A captivating "journey to the world's most unusual corners," this unique armchair-travel guide whisks curious readers around the globe to explore architectural marvels, geological oddities, historical wonders, abandoned treasures…more than fifty remarkable places that all "have stories to tell." With detailed maps and stunning photographs, each featured locale - William Randolph Hearst's opulent sixty-bedroom estate in California, an island off Siberia where the woolly mammoth staved off extinction for 4,000 years, a French village left undisturbed since World War II, a vast network of subterranean bunkers under Beijing constructed under Mao Zedong, to name just a few - offers an illuminating and fascinating snapshot of history. Inquisitive minds will relish this unusual atlas! (AG)