This is an amazing journey through the world, zooming out of particular localities and looking at the geographical shape of bigger areas that helped form the history, culture and population of the world we share. I read the first chapters on Russia, China, Europe, USA and Africa constantly nodding my head, realising that it was possible to explain many things I had thought about for long hours by analysing natural borders, rivers, mountains, vegetation, climate and distribution of agricultural opportunities. I had the feeling that my historical knowledge became deeper, and more nuanced by adding the dimension of geography. My recent reflections on Chinua Achebe were put into the context of the vast African continent and its geography. The story of I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban gained width and depth through my intense staring at the map of the borders between Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, and I learned a great deal from the historical references to that region.Then I embarked on the chapter about South America, a continent I hardly know, and was plunged into a strong childhood memory, all of a sudden, without any warning. Reading about Brazil and its complicated connections to other countries, comparing it to Argentina with its access to the Atlantic through the Rio De La Plata, I found myself repeatedly humming a song by a Swedish sailor-poet-songwriter called Evert Taube. My father used to sing his songs to me when I was little, and I still know them by heart, but I have never thought of them in terms of global geography. However, this lovely love song between a Swedish sailor and a young girl called Carmencita from Samborombom, in the Rio De La Plata area, shows exactly what this nonfiction book on geography explains in plain facts: some areas are more accessible, and enhance global communication, while others are more remote, and thus stay isolated, culturally and technologically. The Swedish sailor in the song meets the exotic young lady because his ship has access to her country, but when he wants to marry her, she refuses, telling him her father has received an offer, and she will marry a local man who owns 20,000 cows. Fritjof has to sail home again, his (doubtful) virtues and wonderful tango skills are not enough! Samborombon, en liten by förutan gata,den ligger inte långt från Rio de la Plata,nästan i kanten av den blåa Atlanten och medpampas bakom sej många hundra gröna mil,dit kom jag ridande en afton i aprilför jag ville dansa Tango.Fully aware that Swedish is not a global language, I still feel I have to copy these Evert Taube lines here, because they connected me to the big, wide world when I was a child, and now made me appreciate the accuracy of the historical impact of geography on a much more personal level. I was coming to the end of the book at this point, and Evert Taube brought it to my attention that I had actually not read anything about Scandinavia's geography yet. This is a region I consider my own, and I can't emphasise enough how astonished I was to realise that it is mentioned, at the very end, not in the chapter on Europe, or in the context of the Western Hemisphere, but as part of the ARCTIC. I had to spend a lot of time meditating on the map showing my home town well within the area circling the arctic, and reflecting on what it possibly meant to me. Also, contrary to Swedish wisdom (beware, this might be irony imported from the continent!), Norway was in the focus of the Scandinavian chapter. How could that be? I thoroughly enjoyed my own confusion at having my geography skills put into perspective like that.One last thing, before I recommend this book to anyone interested in the overarching connections between history and geography: I don't like the subtitle at all and it almost put me off trying the book!Ten Maps That tell You Everything....That made me think it must be one of those books pretending to explain the world to you in a short, poorly written bestseller style. Ten recipes that make you lose weight in two days... Ten tricks to save money when shopping...This book does NOT tell you everything, and that is good, but it gives you insight into an aspect of global developments that enhances your previous knowledge and makes you curious to learn more!Read! Despite subtitle! (And my overuse of exclamation marks!)!

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About The World by Tim Marshall attempts to explain the world by presenting ten maps of the planet. Tim Marshall is a leading authority on foreign affairs with more than 25 years of reporting experience. He was the diplomatic editor at Sky News, and before that was working for the BBC and LBC/IRN radio. He has reported from thirty countries and covered the conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a map is worth a thousand pictures. A topographical map in the hands of a Marine is a volume of information on terrain, defensive positions, possible enemy routes, and the sense of knowing where you are, how to get where you need to be. It's more than just a picture of the ground that others may see. Maps are important even in reading history. National boundaries become visible even if it's not a political map. Mountains, rivers, deserts, and oceans created borders even before Europe drew lines on a map. America and Russia sprawled until they met oceans. The Middle East existed without national borders. The Ottoman Empire didn't arbitrarily divide land. Nationalism and conflict in the Middle East have much more to do with the artificial straight line borders drawn by France and England than historical boundaries, tribes, or religions. Countries develop to their resources and their limits. Russia is challenged by the lack of a true warm-water ocean port. China is creating alliances to gain what it needs with a stealthy military objective. Japan trades because it must; it lacks resources. Mountains ensure peace coexistence between India and China but not India and Pakistan. Natural borders offer security while political borders offer an avenue for conflict. China is boxed in between rivers, mountains, and jungles. Vietnam is the only country China has invaded in the last fifty years, but not from lack of want but practicality. A map is a handy tool for understanding the world. Marshall takes maps of ten regions of the world and uses them to explain the political and cultural realities of the modern world. It becomes easy to see the problem areas and the limits of nations based on their geography. It also becomes apparent how countries are attempting to change their situations. Some countries live in the comfort of their situation. Mexico only needs to fear invasion from the US and Canada likewise; neither is expresses much concern over this. Other countries are not so lucky. South Koreas capital Seoul is only thirty-five miles from the DMZ. There are no natural obstacles separating Seoul from an invading army from the north. Prisoners of Geography is a nicely done work that provides a picture (map) and then goes on to describe the history, culture, and the political realities of the region. Most of the world is covered with the exception of Canada, the South Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand. The maps help explain the whys of many historical questions and actions as well as the present and possible future challenges. Prisoners of Geography is a very readable and understandable history and political study.

Educativa pentru cei care doresc sa inteleaga contextul politic actual. As fi vrut doar sa explice mai in detaliu anumite aspecte istorice.

3 stars - It was good.Interesting and extremely relevant read I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the Arctic. -------------------------------------------Favorite Quote: When we are reaching for the stars, the challenges ahead are such that we will perhaps have to come together to meet them: to travel the universe not as Russians, Americans, or Chinese but as representatives of humanity. But so far, although we have broken free from the shackles of gravity, we are still imprisoned in our own minds, confined by our suspicion of the other, and thus our primal competition for resources.First Sentence: Vladimir Putin says he is a religious man, a great supporter of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Have you ever thought what a complex world it is we live in? Why do some countries look to have it all whilst others seem destined to always struggle? Each country has its own history of rivalries and ancient disputes with neighbouring nations where do these stem from? And what about the frequent border changes why have these occurred and surely theyve created additional tensions, havent they? I have an old Readers Digest Great World Atlas (published in 1961) and a quick perusal of the pages just covering Europe and the southern reaches of Africa is enough to tell me that many of the names therein have long ago been cast onto the geographical scrapheap. Well the good news is that this book provides the answers to these questions and many more. Broken down into sections covering associated areas of the globe I first learnt how natural geography handed out the lottery prizes. Much of Europe, for example, is blessed by having long rivers, some of which flow into each other, creating natural vessels for moving resources around and thus significantly aiding the establishment of trading routes. Africa, on the other hand, has big rivers but they are all frequently interrupted by large waterfalls and they dont meet up with other rivers, therefore precluding their use for large scale movement of goods. Then theres the climate: again Africa draws the short straw (along with South America) with large areas providing a home for mosquitos which carry diseases such as Malaria and Yellow fever. And what about the land itself? Areas of Jungle, desert and high mountains have provided natural boundaries but also create problems for transporting goods and for travel. Yes, when you are born the natural lay of the land and climate will have predetermined to an extent how prosperous a country you will be born into.History provides the second set of answers. Some countries with natural resources of gas, oil and minerals have been able to utilise their good fortune to enrich their nation (though not necessarily the people who live there). Others have been plundered by aggressive predatory forces hell bent on helping themselves to the assets. Boundaries have been changed through occupation and particularly as a result of the World Wars. These changes were often made by lines being drawn on maps without regard to ancient groupings based on tribal and religious backgrounds the cause of many long standing disputes and conflicts can be traced back to these actions.The great thing about this book is that the way it is organised allows these elements to be presented in a logical, organised way that not only makes perfect sense but also allows the reader to understand much of the geopolitical bickering that goes on to this very day. Its a brilliant book and its bang up to date. Id urge anyone interested in improving their knowledge of the big picture to grab a copy.