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 identities 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 those of 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.
Harry Campbell was born in the southwest of England but has lived for many years in Glasgow. Despite the Scottish surname, his family roots lie in North Wales. After degrees in modern languages and linguistics and time spent teaching English in Belgium and Spain, he worked as a bilingual lexicographer and editor for Larousse and Harper Collins, before going freelance. As 'an armchair traveller and avid collector of maps' he became interested in the subject of obsolete placenames and the stories behind them, which led to the publication of "Whatever Happened to Tanganyika?" by Portico, an imprint of Anova Books.
He writes a blog at http://harrycampbell.blogspot.com
