Atlas of Forgotten Places: Journey to Abandoned Destinations from Around the Globe

by Travis Elborough

Abandoned places are mysterious, strange, striking, neglected, hazardous and off-limits. Each sleeping monument offers a snapshot that transports you back in time, invites you to peer into hidden histories, unearth glamorous pasts and reveal dark truths.

From a disused New York subway station to a train cemetery in Bolivia, from a crumbling fourth-century castle to a derelict industrial monolith, from a vacant five-star hotel to a Soviet ghost town in the Arctic Circle. These locations are a stark reminder of what was, and the accounts in this investigative book help to bring their stories back to life, telling us what happened, when and why, and to whom.

Original maps and stunning colour photography accompany Travis Elborough's moving historic and geographic accounts of each site. Trace our lesser known human history through ancient sites and twenty-first century ruins, as well as the most contemporary examples of urban decay, like San Francisco's Alcatraz Island.

The book features over 40 sites,

Santa Claus, Arizona, A festive tourist resort turned ghost town deep in the desert where once you could meet Santa Claus any day of the year;

Crystal Palace Subway, London, One of the city's best-kept secrets is an underground, cathedral-like relic from where many Victorian commuters bustled through

Peter Ice Cream Factory, NSW, A booming factory that was expanded to accommodate demand, and even featured a staff swimming pool, now abandoned in favour of a more economically viable building;

Aeroplane Graveyard, Bangkok, A large open wasteland where decommissioned planes rest, some entirely intact, surrounded be weeds and detritus, and presently occupied by families seeking shelter;

Balaklava Submarine Base, The former top-secret Soviet submarine base that was kept off all official maps and known as Object 825 GTS;

Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra, Tuscany, Once dubbed 'the place of no return', this long-closed lunatic asylum once housed 6,000 patients who were never allowed to leave;

Tsaparang, A crumbling citadel in the Himalayas that inspired the myth of Shangri-La.

Also in the Unexpected Atlas Atlas of Improbable Places, Atlas of Untamed Places, Atlas of the Unexpected and Atlas of Vanishing Places (WINNER Illustrated Book of the Year - Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2020).

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Geography, Reference, Architecture, Maps

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2021

Reviews

[Jodi C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really surprised me in a good way. Atlas of Forgotten Places: Journeys to Abandoned and Deserted Destinations Around the Globe by Travis Elborough is right up Jodi Alley.

I have a thing for abandoned places and I am drawn to books like this, but it is usually the photography that takes center stage. This book wasn't so great on the photography aspect, using some of the worst views of some of these places, but the history that was meticulously researched for each location more than made up for it.

Pro Tip: I used Google Earth Street View for these locations and got much better views! It doesn't matter if the site is in the desert in Namibia, believe me, someone has been there and shared their view.

Many people have heard of places like Bodie, California, but how many have heard of Sammezzano Castle in Tuscany? This book goes far deeper than sticking to the paths already well-traveled and instead concentrates on those that many will hear about for the first time. The amount of research the author did for every location is incredible and I found myself taking notes. Then again, I am a total dork for this kind of thing.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves history and/or finds the beauty in places that time and Mother Nature are slowly reclaiming.

[Cherisa B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very engaging and educational read, (especially if you are saddled with an inner nerd). Have an Atlas or your Google Maps handy. Some of my favorite reads are when a book drives me to open other references to fill in gaps of my knowledge of history or geography or people. But the author did a good job of roping me into learning about a place or the people related to the place he was about to tell us about. It’s really cool.

[Rusha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't mean to brag: but I wouldn't forget these places

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books that explore abandoned places. There’s something hauntingly beautiful about seeing nature reclaiming these areas. I always feel a tinge of sadness as well, being witness to once majestic places falling into disrepair.

This book’s abandoned places are divided into five sections: vacant properties, unsettled situations, dilapidated destinations, journeys ended and obsolete institutions. The locations, covering most continents (a notable exception is Australia), are varied. They include an orphanage, a nuclear power plant, a lighthouse, palaces, hotels, castles, a theme park, a train graveyard and a submarine base.

The history of the locations are accompanied by maps and photographs. Because I love abandoned places so much, I wanted more photos, particularly those that showed the interiors.

I knew about a number of these places already but some were new to me. The one I’m most likely to remember years from now is Akampene Island, Uganda. Women in traditional Bakiga society who became pregnant out of wedlock were exiled there as punishment. The island only had “two trees that bore no edible fruit and offered nothing in the way of shelter”. Most girls had not been taught to swim and to be marooned there meant almost certain death, unless they somehow managed to escape or were rescued.



My favourite photos were of Camelot Theme Park’s Knightmare rollercoaster in Chorley, Lancashire,



the City Hall Subway Station in New York



and the Gary City Methodist Church in Indiana.

Here then is a compendium of the misplaced and the neglected. Ruins, ancient and modern, beautiful, ugly and appalling, and in varying states of appreciation and restoration, or lack thereof. The ungotten and the forgotten no one remembers. Abandonment is not a cause to give up all hope but the opposite, if anything, encouraging us all to think longer and harder about the world to come and what might be worth salvaging from the wreckage.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and White Lion Publishing, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read this book.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[AndiReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cool book! A great gift to the friend who always explored the empty cabins in the woods, the dilapidated building down the block, the crumbling hotel when you were on vacation.....
Via the Atlas, you will be able to explore "the places that time forgot" abandoned famous international spots.

The photos are amazing as you take in ancient ruins and castles as well as more identifiable spots such as – an New York subway station,. The very strange is uncovered in a flooded Thai mall filled purposely with fish!

Maps and photography accompany very clear descriptions of the spots and their history. If you are someone who travels internationally, you will surely include some of these places in your next trip!

If you like Weird New Jersey (as I do) or follow the local legends in your own town or state. This is a book for you! I've posted the some of the 40 sites listed directly from the book for you here:

Santa Claus, Arizona, USA:
Crystal Palace Subway, London, UK:
Montserrat, West Indies Volcano
Balaklava Submarine Base, Crimea:
Volterra Psychiatric Hospital, Tuscany, Italy

Check this book out ! and buy one for a curious friend! #NetGalley #AtlasofForgottenPlaces

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Atlas of Forgotten Places: Journey to Abandoned Destinations from Around the Globe” by Travis Elborough once again takes us on a journey to forgotten places around this world; this is my second title in the Unexpected Atlases series, following “Atlas of Improbable Places: A Journey to the World's Most Unusual Corners” which I read (and reviewed) earlier this year.

This book features 40 sites from all over the globe, divided into five sections: Vacant Properties, Unsettled Situations, Dilapidated Destinations, Journeys Ended, and Obsolete Institutions. For the most part, these are all manmade buildings that were useful and busy for a time, but now their time has moved on. Why? Everything from changing political conditions (such as the USSR’s submarine base) to changing social conditions (the Italian mental asylum) to changing tastes (Santa Claus town in Arizona) to natural disasters (the volcano on Montserrat). Some of them are ancient ruins, but some of them also are relatively young (late 20th century).

The text accompanying the photos was both interesting and diverting, not only did you learn about the forgotten structure but often Mr. Elborough included interesting facts and trivia about the time and/or location in general. A bit of a distraction, but always interesting. And the photography was spectacular as usual, the images captured the feel and desolation of the locations. My only complaint about this book is similar to the previous entry in this series: we want more pictures! Each location only has two or three pictures, when ten or fifteen would be much more interesting – we only get a brief glimpse of the abandoned destination before we move on to the next item. More pictures please!

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, White Lion Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this courtesy of NetGalley.

These are beautiful books, even in electronic copy - this Atlas of Forgotten Places, and the Atlas of Improbable Places; I'm sure they're even more lovely in paper. That's definitely a key thing to note. The photography of each place is generally very good, and evocative of whatever idea is being presented; and the maps are also intriguing. They show where the place is in context - near other towns or within a country or whatever is relevant - and also shows the layout of the particular area. Because with this Atlas in particular, I think, many of the places featured aren't just individual buildings (although there are plenty of those); they're also entire towns, or bits of towns. And the maps show what still exists, what's crumbling, what's changed over time. They're really well produced.

Chapters includes Vacant Properties, Unsettled Situations (abandoned towns, largely), Dilapidated Destinations (tourist spots and hotels), Journeys Ended (airports etc), and Obsolete Institutions. Sometimes the categorising is a bit of a stretch, but I'm happy enough to go along with it. It closes with Alcatraz, which I thought both amusing and fitting; there's a town called Santa Claus, a lighthouse, several hotels, and a Bangkok mall, as well.

I have two quibbles. One is an admittedly minor irritant: the book needed slightly better editing (ashes are interred, not interned, surely). The other is that sometimes most of the entry for a location is a digression - about Napoleon, when the entry is about something on Corsica, or about why an indigenous group where bowler hats when it's about a railway in Bolivia, or how both cardigans and balaclavas were named for military things (a man and a place) associated with the Crimean War, when it's a submarine base in Balaklava. If you're going to feature a place, surely you should spend your two-ish pages talking just about that place? Expanding more on what it was like and what led to its being forgotten? It made me wonder whether Elborough was padding for the sake of making each entry about equal, and pointless words really, really annoy me.

I should also note that the list of places mentioned in the blurb on Goodreads is wrong - three of the places mentioned there do not actually feature in the book that I read (I doublechecked the index and everything). So if you want to read about the abandoned Peter's Ice Cream Factory, it's not in this book.

Those quibbles aside, though, I have no trouble recommending this for the armchair traveller, or the lover of quirky facts.

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elborough writes beautifully and thoughtfully. I loved, in his introduction, the explanation of the term "quarantine" (and drawing parallels between 40 days on Poveglia and Jesus' 40 days in the Judean desert). Similarly, I loved the exhortation to look back on the past and, in turn, "think longer and harder about the world to come and what might be worth salvaging from the wreckage" (eARC introduction).

The book proves educational and insightful, as well; did you know, for example, that Chernobyl is not the only abandoned nuclear power plant? (Enter Zarnowiec, in Poland.) Granted, different reasons gave cause for abandonment at this site, but the end result was the same. And then there's the downright beautiful, like Sammezzano Castle in Tuscany--ohhh, I'd love to visit that! (Same goes for Kennecott, Alaska, one location that at least geographically seems more reachable for me here in the US. Surprisingly, a lot of US locations are included--just goes to show my knowledge is by no means comprehensive!)

I found it interesting that a number of places now abandoned had some kind of Soviet connection. Not sure if that was intentional during the author's selection process, or just luck of the draw!

Each location features sizable maps; helpful on the one hand, but on the other, I almost wish the maps were smaller, with more photographs included. Some locations had 3+ photos; others had 1, and I often found myself wanting to see more of the actual facility/grounds in lieu of a map (or at least more photographic equity?)..

Brighton's West Pier was a surprising addition; I've been reading a fair bit of Jane Austen over the last year or so--in fact, just today finished listening to a production of _Mansfield Park_--and Brighton often merits at least a passing mention there. The "skeletal shell" is sobering!

A fascinating and thought-provoking read. 4/5 stars.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[chrstphre campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful & Tragic ( ! )

The trouble with Western Civilization— ( et al )
Is that they’re willing to blow millions or billions of dollhairs on stupendous architectural masterpieces, then severely neglect management & maintenance of these structures !

[Geof Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a surprising number of sentence fragments. Better copy editing required.

[Alix_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Explore the places that time forgot. Abandoned, mysterious, sleeping monuments around the world have been relegated to the margins of history, pushed off the map and out of sight. "

Forgotten places is a beautiful book that tells so many stories through its words, maps and pictures. My favourite was the Crystal Palace Subway in London, but there are a total of 40 fantastic destinations to admire and bemoan.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting! I liked all the pictures.

[Vidya Tiru · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Thoughts
Abandoned, beautiful, cool (or creepy or charming even), desolate, eerie, fascinating, grim, haunting. We can apply a combination of these adjectives (in some cases, all of them) and many more descriptors to any of the 40 forgotten places in Travis Elborough’s Atlas of Forgotten Places.

And Then More Thoughts
Elborough’s writing is beautiful and thought-provoking. Each forgotten place follows the format of a brief history, its current conditions, and sometimes a glimpse of its future. Stunning photos (I only wish there were more of them) as well as maps and drawings provide readers a more detailed look into the place, be it a building, a transport hub, or even an entire town.

This book divides its forgotten places by the following categories:

Vacant Properties (like an orphanage and a nuclear power plant)
Unsettled Situations (many of these are entire towns)
Dilapidated Destinations (just what it says; one of these is the New World Mall in Thailand)
Journeys Ended (train stations, a submarine base, etc)
Obsolete Institutions (like a psychiatric hospital in Italy, and a smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island, New York )
From remote rural areas to the heart of the biggest metros in the world, we take a journey through time and place via the pages of this book. I loved that the narrative shows the why and how each of these places came into use, and later disuse in the context of its society. We learn how changing political climates impacted some of these places, while socio-economic causes brought downfall for still others. Nature took its toil on a few, while neglect took care (not) of the others. A few others came to an end, and rightly so, but needed to be included here lest we forget the ugly truths.

No matter what or where the places are, they all have one thing in common. They need to be ‘not-forgotten’; need to be brought to light, to memory, and to keep alive the reasons these places existed (good, bad, or ugly).

Final Thoughts (of Travel to Forgotten Places, and other things too!)
I know I would love to visit Sammezzano Castle(Italy), Hachigo Royal Hotel(Japan), and the Crystal Palace Subway(London).

The only ones I can visit, at the drop of a hat, so to say, are:

Alcatraz Prison (yes, not yet visited this though I planned to a zillion times over the past two decades), and
the Salton Sea Rivera (super interesting; coincidentally, a news article about reclaiming this just appeared today).
One forgotten place that I am unlikely to forget is Akampene Island in Uganda.

In Summary
Whether you love architecture, history, geography, travel, or simply love to read, you will love this book. A gorgeous, poignant, must-read!

Now I am off to read the others in the series now (yes, there are three more!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Juli Rahel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore traveling, because you'll never know what is waiting around the corner. It has of course been a challenge to travel the last two to three years and I'm also trying to limit my carbon footprint a bit, so I was excited to see the Atlas of Forgotten Places, hoping it would give me a chance to explore without leaving the house. I didn't entirely get what I was hoping for, however. Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the division of this Atlas. It has five sections, entitled 'Vacant Properties', 'Unsettled Situations', 'Dilapidated Destinations', 'Journeys Ended' and 'Obsolete Institutions'. I was so intrigued by these titles and admittedly Elborough did pick the right locations to suite these titles. But the inventiveness and the mystique of these chapter titles doesn't entirely translate into the writing itself. I kept thinking of books like Literary Places by Sarah Baxter (also a Quarto publication!), which has stunning illustrations and fun writing that does make you want to travel. In comparison, Atlas is a little more dry, a little more of a clear non-fiction book. There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but I realised it wasn't entirely what I had been hoping for.

Travis Elborough selected fascinating locations, some of which I knew, like the Crystal Palace Tube stop, but many of which were new, such as the Camelot Theme Park or the Akampene Island, a truly dreadful place. As all the places are abandoned, some are in a truly dreadful condition, while others still look like they could be saved from obscurity. Personally I would love to send the Gary City Methodist Church in Indiana into a bookstore, just imagine how epic that would be. Elborough also does an excellent job at providing proper background information, and not just a description. I really would have liked it if Atlas had contained more photographs of its locations. I must add that the maps are very detailed and interesting! I appreciate that from a publishing-standpoint adding more photos makes a book rather expensive, but for some of the locations I did feel like I only caught a glimpse of them and then had to Google them for more information. If you're going to provide me a guide, then make sure I have a good idea of what I'd find.

The Atlas of Forgotten Places wasn't exactly the book that I was looking for, but what it is is very intriguing. I would love to visit some of these places in person, if ever the world becomes a place in which travel is possible again.

URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travelling by coach, or even flying coach, has become much less common as an activity in the 2020s, what with one thing and another. Any more of that sort of thing and the likes of Heathrow will get to look sullen, unlikeable and jaded – I mean, who'd ever have thought a transport hub could have the neglected and unwanted feel? But never mind those – we're concerned here with the destinations, and the more condemned-looking, run-down and from-a-time-long-gone the better. Places like Sans-Souci, and, er, Plymouth.

This is one of those instances where I know full well youtube has multiple channels devoted to the stuff, but I still have to rate most highly this and all the other books in this series I've seen. Finding the romance in the decrepit, this gives us just four or six pages to tell us all it can about its sites, letting us see in one three-subject swoop the life and death of, in order, villages associated with Hitler's childhood, the British seaside pier, and Santa Claus, no less. Sometimes the maps are a little too prominent, when some further example of the exemplary photography might have been chosen instead, but these postcards from the past are once again top notch entertainment, and ideal for dipping into while confined.

I will have to say that my digital preview really needed the virtual red ink on some wonky sentence construction, and I will have to say it's not THE Sans-Souci or Plymouth you may expect. But I also have to say I do like these books a lot. Four and a half stars.

[Katia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly as the title states, this is a book about a collection of abandoned places. Elborough covers 40 in total - all of which are man-made, and have been left derelict for one reason or another. There are five subheadings: ‘vacant properties’; ‘unsettled situations’; ‘dilapidated destinations’; ‘journeys ended’ and ‘obsolete institutions.’

His writing is accessible and humorous at times, and overall, I loved every page. It is addicting because each location covers at most four pages, so it is easy to keep turning the pages similar to how Instagram reels can keep you scrolling. And, there are pictures! These were probably the highlight of the book for me - the one of the abandoned ride in Camelot, UK being the most beautiful in my opinion. Each was haunting and slightly eerie, and I think they could make a great photo exhibition paired with the information that Elborough adds to them.

A ‘fun-fact’ book at its core (I’m not sure when information on abandoned buildings would come in useful), Elborough also adds interesting information about the historical background around each place. This is politics, history and other odd facts all set against lonely places. I think everyone will find a place in this book that resonates with them, because we all know what loneliness feels like. But, just as many of the buildings described, the book ended too quickly. I would have liked this to be a much bigger book with more information about each place - but it works as a whistle-stop tour of the world through what we left behind.

[Anjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the first book that I have read in the Atlas series, but one that I managed to read all the way through in fewer sittings than I took for a few others. The book takes abandoned places across the globe (as the cover indicates) and shows the maps and pictures of the location. Each chapter is of a different location, and it is supplemented with the history of the place.

There is not much more I can say about this other than, like all its predecessors, it is definitely a coffee table book for leisurely perusal. It is still a worthy way of starting and maintaining discussion. It throws light on places most people have not heard of or know very little of.

The photos here were more technical than beautiful. It provided a bird’s eye view of the surroundings and the structures that (once) exist(ed) there.

I would recommend this book to the more adventurous and curious than an average reader of non-fiction. There is a lot to unearth here (ignore the pun), and it does add value to the reading experience. That said, I was not as engrossed in it as I would have liked and read it more because I was on a timer.

I received this ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this and the other books in this series by the author.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a volume of heartbreaking beauty! Some of the places highlighted here are in remote, rural areas, others stand in the middle of cities, a few even underground, but they all have in common that they were once important but have now been forgotten. The book is full of pictures that evoke the awe, or horror, these places once held. But there is beauty in the desolation. Some of these places have been taken over by nature. The photographs are accompanied by brief but complete descriptions of the places, their past importance, and the historical context in which they thrived and were abandoned. These texts are informative and well written. The book is also sad when you think how a lot of people put so much effort into something that is now sitting empty. Hopefully Elborough’s effort to bring these places to his readers will briefly make them relevant again.
I chose to read to this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/# Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion!

[Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brilliant read. I really enjoyed this book and learnt so much from reading it. So many wonderful places and special neglected buildings are included in this book. You can never believe that some of these places could be left to go to ruins. The layout of this book is brilliant. There are coordinates for these places, great pictures and descriptions and a map or town plan of the area. It is brilliantly researched. I would love to see more colours used in the layout and to see a few more pictures of the places maybe different angles for each place. I especially loved the aerial photos and would love to see one for each area. There is so much fascinating information I loved learning about these amazing places. I really do recommend this book as its excellent for travelling across the globe from the comfort of your sofa.
Thanks to the author and publishers for creating this wonderful book to take us on an unforgettable journey of a lifetime. I can not wait to read more from this author.

[MookNana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating reading! A trip through time and around the world in abandoned towns, buildings, and sometimes entire nations, this book features maps and interesting photography of these ghostly ruins. Some were lost to war or nature and others to obsolescence or even "progress". Each one has a compelling story to tell about the people and society is served and reflected.

While it's explained well in the accompanying text, I would have loved if the dates of construction/settlement and destruction/abandonment could have been included in the header for each article, just for easy context. Otherwise, this is excellent reading and would be of great interest to any history buff, architecture fan, or travel enthusiast!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

[WorldconReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Atlas of Forgotten Places" by Travis Elborough thoroughly documents 40 abandoned locations throughout the world. Although about half of these are in Europe, forgotten places in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Arctic Circle are included. Featured locations include ghost towns, castles, hospitals, hotels, light houses, islands, airports, nuclear power plants, malls, churches, and prisons. The descriptions are both encyclopedic and thought provoking as they include history and broad cultural. background. The accompanying pictures are impressive, stunning, and certainly catch the eye. The maps are accurate and useful. Given an opportunity, it would certainly be interesting to explore these out of the way locales.

I would like to thank the author and publisher for kindly providing a temporary electronic copy of this book to review.

[Helen Marquis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at a random selection of abandoned locations around the world and some of the history behind them, including details of their heydays and subsequent abandonment and decline.
With so many buildings around the world to choose from, I'm not sure what the author's selection criteria were, but there is definitely an abundance of UK locations, notably including a Scottish seminary, ye olde abandoned Camelot fun park and the Crystal Palace subway. There are also some more historically important locations such as the Crimea submarine base at Balaklava and the island of Monstserrat's vast volcanic exclusion zone.
It's a mixed bag, but I did find myself adding a handful of spots to my "to be visited" list!
I wish there had been more photos of the locations in the book and less maps - personally I didn't feel the maps they included really added much, and they took up a lot of space, whereas the photos were a lot more engaging and informative.

[James W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-bundled book with lots of maps and pictures.

While the book could absolutely be better presented as a map with small descriptors and at times, the descriptions are a little dry, it is quite illuminating to not only hear about these places that are forgotten or abandoned, but also have a chance to learn about different history and cultures. I found it entertaining regarding the prevalence of bowler hats in Bolivia, the history of Camelot, the only slave-owning society to have successfully had a slave revolt in Haiti, the story of Santa Claus through Nikolaos, a brief recollection of the NY Subway Station, balaclava and cardigan (yes, the clothes) histories, the dark past of Akampene Island in Uganda, and my favorite—Alcatraz with its prison escapes!

I’m ready to try to see the beautiful New York City Hall subway station tours though!

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting book!

It's a coffee table book that dives into abandoned places. The places are grouped together by similar types and not geography, so you have places in the US next to places in Namibia which makes it an interesting experience to read through.

There are pictures of each place as well as a map showing you where it is. There's history and stories about each place that give context. The book focuses on places like abandoned subways, old factory's, and unused orphanages.

A haunting but interesting read.

[Melissa Knox · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite things to do when I have downtime, is to explore forgotten, abandoned and off the beaten path destinations. Certainly during the ravages of COVID I've experienced plenty of downtime and more than enough limitations on travel. This book allows one to see places that still exist, are no longer accessible, or have been lost through time and/or the ignorance of politics and conflict. The photos and diagrams added an essential boost to the narrative. I now have added to my wish list of destinations and will use the Atlas of Forgotten Places as a spring board while I dream and explore online.

[Jeni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atlas of Forgotten Places is a quality coffee table book focused on uninhabited locations throughout the world. These places became uninhabited in a variety of ways. The pictures were absolutely stunning and the summary of each location was 1-3 pages long, giving enough detail for you to learn something new, but short enough to pick up and learn about a couple of locations during a few minutes of downtime. I found the stories of Plymouth in Montserrat, Dollersheim in Austria, and Akampene Island in Uganda to be thoroughly interesting and each was a new location I wasn't previously familiar with. Highly recommended, especially for the history buff.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mix of places, most of which I wasn't at all familiar with. While the entries were largely very interesting, some of them were drowned under irrelevent asides. Sure, the history of how indoor shopping malls were developed in America is very interesting. It's not so interesting that 2/3 of an entry about a mall in Thailand should be about that instead of, you know, the actual mall. Likewise Santa Claus, AZ, a holiday themed ghost town, didn't need two pages of background on how Saint Nicholas developed from a Greek saint into a corporate icon. It sometimes felt like Elborough got so enamored with his research that he forgot to consider if it was really necessary.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could have really enjoyed this book. The places selected for discussion are fascinating and there is a lot of historical context, beyond the history of the structures being discussed. The maps are interesting as well. And there was some clever wording. But I found the writing to be overly complex and I really didn't like to have to wrestle with the long sentence and abstruse writing style. Part way through the book I started skipping over text and just tried to get the gist of the information. Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for the advance reader copy.

[Becki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. What I could see was really gorgeous. I think abandoned/forgotten places are really hauntingly beautiful, and these places were no exception. The book provides beautiful photos, helpful maps, and 2-3 pages of information about each location.

Unfortunately, I wasn't really able to read the text very well due to the font size and formatting of this ARC. That's disappointing, because based on what I *could* see, this book was really lovely.

#NetGalley

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a book on archaeology, this book pictures abandoned building all over the world. These buildings all had a purpose at one time but like a Tuberculosis Hospital has lived past its' time. Since most of these were specialized structures, they were impossible to re-purpose in most cases they have been left to disintegrate and the encroachment of nature.

Many of the structures are photographed in their current states with professional style.