Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything about the World (Politics of Place, #1)

by Tim Marshall

All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to follow world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture.; If you've ever wondered why Putin is so obsessed with Crimea, why the USA was destined to become a global superpower, or why China's power base continues to expand ever outwards, the answers are all here.; In ten chapters (covering Russia; China; the USA; Latin America; the Middle East; Africa; India and Pakistan; Europe; Japan and Korea; and the Arctic), using maps, essays and occasionally the personal experiences of the widely travelled author, Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present and future to offer an essential insight into one of the major factors that determines world history.; It's time to put the 'geo' back into geopolitics.

• ISBN10: 1501121480
• ISBN13: 9781501121487
• Publish Date: 27 October 2015 (first published 9 July 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Scribner Book Company
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Interesting Concepts. Marshall presents an interesting case of geopolitics from a geographical perspective, and while quite a bit of it makes perfect sense, there are also times where he presents an idea as perfectly obvious... when it actually isn't/ wasn't. For example, he claims that once America gained access to the Pacific Ocean in the 19th century via the Oregon Territory, it was destined to become a great world power simply because it had direct access to both of the world's great oceans. If it was so perfectly obvious, why did it take another century or so - for this barely century old nation at the time - to achieve such supremacy? But the cases Marshall does make, he makes many interesting points on that even I had never considered, and I consider myself a fairly learned and analytical person. He also does so with great humor, which makes what could have been a much drier, more academic treatise into a much more enjoyable read. So read this thing. It has some good ideas and you'll be entertained. Just don't believe every word it says, and keep a critical eye on all things at all times. Recommended.

[kiracanread]

A very interesting overview of political, geographical history.