An Atlas of Extinct Countries: The Remarkable (and Occasionally Ridiculous) Stories of 48 Nations that Fell off the MapPrisoners of Geography meets Bill Bryson: a funny, fascinating, beautifully illustrated and timely history of countries that, for myriad and often ludicrous reasons, no longer exist. Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. Theyre all equally implausible once you get up close Countries die. Sometimes its murder, sometimes its by accident, and sometimes its because they were so ludicrous they didnt deserve to exist in the first place.