Got this book thinking it would be similar, but different from a previous one I've read by the same author. Turns out to mostly be a sequel to Unruly Places. It was a fine sequel, but I was hoping for a bit more. The collection of places and spaces (sometimes virtual, sometimes hard to define) makes for easy quick reading. Definitely something that you can read on the subway or put down and not have to worry about picking it up ASAP as the chapters have short sections in them.

If forced to choose, though, I would go with Unruly Places as my preferred book of the two.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for this review.

This is a fun and quirky book all about those forgotten, little known about, or just hard to fin places in the world, the historian and collector of oddball trivia in me loved that about this book. I was rather sad at the lack of maps, I mean I know the book's name is Beyond the Map, but I would love to have had a few maps showing exactly where these places were, I adore cartography and was saddened by the lack of maps. Other than that little gripe I really enjoyed reading this book!

This book is perfect for the armchair traveller and for fans of geographical trivia. Bonnet divides the book in five parts that takes us all over the world as he explores small nations, utopias, and haunted places, among others.

An Idiosyncratic and Engaging Survey

The premise, a survey of places that exist beyond standard maps, is a good one. Our guide, Alastair Bonnett, is congenial, well-informed, and opinionated in a mild and amiable fashion. The execution is clever and imaginative.

This book will have something for everyone, mostly because Bonnett has devoted great creative energy to identifying what sorts of "places" qualify as beyond-the-map. So, sure, we get islands that rise out of the sea and then disappear, and we get abandoned places, hidden places, enclaves, utopias, and so on. But Bonnett works more variations than that. You also get other "spaces" - an Eruv on Bondi Beach, the state? of Malta, communities defined by exotic languages, virtual places, abandoned movie sets, and underground and undersea installations. Some of this is fascinating, some is a bit coy, (a garden on a traffic island), but all of it is interesting.

This doesn't strike me as a cover-to-cover read. It's a dip in and out sort of book, and one can read as much or as little at a time as one cares for. That's not a criticism. Bonnett is good company. Some bits are brief or superficial, and some seem to be in the book just to round out the premise, but the fast pace, good humor, and wide range offer a pleasant and thought provoking diversion, and might well prompt the reader to further investigate places of special interest. This struck me as a real find for any armchair traveller with a taste for the eccentric.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

This was a very good book, very interesting and entertaining at the same time. Beyond the Map takes us on a journey to places that we might not want to know personally (like the poorest slum in Colombo, or the islands of garbage in the pacific), but that we really need to know they exist, even if (or especially if) the maps do not shown them to us.

More than knowing that they exist, we need to reflect on why they exist and what does that say about us as a society. The idea that the public space in the cities belongs to everyone and, as a consequence, does not belong to anyone in particular hence no one really takes ownership, responsibility or feels very comfortable in it, was an idea that I already had in my mind but had never seen so clearly explained.

It also contains some anecdotal chapters, like the smallest country in the world that occupies a building, exists for centuries and has the right to be an UN observer (you have to read the book to find out what I'm talking about) that enrich the book and make it easier to read.

Recommended to everyone who likes non-fiction books and likes to think about our world apart beyond the obvious layers, see below the surface.

My recent first ever destination birthday made me think of other destinations. Time to armchair travel then and this book was just waiting for me courtesy of Netgalley. In all fairness this isn’t merely a travelogue, the 39 destinations here aren’t strictly geographical, they are also geopolitical, imaginary, ghostly and way, way off the beaten track. Some of them aren’t even on the map. They are…well, beyond the map. In fact the sheer range of the author’s choices is awesome, particularly for such a relatively compact volume. It’s terrifically educational, ranging from cyberutopias to trap streets, I’m hoping to retain a good amount of this information, because it was all completely fascinating and quite often completely bizarre too. And presented so cleverly, with such erudition…it’s the perfect nonfiction, the one that both entertains and engages. Read it in one day, which should speak volumes to the quality and readability of this book. Nonfiction tends to be something of a slog, but this sped by. The only think to improve upon would be some visual aid besides the black and white sketches, some photos of these wild locations would have been great. Maybe they are included in the final version, I did read an ARC published by the Universtity of Chicago, a fact announced on every single freaking page…and this was still worth it. Way to make geography fun. Armchair traveler’s delight, this one goes places the every changing world doesn’t readily display and can (and really shouldn’t) get overlooked. Immensely enjoyable trip. Thanks Netgalley.

Eclectic mix of essays in Beyond the Map is sure to have something for everyone.

How unique islands are formed and claimed is described in Part I. Part II is about how some small nations and communities were developed. Part III describes utopias of religion, lifestyle, or technology. Part IV and V deal with haunted and hidden places respectively.

I thought that Parts I and II were rather dry and slow. Geology and politics are not my favorite subjects. However, I’m glad I kept reading because Beyond the Map’s later parts were really interesting. There is a succinct essay about ISIL that is marvelous. Several of the utopias are tourist attractions that I would love to visit. The haunted places of Part IV are more urban legends and ‘psychogeography’ than ghost stories. Still they are interesting short essays. Places hidden from Google Maps Street View, paper maps purposely printed incorrectly, secret caves and real undersea cities make up the final section of this book.

The author’s life sounds exciting. While some of the essays live up to that standard, unfortunately much of the book does not. 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher, University of Chicago Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I've long been fascinated by placemaking, although this was a different take to what I was expecting. This had an element of Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography, which I liked. I really liked the mix of locations the author chose, from islands most people have never heard to places like ISIL that dominate the news cycle. My personal favorite was the lens with which he looked at Jerusalem and explored the question of whether religion was the best way to consider these layers. I also enjoyed the mix of naturally occurring locations vs. man made ones such as Christiana. THe addition of warnings of places, such as Japan's tsunami markers and warnings of radioactive material was also an interesting addition. An interesting read.

I really enjoyed this fascinating book. Anyone who likes geography or travel will too.
In with qickmvignwttes, The author tales the reader to quirky,offbeat places around the world, weaving in some profound thoughts in the journey.
My favorite place visited was Dau, a Russian film set that was designed to mirror reality and where fiction starts to take over reality, sometimes in horrific ways.

Beyond the Map explores geographical oddities. The sections on traffic islands, garbage cities, and the entire chapter on Ghostly Places were particularly interesting.
There are a few reasons I could not rate this higher; I wished there were maps included. Why are there no maps? I was also disappointed the photos of the Newcastle Skywalks were mentioned but not included.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook.