The Dictionary of Imaginary Places [Import] [Paperback]

Alberto Manguel (Author), Gianni Guadalupi (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 786 pages
• Publisher: Vintage Canada (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0676973205
• ISBN-13: 978-0676973204
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,814,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More then I bargained for!, September 16, 2002

By 

A. E. Cesaro "slevena" (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic (Paperback)

I bought this book because I was intriqued by the concept. A book that catalogs all of the places mentioned in other books. What I got completely amazed me. Not only were the places cataloged and indexed by book and by place, but the descriptions were long, even better they included maps.

The people who put together this book understood that the reason people would buy the book was not because they were looking for a one line definition but because they were looking for information about the places themselves. For example, for the definition of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it would have been easy to write a one line definition stating that this was the school that Harry Potter attended in the Harry Potter series. Instead the book has a definition several pages long including a drawing and also explains everything that has so far been written about the school including the moving staircases and the portraits on the walls. That is just the beginning thousands of places are included in the book, and all are given as much attention in their descriptions as the authors took to explain the locations in the original works of literature.

So enjoy this book, it will make you want to read about places to help you to figure out if you want to read the books that created them.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange, but Amazing, October 11, 2001

By 

boston403 "boston403" (rockville, md United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic (Paperback)

I recieved this book for Christmas from my paternal grandparents, who always give me tight stuff. I was crazy about this book, which covers every imaginery place in any book from Prospero's Island in "The Tempest" (great play, by the way) to Thomas More's Utopia. It was an amazing book. If you have ever loved any fantasy book, get this book! It has something to satisfy every interest.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A- for content, B- for illustrations., November 23, 2007

By 

Nonesuch Explorers "sizhao" (Too Close To L.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic (Paperback)

Somewhat disappointed with this "newly updated and expanded" edition. Some entries that appeared in the original are omitted from the new edition. For a book on imaginary places, it's surprising how little space was allocated to Fairyland, especially when compared with the several-pages-long entry on Hogwarts.

Maps are everything when exploring imaginary places; they provide atmosphere as well as information. The maps in this book are generic line drawings, informative but unenchanting, and I can only guess that the authors were unable to negotiate reprinting permissions.

We suggest buying a copy of the original 1980 edition along with the current one; the older book may not have Hogwarts, but it casts its own spell. Also get a copy of An Atlas of Fantasy by Jeremiah Post, which is devoted to reproductions of authentic imaginary maps. Fairyland is documented with Bernard Sleigh's wonderful "Ancient Map of Fairyland" in a two-page spread, Tolkien's famous maps and some private conworlds and con-countries such as Thomas Williams Malkin's "Allestone" are included.