Whatever Happened to Tanganyika?: The Place Names That History Left Behind by Harry Campbell
This is a short book with a page or two for various place names that are no more. The descriptions provide a brief description, complete with history and some dry British humor, The audience is clearly British. Some of the modern British political discussion went right over my head. The place names are a smattering of different ones that are "gone" for different reasons. Many of the cases are of colonial place names being replaced by "local" ones. (Though in more than one case, the local one is the name of a dictator, and the name disappears shortly after their death.) The local one may not be without other controversy. (Madras to Chennai sparked some debate, and even questions over which is more "native")
Other times the political entity may no longer exist. There are islands that were once inhabited that no longer have permanent residents. There are countries like Yugoslavia that splintered off to individual countries. The other even threw in an April Fools "San Serriffe" place name.
The book is an ideal "bathroom reader", with many short section that can be thumbed through and read on their own.
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