Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything about the Worldvolume 1 (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 understand world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture. To understand Putin's actions, for example, it is essential to consider that, to be a world power, Russia must have a navy. And if its ports freeze for six months each year then it must have access to a warm water port - hence, the annexation of Crimea was the only option for Putin. To understand the Middle East, it is crucial to know that geography is the reason why countries have logically been shaped as they are - and this is why invented countries (e.g. Syria, Iraq, Libya) will not survive as nation states. Spread over ten chapters (covering Russia; China; the USA; Latin America; the Middle East; Africa; India and Pakistan; Europe; Japan and Korea; and Greenland and the Arctic), using maps, essays and occasionally the personal experiences of the widely traveled author, Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present and future to offer an essential guide to one of the major determining factors in world history.

• ISBN10: 1501121464
• ISBN13: 9781501121463
• Publish Date: 27 October 2015 (first published 9 July 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Scribner Book Company
• Format: Hardcover
• 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.