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Atlas Obscura
An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders
eBook - 2019
Discover wonder.
"A wanderlust-whetting cabinet of curiosities on paper."-- New York Times
Inspiring equal parts wonder and wanderlust, Atlas Obscura is a phenomenon of a travel book that shot to the top of bestseller lists when it was first published and changed the way we think about the world, expanding our sense of how strange and marvelous it really is.
This second edition takes readers to even more curious and unusual destinations, with more than 100 new places, dozens and dozens of new photographs, and two very special features: twelve city guides, covering Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cairo, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Moscow, New York City, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Plus a foldout map with a dream itinerary for the ultimate around-the-world road trip. More a cabinet of curiosities than traditional guidebook, Atlas Obscura revels in the unexpected, the overlooked, the bizarre, and the mysterious. Here are natural wonders, like the dazzling glowworm caves in New Zealand, or a baobob tree in South Africa so large it has a pub inside where 15 people can sit and drink comfortably. Architectural marvels, including the M. C. Escher-like stepwells in India. Mind-boggling events, like the Baby-Jumping Festival in Spain--and no, it's not the babies doing the jumping, but masked men dressed as devils who vault over rows of squirming infants.
Every page gets to the very core of why humans want to travel in the first place: to be delighted and disoriented, uprooted from the familiar and amazed by the new. With its compelling descriptions, hundreds of photographs, surprising charts, maps for every region of the world, and new city guides, it is a book you can open anywhere and be transported. But proceed with caution: It's almost impossible not to turn to the next entry, and the next, and the next.
"A wanderlust-whetting cabinet of curiosities on paper."-- New York Times
Inspiring equal parts wonder and wanderlust, Atlas Obscura is a phenomenon of a travel book that shot to the top of bestseller lists when it was first published and changed the way we think about the world, expanding our sense of how strange and marvelous it really is.
This second edition takes readers to even more curious and unusual destinations, with more than 100 new places, dozens and dozens of new photographs, and two very special features: twelve city guides, covering Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cairo, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Moscow, New York City, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Plus a foldout map with a dream itinerary for the ultimate around-the-world road trip. More a cabinet of curiosities than traditional guidebook, Atlas Obscura revels in the unexpected, the overlooked, the bizarre, and the mysterious. Here are natural wonders, like the dazzling glowworm caves in New Zealand, or a baobob tree in South Africa so large it has a pub inside where 15 people can sit and drink comfortably. Architectural marvels, including the M. C. Escher-like stepwells in India. Mind-boggling events, like the Baby-Jumping Festival in Spain--and no, it's not the babies doing the jumping, but masked men dressed as devils who vault over rows of squirming infants.
Every page gets to the very core of why humans want to travel in the first place: to be delighted and disoriented, uprooted from the familiar and amazed by the new. With its compelling descriptions, hundreds of photographs, surprising charts, maps for every region of the world, and new city guides, it is a book you can open anywhere and be transported. But proceed with caution: It's almost impossible not to turn to the next entry, and the next, and the next.
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Publisher:
[United States] : Workman Publishing Company, 2019.
ISBN:
9781523508471
1523508477
1523508477
Branch Call Number:
eBook hoopla
Characteristics:
1 online resource
text file
Additional Contributors:
Opinion
From the critics
Community Activity
Quotes
Add a QuoteSaw the incredible trail of dinosaur footprints on the side of a steep cliff in Will Smith's 2018 "One Strange Rock" documentary series. It is also in the book but only a short text description. Much more from the Atlas Obscura's web site:
1. From book
Cal Orck’o Sucre · Visit a limestone wall covered with 5,000 preserved dinosaur tracks from the Cretaceous period that was discovered in 1994 near a cement factory. It is the largest site of fossilized dinosaur tracks in the world.
2. Web site
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dinosaur-dance-floor
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Comment
Add a CommentHighly recommended. I make sure to check the Atlas Obscura webpage before every trip. It has led us to many off the beaten path adventures. This book is great for anyone who has ever enjoyed Guinness Book of World Records, oddities or travel guides
An encyclopedia of many unknown things to do or stories to be heard in each country. It was alright, not recommended.
While looking for the oldest living organism in New York City - "Queens Giant," I ran across this book's Atlas Obscura web site*** and spent hours navigating various subsites. There are just too many subjects and specific topics to go through without getting lost. This book works as an abbreviated version of the web site (continues to grow?) and often with very brief text descriptions and without associated photos found in the web site. My suggestion is to bookmark those man-made or natural places of interest and search the Obscura web site for more details, drawings/photos and updates. (See example in "Quotes".)
***https://www.atlasobscura.com/
Creepy and Kooky! A cross between Ripley's Believe it or not and a directory/list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Dip into the world of the creepy and weird, and realise you'll never see everything that there is to see in the world from "the child-eater of Bern", unusual architecture, creepy cemeteries, to the Lizzie Borden B & B.
Australia has its fair share from the pub in a boab tree to Ned Kelly's death mask. Arranged by place this could be a great resource for the intrepid traveler who wants to veer off the well beaten track.
The weird, wonderful, awful and bizarre places and objects in our world are showcased in these pages. It may inspire you to take a detour on your next holiday or simply enjoy exploring from the comfort of your own home.
I enjoyed this book so much that I intend to purchase another copy for my brother. It is chockfull of strange and delicious tidbits to tantalize our curiosity and wanderlust. I only wish it included even more photographs . . .
Super-fun reference guide to many of the amazing, odd and bizarre wonders of the world. My community's own wonder, Bishop's Castle, is featured in the book! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
The world is full of the strange and curious that few know about. Well, until now. The co-founders of the collaborative website Atlas Obscura (plus one of its editors) offer a tour of 700 of the world's most unique and amazing places and things (including glowworm caves in New Zealand and a baby-jumping festival in Spain). Using short entries highlighting natural wonders, weird and magical structures, and mind-boggling events from around the globe (even Antarctica!), Atlas Obscura looks like a guide book -- but because many of the wonders aren't open to the public or are difficult to get to, and interesting bits of history and facts are included, armchair travelers should enjoy dipping into these wonder-full pages.