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The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
  

The Dictionary of Imaginary Places (Paperback)

by Alberto Manguel (Author), Gianni Guada (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Product Description

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The Dictionary of Imaginary Places is best described as a guidebook of the make-believe. A good way to understand what Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi set out to do with their book is to imagine that you want to travel to a place like Oz, as in The Wizard of. What you remember from watching the classic movie and what you would want to know as a traveler are two very distinct things. What you'll earn in this book is that Oz is a large rectangular country where everyone works half the time and plays half the time, one that is divided into four smaller countries: Munchkin Country, Winkie Country, Quadling Country, and Gillikin Country. Flip through more of the book's alphabetized listings and you'll discover Fuddlecumjig, a town in Oz's Quadling Country whose inhabitants, the Fuddles, are among the most curious people in Oz. The main peculiarity is that they are made of many pieces, rather like jigsaw puzzles, and literally fall apart when strangers approach, and have to be reassembled with skill and patience. A travel tip for readers with vivid imaginations: put Fuddlecumjig's cook together first if you want a meal. And so go the descriptions of more than 1,200 worlds invented by storytellers throughout history, from Homer's Wandering Rocks in the Odyssey to Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. But there's more here than just the worlds of literature and film. You can learn more about John Lennon's Nutopia from his album Mind Games. Nutopia is a country with no land, no boundaries, no passports, and no laws other than cosmic laws. And the Beatles' Pepperland from Yellow Submarine is described as a country 18,000 leagues beneath the Sea of Green, where inhabitants dress in bright colors and rainbows are frequent. Written with rich descriptions that bring places to life, The Dictionary of Imaginary Places is a wonderful, magical reference book perfect for fiction lovers. --John Russell --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


From Library Journal

Since the publication of the first Dictionary in 1980, Manguel (A History of Reading) and Guadalupi, a translator and editor, have accepted suggestions from readers and continued their own research. The result is this updated version--a book that includes imaginary terrains from ancient Greece to Harry Potter's Hogwarts. The authors have set a few limitations for inclusion: "no heavens or hells, no places in the future, none outside the planet Earth, no pseudonymous places such as Wessex or Manawaka." Even with those seemingly extensive restrictions, however, the dictionary runs over 700 pages. Each place is described in detail as if it physically existed outside the reader's imagination. Entries are cross-referenced and See references are provided, as well as illustrations and maps that are difficult to locate elsewhere. A valuable reference source to accompany fiction collections, this new edition is recommended for all school, public, and academic libraries.
-Katherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Very fun book, Nov 7 2001
By A Customer
I thought this was a wonderful book, both for reader and for writers. I am going to buy one for my brother now! And as for the imaginary places they left out, my guess on that would be that the people who own the copyrights on those imaginary places would not allow the author or publisher to include them in this book. I noted that although Xanth is not there (Piers Anthony), Neverwhere is (Neil Gaiman); they are both contempory authors and I think that just boiled down to permission. It seems that everything that is no longer copywrited is included.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Strange, but Amazing, Oct 11 2001
By "boston403" (rockville, md United States) - See all my reviews
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.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad...but could be better, Dec 29 2000
I like the maps, and the entries, but I found this book to be extreamly limited. I mean, granted there is a lot of fantasy out there, so they had to have some guidelines, but maybe next time they could expand to books that don't have a location here on earth. Another thing that bothered me was how they left out books like Redwall series, and Madeline LEngle's books. Both of these follow the rules set by the author, but neither of them can be found in The Dictionary of Imaginary Places.
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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book but...
This is a wonderful vehicle for the imagination, but I hope the next edition includes Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood. How could the authors have missed this one? Read more
Published on Oct 27 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book but...
This book is a wonderful vehicle for the imagination, but I hope the next edition includes Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood. How could the authors have missed this one?
Published on Oct 27 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book but...
This book is a wonderful vehicle for the imagination, but I hope the next edition includes Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood. How could the authors have missed this one?
Published on Oct 27 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Concentrated nectar
No one writes as beautifully as they do when they are writing about an imaginary place.
Published on Jul 11 2000 by Andrew Tyson

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, the Places You Can Go!
This is the perfect companion for anyone who loves to daydream and go to imaginary places. The Abbey of the Rose would easily be the setting for a great romance and one of my... Read more
Published on Jun 13 2000 by Janie H. Harrison

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure and a Treasury
A trove of wonders, many familiar, many not. It's still nice to browse through the various lands of Oz (with an excellent map to guide me), or to refresh in my mind where the... Read more
Published on May 30 2000 by Fugitive Pope

5.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedic, great for reference or pleasure reading.
A very enjoyable overview of an immense number of imaginary worlds; I was most pleased by the copious line drawings and maps of various realms. Read more
Published on Mar 15 2000 by peterb

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Wonderful!
This book was abosolutely wonderful! I love how they have updated A LOT. For example they have added aome Harry Potter entries which I love! Read more
Published on Oct 28 1999 by mclaren fan

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