The Power of Geography: Ten Maps that Reveal the Future of Our World – the sequel to Prisoners of Geography Paperback – 1 Oct. 2021

I wasn't very interested in any form of politics before I read this book. I bought it because it was about geography, and I LOVE my world geography.I read the book's intro when I found it in the local shop, and it was basically 'love at first read'. I knew I had to buy this so I checked the price on it; pretty good, a lot lower than the RRP. Then I checked Amazon just to be sure if I could save money or not, and what do you know, the price here is lower!So immediately I added it to my basket, and also saw a book written by the same author, called "Prisoners of Geography", which was written before this one. So I decided to get both and actually read that one first instead of this one. Both are just as good as each other in my opinion.I'm really glad I purchased both of these books; I learnt a TON from them, it didn't feel like a chore to read through them, I enjoyed the writing style and tone, kind of casual, and informal, but also sometimes felt dramatic, and engaging (Why do I feel like I'm writing an English essay all of a sudden). I HIGHLY recommend this book to ANYONE who has any sort of interest in either geography, politics, or both!

Another excellent book from the author marred only by his (politically motivated?) comment (p294) that Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Phillipines 'broke free' from Spain in 1898, rather than one colonial power was replaced by another.

One of the best geography reads I have undertaken. Marshall is really good at explaining things briefly allowing you to understand more about the world around you

This is the global and geopolitical perspective that inhabitants of Fortress America and Little Englanders need now. You could equally listen to Jeremy Bowen on BBC Radio Sounds, but Tim Marshall casts his net wider with this and other volumes. Politicians take note. Newsphobes take note. Sentimentalists take note. This is the age of sentiment when feeling is invoked to support any contentious issue which might tug at the heart. Wake up. Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un may not be directly coming to get you now, but they are playing chess around you while you are, sentimentally speaking, in your cups.

Really good but considering I bought it a few days before Syria ousted Assad it was a bit out of date when I read it.

A run through the histories of nine countries and outer space, all with a primary focus on how their geographies affected and affect their histories. While I enjoyed reading this book, I wondered why he picked these nine countries. He offers some rather feeble reasons for the choice of countries in the introduction, but why is there no China or Russia, why no USA or any other country from the Americas? And of those included, why Greece? Why Spain? Are these really going to be significant players of the future?This book sometimes reads like a collection of Wikipedia articles. The chapters are essentially very condensed potted political histories of each of nine countries, with a tenth chapter devoted to space. As might be expected, there is a consistent undercurrent of the geography that has shaped his chosen set of countries, but there is next to nothing about culture or arts – nothing about the books and music, the arts of the countries concerned, the carpets in Iran and so on... (well, there are three paragraphs about music, television, and cultural issues in the UK chapter.)The book is rich in cliches (“it is not all doom and gloom”) and some rather feeble humour (“The nuclear issue remains live and the Strait of Hormuz remains narrow” and “to compromise is sin, to resist is divine”). In the Spain chapter, after referring to the “piratres of the Caribbean” who “sailed the open sea”, he goes all Blackadder (“In 1586 Phillip II of Spain came up with a cunning plan” and “What, other than everything, could possibly go wrong?”).One apparent contradiction: On page 147 “The list of potentially hostile countries capable of mounting an invasion is short: China and, at a push, Russia.” And, on page 150 [On the UK's nuclear deterrent]: “As for why it needs such a deterrent, supporters point to the potential threat of Russia, North Korea and Iran.” So which countries are the main threat?

As usual for this author, the piece is well constructed and written. The subjects included inspire thoughts, indeed I think this is the whole point of the book. It has certainly affected how I view and think about world issues, credit to the author for this. If available at a good price, I'd recommend this book to you.

ok