobre o Saara Oriental, Chipre do norte, Ossétia do Sul e as repúblicas russas (Karakalpak, Caxemira, Turquistão oriental e Curdistão).
O livro é rápido de ler e está disponível no Kindle Unlimited.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews