An Atlas of Extinct Countries

The remarkable (and occasionally ridiculous) stories of 48 nations that fell off the map. Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. Theyre all equally implausible once you get up close. Countries die. Sometimes its murder, sometimes its by accident, and sometimes its because they were so ludicrous they didnt 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 its impossible to skip the embarrassing stuff. This book is a sparkling gem.Booklist (Starred Review) Perfect for fans of Atlas Obscura.Publishers Weekly