What's in a name?

Argentina is named for a metal it never really had. Germany goes by six unrelated names depending on who is talking. Timor-Leste translates, literally, as "East East."

This book traces the names of the world's countries back to where they began: forgotten empires, misheard words, colonial mix-ups and plain coincidence. Every country gets a page of its own, running from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

On each page:

• the word origin and its linguistic roots
• the history that shaped the name
• a timeline of how it changed
• former and alternative names
• what citizens are called
• one surprising fact

A good fit for travelers, geography and history fans, trivia players, students and teachers.