The Secret Life of Hidden Places, Stefan Bachmann
The Secret Life of Hidden Places, Stefan Bachmann
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The Secret Life of Hidden Places
Concealed Rooms, Clandestine Passageways, and the Curious Minds That Made Them

Author: Stefan Bachmann, April Genevieve Tucholke

Narrator: James Langton

Unabridged: 8 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/13/2024

Synopsis

A spellbinding tour, filled with stories of some of the world’s most fascinating architectural mysteries. This wondrous guide for the curious and the intrepid takes readers on a lyrically written tour of eighteen of the world’s most captivating architectural mysteries. Delve into both the secretive places themselves and the eccentric and obsessive minds that created them. Visit a chamber of skulls high in the Swiss Alps, a Japanese temple full of traps, a Parisian apartment locked and untouched since World War II, a Prohibition-era speakeasy in Washington, DC, and a spooky “initiation” well in Portugal built by a secret society. How far down can you climb before losing your nerve?

About Stefan Bachmann

Stefan Bachmann was born in Colorado and spent most of his childhood in Switzerland, where he graduated from Zurich University of the Arts with degrees in music composition and theory. He is the author of The Peculiar, his debut, which was published to international acclaim when he was nineteen years old. His other books include The Whatnot, A Drop of Night, and Cinders and Sparrows. He is the coauthor (with April Genevieve Tucholke) of The Secret Life of Hidden Places. He lives in Zurich, Switzerland, and Berlin, Germany. 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Aja on January 12, 2024

This book is laid out beautifully from the graphics to the pictures to the anecdotes. However, it severely lacked appropriate coverage of diversity. Yes, it does have a few token places like a shrine in Japan, but many of these weren't secret in the same way. Egypt's tombs for King Tut, for example,......more

Goodreads review by Jodi on September 21, 2024

Viel habe ich von diesem Buch eigentlich nicht erwartet. Aber schlussendlich hat es mich wirklich begeistert. Wir begeben uns auf die Suche nach verlassenen, vergessenen und versteckten Orten überall auf der Welt (auch wenn der Fokus doch stark auf Europa zu liegen scheint). Hier entdecken versteckte......more

Goodreads review by Dodi on March 10, 2025

The Secret Life of Hidden Places describes unusual architecture around the world. I thought the writing was stilted; maybe it was meant to lend mystery to the text, but I found it annoying. Parts of this book were interesting. I enjoyed the dollhouse chapter, although I didn't see how it fit with th......more

Goodreads review by RaspberryRoses on July 31, 2024

very fun to read moment to moment, and it has a killer premise. but it is deeply flawed. 1) it feels like it could have used a lot more pictures and specificity in what pictures were selected. it feels like they didnt bother to show off most of the interesting stuff. 2) it. sure does have an orientali......more

Goodreads review by Debra on February 07, 2024

The Secret Life of Hidden Places: Concealed Rooms, Clandestine Passageways, and the Curious Minds That Made Them Stefan Bachmann, April Gene Many buildings have secrets. There are 18 tales in this book. This book shares the secrets of each building and discuss the se creator The rooms are fascinating.......more

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