Books in Marshall Travel Atlas series

This is a comprehensive reference to the world of unexplained sites, symbols, cities and landscapes. An extensive guide, the book details 40 places and their particular mysteries. A six-page gazetteer at the end of the book includes a further 54 places of mystery throughout the world. Scattered over the planet are the curious ruins of cities, temples and tombs, puzzling earthworks and inscriptions on the land, sacred sites where civilizations have sought communion with the supernatural, and the remnants of lost lands with a proud and prosperous past. The world's unexplained places have intrigued and fascinated man. From the legends of Atlantis and Eldorado, to the Nasca lines of Peru and the massive pillars of Stonehenge, man has sought explanations and answers to these mysterious places. The atlas unravels many of the questions that surround these landmarks of past civilizations. It analyzes and interprets the evidence in detail with the up-to-date archaeological material, detective work, and numerous tales and folklore. Maps pinpoint locations in mountains, jungles, deserts, plains and oceans. Also discussed are the many people associated with these sites, from King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to Thomas Jefferson, who explored the mysterious mounds at Monticello.

This is a comprehensive reference to over 35 places of legend, including sites, cities and landscapes. It includes a seven-page gazetteer giving insight into travel and accommodation, and what to see and do at the places featured in the book. Locator maps direct the reader to each area. The atlas charts a worldwide journey through varied territory, beginning where legend, myth and reality meet. These are the eternal realms, such as the Garden of Eden, Camelot and Avalon, which cannot now be seen, but which have for centuries motivated explorers, writers and artists. The natural settings are as varied as those of Hawaii's Haleakala Crater, Japan's Mount Fuji and India's River Ganges. These landscapes are places where gods and heroes are believed to have walked on Earth. In such environs, human endeavour has created sacred wonders: the Tomb of Tutankhamun cut from the Valley of the Kings; the Mayan city of Tikal in the heart of the Guatamalan jungle; and Ohio's Serpent Mound, created by ancestors of the Native Americans. Man-made beauty and monuments are the stuff of legend too, from the Taj Mahal to the Forbidden City and Elsinore. And legendary places can embody the triumph of human courage over adversity, as witnessed in the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral.

A comprehensive guide to 52 places around the globe, this volume includes a six-page gazetteer, giving information on a further 44 geographical features and places. Also included is in an 11-page guide to the National Parks of the world. The book takes the reader on a journey round these great natural sites. The plants and animals that live within these areas are also captured, including: the corals and fish of the Great Barrier Reef; the lemurs, aye-ayes and baobab trees of Madagascar; and the rare birds of Las Marismas and the Okefenokee swamp. Yet, despite all this beauty, the human appetite for destruction never ceases, the natural world is under permanent threat. By drawing attention to the urgency of the problem, the book seeks to redress the balance, and preserve humanity's most precious heritage - the natural world.