Countries die. Sometimes it’s murder, sometimes it’s by accident, and sometimes it’s because they had such a ludicrous start in life they didn’t really deserve to exist in the first place. In this alternative history of the world, discover new countries and far-off places you never knew existed (and now definitely don’t).A minor clerical error inadvertently creates an anarchist utopia and embarrasses a Pope. The self-proclaimed younger brother of Jesus declares independence from China and starts one of history’s bloodiest civil wars. A republic is formed to dodge a tax on lemons. Scotland wrongly decides it’s a great idea to colonise Panama. These are the obituaries of places that fell off the map. I mean, what could be better than learning intriguing stories about dead nations whilst laughing continuously at the sardonicism?

Unlike anything I've ever read before, this is a captivating and endlessly fascinating romp through countries that cease to exist today. I wasn't expecting the humour and wit that are liberally sprinkled between the pages but it only added to the enjoyment. It is an entertaining read from start to finish and the fresh and vibrant accompanying illustrations really complement the narrative beautifully. An Atlas of Extinct Countries is an invitation to explore the world’s deceased nations, both famous and forgotten, whilst also judging important academic issues such as ‘how much effort put into flag design’ and ‘catchiness of national anthem’. The unlikely and unusual stories of these annihilated nations offers a new perspective on global history and the state of the world today. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Forth Estate for an ARC.

This book was a bit of a dissappointment. I did not expect deep insights into the history of bygone countries, but I did expect a little more than half a page of vaguely funny comments. The quick jokes got old and repetitive soon enough. I think it would have worked much better in the form of short YouTube clips.

I really enjoyed this book, simply for the fact that it's funny. I'm not sure how historically accurate the information is, but I don't think it matters as this isn't a book to be taken too seriously. The sections on each "country" could have been longer, I guess, but it's a fast read that leaves you wanting a little more.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Absolutely hilarious- this book is an easy read to dip in and out of in work breaks or bus rides because the entries are short and punchy. I absolutely loved the writer’s tone of voice: it’s at times wry and exasperated and often fondly chuckling, like a parent recounting the wayward antics of their toddlers.
I learned so much new information but packaged in humorous and easy to digest chunks. Highly recommended.

This book is full of fascinating facts about countries (using a very wide definition of ‘country’) that no longer exist. A few you will have heard of – such as Yugoslavia and The German Democratic Republic – and many that have been justly consigned to a long-forgotten history. Some, such as Cospaia, were formed by cartographic accidents. Many were formed by mountebanks – exclusively male, predominantly white, European.
“There’s a strangely consistent psychological profile that fits Guys Who Set Up Countries. Dead dad, raised by a doting mum, serially unfaithful, stint in the army or navy, writer or journalist, can’t be trusted with money, fantasist”
Perhaps the weirdest one was the Ottawa Civic Hospital Maternity Ward which lasted only one day:
“In 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, and the Dutch royal family went into exile … safety in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. While living there, (Princess Juliana) got pregnant with her third child. … the Dutch constitution was airtight on the issue – nobody could take their place in the line of succession if they were born on the soil of another country. … So, the Canadian government … passed a law … providing ‘an extra-territorial character to any place in which the heir presumptive to the throne of the Netherlands may be confined and in which an heir to such throne may be born’”
While I am sure that the author has double-checked all of his facts, his opinions (and sarcasm) are a large part of the book. Most of the time the comments are amusing, and many chime with my own ideas – but over time they can become wearing. I did object to Ludwig II of Bavaria (whom I have a soft spot for, having studied in Bayreuth) and George III (one of Britain’s brightest and best kings ever, but sadly suffering from porphyria which affected his mind in later life) being labelled as mad. Other readers may have other objections, depending on their politics and social mores – be warned.
The last section of the book (“Puppets and Political Football”) is overtly political, dealing with more recent (and better known) extinct countries. The author has obviously had some problems publishing the book in areas which consider some of his chapters contentious.
Overall, this is a very interesting and enjoyable book – probably better read in short bursts rather than from cover to cover in one sitting.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
PS: Quotes that I will not be putting in my review for Amazon etc. Apologies to any Goodreads or NetGalley friends I have offended.
“The Republic of Formosa May–October 1895: Some nation states – even massive ones like China – are so weirdly insecure that they get anxious if, say, your contents list happens to contain the name of a country they don’t officially recognise as ever having existed. To the extent that they’ll refuse to print your book and you’ll have to go and get it done in Slovenia instead. … Slovenia, being part of the Balkans, inevitably has a slightly more adult level of acceptance about the confusing nature of existence than the One Indivisible China”

“A grim postscript in case the story isn’t already grim enough for you: the Bridgestone Corporation, which operates as Firestone in Liberia, was found guilty of forced labour by the UN as recently as 2005. Modern-day slavery goes on flourishing in the state set up for free slaves. ”

“The Republic of Texas 1836–46: When the Brexit results were announced, a small group in Texas got very excited. If the fey, famously reticent limeys could risk their economy collapsing for the sake of some semi-mythical nostalgia then surely the comparatively bold ‘Texians’ could too. The press even started referring to ‘Texit’, because annoying portmanteaus are universally loved by lazy journalists no matter where in the world you are. The republic would rise again! ”

“The problem with being a Bold Man of Action like Vladimir Putin is that there are only so many creatures you can wrestle with your shirt off/migrating geese you can lead back home in your micro-glider/ancient urns you can find on your impromptu and very legitimate underwater archaeological dives. When the photo ops run dry you’ve got one option left, the predictable choice of all good despots: take over Crimea. ”

“Mutual war crimes aren’t the most solid basis for a nation, but over the next 30 years Tito managed to wodge everything back together, partly through sheer force of personality.”

What a great book. It made me smile and chuckle the whole way through. Written with a real tongue in cheek sense of humour - in fact, there were more one liners in this than I heard from the Dowager Countess of Grantham of Downton Abbey and we know how renowned she is for her one liners! I loved it and read it in a day because it was just too enjoyable to put down. Hope there will be more like it to come.

“Useless facts” enjoyable and well researched book

The reader will discover all sorts of interesting nonsense about disappeared countries, told in a fun manner, full of witticisms and extraordinary facts. It’s an enjoyable way to pass the time and the author has obviously done his homework from which we benefit. Recommended as a light read - and there’s a lot to learn from it. . I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

thanks for the opportunity to review this, Very enhjoyable and interesting but I have to admit I didnt relaise it was only an extract when I asked for it. Still what I read was excellent

Well, this book proved to be exactly what I would have wanted it to be – a chatty, droll look at extinct territories, kingdoms, etc. You'll have noticed how the list of countries around the world has expanded over the last few decades, especially in eastern Europe, with places splitting in half, and Islamist outvasions inventing Chechnya, Kosovo etc. But this book is a fun way to see just how prevalent the trend is, and how throughout the ages lone men almost were coming along, demanding their right to rule over parts of Chile, Florida, and what have you, all without a thought to what the natives or the people actually in charge might have wanted. Each time we get a map of the territory (unfortunately a lot of those invisible due to the publishers choosing the incorrect format for such things on netgalley), a databank of what the currency, language, capital and population of the spurious realm might have been, and just a two-page, pithy look at the whole history.

And where it's one bloke severally declared to be mad that thinks it's a country and nobody else, that's the exact amount of information required. Only a couple of times might we wish for more – the author alleges we're all supposed to be aware of Cospaia and its anarchistic tendency; I certainly wish I'd know about the Scottish effort to reign over what became the Darien Gap. This can at times seem a little trivial, and in that case it is one book about lots of instances of the same trivial detail of life, but it's still a really good read. Given the arch sincerity and levity a lot of the contents deserved, this is highly entertaining.

NB Be prepared for lots of footnotes.

PS – and lots, and lots...

Not quite what I was expecting but very entertaining nevertheless. More of a historical satire than a real attempt at looking at lands that are long gone, mind.

I hoped this would have been a Bill Bryson-esque journey through some fun, real-life stories but instead this is a series of short, largely uninformative, vague, and unfunny anecdotes. It doesn't feel well-researched and, because they're so short, the entries are unmemorable. Not entertaining, nowhere near as good as I'd hoped it to be, this one was a waste of time.

If you love anecdotes about countries then this is the book for you. Unfortunately being of an age when I read something and then almost immediately forget it I will need to re read this book as i can't recall most of what I read.
It's a book to be dipped into rather than read straight through. Some very interesting tales and never before heard of places to encounter.

A poorly researched, juvenile attempt at historical satire. I love short historical works like this usually. They're meant to be fun and educational. But the glaring historical inaccuracies and cherry-picked anecdotes made this an utterly appalling shot at non-fiction. It's too short to go into more than cursory detail into each of the countries Defoe writes about, and his research and writing chops obviously aren't up to the task of writing anything more in-depth.

This book was lazy. Lazy writing. Lazy research. It's not one I'll be recommending to anyone, not when far better books of this idiom exist.

As author says: "Countries die. Sometimes it's murder. Sometimes it's an accident. Sometimes it's because they were too ludicrous to exist in the first place..."

Brilliant, funny, interesting perspective and beautifully illustrated.

Loved it!

Short, pithy, interesting. Shows how eccentric individual people can and have been. Declaring themselves king of a piece of rock!!

I really liked the concept of this book. I love history and geography and loved the obscureness of a lot of the information. I struggled to get on with the mix of fact and fiction. I may have missed the point of the whole book but I would have preferred for it be more factual e.g. about Easter Island or even the day that the Republic of Crimea lasted.

I loved this book.
I've been getting into history books a lot recently, and especially from interesting perspectives and this was great.
Interesting and often funny. It's a great, quick read.

A really interesting book from what I've been allowed to read so far from this sampler, I'm really looking forward to getting into the entire book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

"An Atlas of Extinct Countries" is a short and fun nonfiction book about countries that no longer exist. The stories of most of these countries are rather fun and read like they couldn't have really happened.

This is definitely a fun read if you don't have enough time for anything more detailed.

This was a super quick read, but endlessly interesting. I loved the snarky narration and pop culture references, and although I read it in one go, I learnt a lot!