Whatever Happened to Tanganyika?: The Place Names that History Left Behind (Hardcover)

~ Harry Campbell (Author), Alexander McCall Smith (Foreword)
Key Phrases: West Africa, First World War, South Africa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Do you still find yourself referring to Zaire or Czechoslovakia, or wondering whether it should be Moldavia or Moldova, Burma or Myanmar? Dozens of countries, cities, and counties have changed their identity over the years. Some of the names we remember from our schooldays or from news headlines just a few years ago are now gone. For example, what did happen to Tanganyika? The fascinating stories behind the place names include Affpiddle, Biafra, British Heligoland, Ceylon, Flintshire, Friendly Isles, Islands of Samson and the Ducks, Leningrad, Little Britain, Macedonia, Muscat, Pleasant Island, Stalingrad, Tanganyika, West Britain, Yugoslavia, and Zaire. From the major political movements (the Leningrads and Stalingrads of the Socialist Soviet Republic) to enticing destinations (Pleasant Islands, the Friendly Isles), Whatever Happened to Tanganyika? reveals how the atlas of yesteryear became the maps of today.

About the Author

Harry Campbell is a freelance lexicographer who used to work for Larousse and Harper Collins. Alexander McCall Smith is a novelist best known as the creator of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

---

Product Details Hardcover: 160 pages Publisher: Anova Books (May 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 190603205X ISBN-13: 978-1906032050 Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,501 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #2 in  Books > History > Africa > Tanzania #18 in  Books > Reference > Words & Language > Etymology #28 in  Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Trivia

---

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Harry A. Campbell Page

Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
West Africa, First World War, South Africa, Second World War, Indian Ocean, Neutral Moresnet, King George, Equatorial Guinea, Fort William, United States, Santo Domingo, West Briton, The Times, German East Africa, League of Nations, Pleasant Island, Diego Garcia, Congress of Vienna, Mount Kilimanjaro, Domesday Book, Soviet Union, North Sea

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	95% buy the item featured on this page: Whatever Happened to Tanganyika?: The Place Names that History Left Behind 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $10.17
	1% buy Who Killed Iago?: A Book of Fiendishly Challenging Literary Quizzes 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $5.44
	1% buy Smart Words: Vocabulary for the Erudite 5.0 out of 5 stars (6) $8.64
	1% buy Nine Coaches Waiting 4.7 out of 5 stars (38) $10.17

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  geography(1) humor(1) tanzania(1) trivia(1) Agree with these tags? Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

---

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

---

 

Customer Reviews

1 Review 5 star:  (1) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars What a hoot!, November 3, 2009 By  C. McCloskey "Auntie C" (Bawlmer, Merlin, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I picked this up for the catchy title (Tanganyika? a blast from the past!) and couldn't put it down. Part of my job involves getting place names correct, thought by some (not me) to be a tedious chore, so I couldn't help but be drawn in to Harry's tongue-in-cheek approach to geography. Moldova vs Moldavia? he knows. When and why did Burma become Myanmar and did anyone ask the inhabitants? The place names of my youth are all explained here, as well as their demise in the intervening years for political correctness. Humor is threaded throughout the book, as with his explanation of the history of 'The Islands of St Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins', Christopher Columbus' name for the present-day Virgin Islands. Who knew? I was utterly charmed by his entry on the country of San Serriffe, later revealed to be an April Fool's Day joke started and perpetuated by the Guardian (UK). Campbell's entry is just as funny and a lot more compact than the series of articles that make it a running joke in the UK. Anyway, love the book, got a great laugh out of it. I wonder what's next? (tagged with Humor, Geography - when was the last time you put those two together?) One thing, Mr Campbell - while the illustrations are cute, maps would have been helpful. Kiribati isn't on my list of familiar places.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post No discussions yet Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post history Holocaust Denial Dissected 3886 27 minutes ago history Could there ever be another War of the Worlds style scare? 11 33 minutes ago travel Meet Friendly Whales On Line (Video + Stills) 0 9 hours ago humor Get the great DVD (Benny Hill: The Complete and Unadulterated Megaset) at amazon! Benny Hill considered better and funnier than Monty Python by two TV stations--I agree! 1 11 hours ago travel Traveling to Cuba: Looking for Tips & Advice 13 14 hours ago humor humoristianity 121 3 days ago trivia the 10: 2010 calendar 0 13 days ago Search Customer Discussions Search all Amazon discussions

The Trivia community Latest activity 13 hours ago 1,142 customers have contributed 828 products, 44 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Geography community Latest activity 1 day ago 1,138 customers have contributed 978 products, 40 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Humor community Latest activity 1 hour ago 22,962 customers have contributed 15,678 products, 1,441 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums geography (2 discussions) history (809 discussions) humor (128 discussions) puzzles and... (2 discussions) travel (109 discussions) trivia (2 discussions) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Listmania!

Some of my favorite books read in 2009: A list by bookfan-mary   GNO 09-10: A list by Amy   Novels I love: A list by J. Defauw Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Read some captivating Fiction: A guide by Allison   Become Immersed in Life... Through Fiction: A guide by Penelope   expand a child's horizon through literature: A guide by Grant Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Trivia
• Books > History > Africa > Tanzania
• Books > History > World
• Books > Reference > Fun Facts > Trivia
• Books > Reference > Words & Language > Etymology
• Books > Travel

---

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:
History: specific events & topics
Place names & gazetteers
Trivia & quiz question books
World history
Names, Geographical - Etymology
Names, Geographical - History
Reference
History - General History
Travel - General
General
History / World
Reference / Trivia
Trivia
World - General
History
Etymology
Names, Geographical
History: World & General


i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed.

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

› View and edit your browsing history

Get to Know Us Careers Investor Relations Press Releases Amazon and Our Planet Make Money with Us Sell on Amazon Join Associates Self-publish with Us › See all Let Us Help You Shipping Rates & Policies Amazon Prime Returns Help

Canada | China | France | Germany | Japan | United Kingdom  And don't forget: Amazon Windowshop | AmazonWireless | Askville | Audible | DPReview | Endless | IMDb | Shopbop | SoundUnwound | Warehouse Deals by Amazon | Zappos Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Anova Books (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 190603205X
• ISBN-13: 978-1906032050
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,501 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > History > Africa > Tanzania
  #18 in	Books > Reference > Words & Language > Etymology
  #28 in	Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Trivia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a hoot!, November 3, 2009

By	C. McCloskey "Auntie C" (Bawlmer, Merlin, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked this up for the catchy title (Tanganyika? a blast from the past!) and couldn't put it down.
Part of my job involves getting place names correct, thought by some (not me) to be a tedious chore, so I couldn't help but be drawn in to Harry's tongue-in-cheek approach to geography. Moldova vs Moldavia? he knows. When and why did Burma become Myanmar and did anyone ask the inhabitants? The place names of my youth are all explained here, as well as their demise in the intervening years for political correctness. Humor is threaded throughout the book, as with his explanation of the history of 'The Islands of St Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins', Christopher Columbus' name for the present-day Virgin Islands. Who knew?
I was utterly charmed by his entry on the country of San Serriffe, later revealed to be an April Fool's Day joke started and perpetuated by the Guardian (UK). Campbell's entry is just as funny and a lot more compact than the series of articles that make it a running joke in the UK.

Anyway, love the book, got a great laugh out of it. I wonder what's next?

(tagged with Humor, Geography - when was the last time you put those two together?)

One thing, Mr Campbell - while the illustrations are cute, maps would have been helpful. Kiribati isn't on my list of familiar places.