Stefan Bachmann & April Genevieve Tucholke

This wondrous guide for the curious and the intrepid takes readers on a lushly photographed and 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?

Stefan Bachmann was born in the United States, and spent most of his childhood in Zürich, Switzerland, where he graduated from the Zürich University of Arts with degrees in composition and theory. After stints in Tokyo, Prague, Novi Sad, and Berlin, he currently lives and works at the foot of a medieval castle in a small town on the Dutch border. He has written for newspapers, film, radio, and opera, and his critically-acclaimed books have been published in sixteen countries.

April Genevieve Tucholke grew up on a farm, where she spent her time wandering the prairie and daydreaming. Her acclaimed, award-winning books have been published in sixteen countries. April lives in Savannah, Georgia. She loves coffee, forests, and gothic cities.