Staff Review: An Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist by Nick Middleton

From ethnically-divided separatist states to absent-minded libertarians taking over uninhabited islands, you'll find this and more in An Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist: a Compendium of Fifty Unrecognized and Largely Unnoticed States by Nick Middleton.

This short book presents fifty would-be countries and a brief description of how each came to be. And I really do mean brief -- only 1-2 paragraphs are devoted to each selection, leaving it up to the reader to do further research on how each separatist movement was formed. Each selection includes stunning visuals: maps, diagrams, and official flags.

The book serves as a nice primer on 20th-century history. The quasi-countries include former communist strongholds, areas forgotten during post-colonial independence, and ethnic divides that continue to simmer.

I'd recommend this book to any lover of history or geography and perhaps to certain readers who need a short nonfiction book to submit for their Great Reading Challenge. 😉

~ Mark, Circulation