Zoran Nikolic – författare

A beautifully presented gift for anyone with an intrigue for geographical curiosities.This beautifully designed book presents unusual borders, enclaves and exclaves, divided or non-existent cities and islands.Numerous conflicts have left countries divided and often shattered. Remnants of countries can by design or accident be left behind as a legal anomaly in this complex world.Most people believe that a country’s borders are clearly defined: just lines that separate countries. Everything on one side of the line belongs to one country and everything on the other side belongs to another country. This might be the case most of the time, but there are unusual exceptions to this unwritten rule.Examples include:• Campione d’Italia where Italian residents have to travel 15km through Switzerland to reach the nearest available Italian territory• Tomb of Suleyman Shah which is a tiny Turkish enclave within Syria which was moved closer to Turkey when Lake Assad was created but still stayed in Syria• Pheasant Island which for half a year belongs to the Spanish city of Irun, and the remaining half, to its French twin-town, Hendaye• Canadian Stanstead and American Beebe Plain where the boundary line runs along the centre of the main street, so that the houses on one side of the street are in Canada and on the other in the United StatesThese and many more instances are captured in this fascinating book full of strange geographical intrigue.International Cartographic conference 2021 overall winner of the atlas category and shortlisted for the 2020 Edward Stanford Travel Writing.

An ideal gift for anyone with an intrigue for geographical curiosities.Defined as sovereign states with a very small population, land area, or both, microstates serve as fascinating case studies of geopolitical significance. This atlas explores the unique history, politics, and self-determination of the world's smallest states.Under what conditions do microstates form in the first place? Is there a correlation between the size of a political unit and its relative sovereignty? What contributes to the success of ministates, or, in certain cases, their failure?From modern day city-states, island countries as well as sparsely populated territories, to historical anomalies, tax havens, aspirant states and micronations, this atlas considers a wide range of countries largely defined by their relative smallness.A beautifully-designed collection ideal for those with an interest in geopolitics and cartographic curiosities, some of the microstates explored in this book include:• Liechtenstein one of the smallest countries in the world today – and also one of the wealthiest – with a territory that covers approximately 25km from north to south, the only country located entirely in the Alps• Cocos (Keeling) Islands consisting of two coral atolls with a total area of 14m2, where fewer than 600 people live and the majority of the population is Muslim• Couto Misto a de-facto semi-independent state which many believe had special sovereign rights granted to it by a 12th century princess, later disputed by Spain and Portugal and eventually partitioned in 1864These along with many more examples are captured in this engaging atlas full of geographical intrigue.