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Un-Discovered Islands

An Archipelago of Myths and Mysteries, Phantoms and Fakes

Malachy Tallack author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Birlinn General

Published:3rd Oct '16

Should be back in stock very soon

Un-Discovered Islands cover

Journey through the imagined islands of history. 

Gathered in this book are over twenty islands that have decidedly human origins, whether they are the products of imagination, deception or simply human error. They are phantoms, fakes and legends: an archipelago of ex-isles and forgotten lands.

From the well-known story of Atlantis to more obscure tales from around the globe, from the islands of pure fiction to others whose existence are still in question, Malachy has created an atlas of fairytale and wonder.

Beautifully illustrated throughout with original full-colour maps.

'Tallack's handsome book examines twenty-four deflated legends ... Readers of Tallack's acclaimed travelogue Sixty Degrees North will know of his gift for introspective exploration. He puts this to good use here, deriving a satisfying emotional argument from [the un-discovered islands'] clash of sentiment and fact'

* TLS *

'intrepid intellectual fun'

* Sunday Herald *

'It's a joy to island-hop through the book. After wowing the world with Sixty Degrees North last year, Tallack's second book is shaped by the same, clear, sharp prose and keen curiosity. Packed full of intelligent musings on everything from religion to astronomy, alchemy to the occult'

* National Geographic Traveller *

'This has been a vintage year for books about cartography: Malachy Tallack gave us The Un-Discovered Islands - a swashbuckling romp through 20 islands of the imagination, some of which featured on sea charts for centuries before being proven not to exist'

* Scotland on Sunday *

'Malachy Tallack is an engaging and fluent writer of essential kindliness'

-- John MacLeod * The Scottish Review of Books *

'Tallack teases all this out with great wit and subtlety'

* The Scotsman *

'This is a splendid and wistful book'

-- Stuart Kelly * The Spectator *

'One of the best new travel books'

* The Guardian *

'This is a book to cherish and to dip in and out of when time allows'

* Lovereadi

  • Winner of EDWARD STANFORD ILLUSTRATED TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017

ISBN: 9781846973505

Dimensions: 255mm x 195mm x 18mm

Weight: 697g

96 pages