Prisoners Of Geography

Prisoners of Geography (2015) by Tim Marshall is a modern book on geopolitics that looks at why various regions around the world are the way they are and offers motives for why many states act as they do. Marshall is a journalist and writer and was at Sky News for a quarter of century and was the Foreign Affairs editor there for many years. Geopolitics underpins power politics and offers a great deal of insight into why states act as they do. Afred Thayer Mahan, Emil Reich and Halford Mackinder should be better known than they are. The US statesmen who understood and cared about geopolitics, Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezisnki, are better known for their crucial role in winning the Cold War. This book distils the insights of geopolitics. The book has chapters on Russia, China, the US, Western Europe, Africa, The Middle East, Indian and Pakistan, Korean and Japan, Latin America and The Arctic. The chapters on Russia, China and the Middle East are all outstanding, providing a great deal of insight into why these powers act as they do. In particular Marshall's presentation of why Russia is acting the way it is in Ukraine is something that is very much worth reading. The one big thing the book curiously mentions little is nuclear weapons which have fundamentally reshaped power politics. It was one thing for Napoleon or Hitler to invade Russia, it is a completely different thing to contemplate attacking a Russia with nuclear weapons. Similarly China has a level of security that previous rising powers did not have due to its nuclear capability. If the book does sound interesting Marshall gave a talk at the LSE recently that is available online to listen to that goes over the themes of the book. The book is very much worth reading for anyone interested in current events. It really does help understand various political events around the world.

Vivid explanations of how geography shapes society and men, great examples. The writing is very fluid, almost conversational, a great read.

I had the honour and the privilege to hear Tim Marshall, the author, at the inaugural HFW "Commodities Dinner" in September 2022. This is a fascinating book and I look forward to reading the sequel, "The Power of Geography". A must read in this febrile and interconnected world of realpolitik! If you liked this you will like also enjoy "The World For Sale" by Javier Blas & Jack Farchy & "Commodity Crops & the Merchants who trade them" as well as "Out of The Shadows" by Jonathan Kingsman

So informative and great perspectives for anyone who is interested in how world history has shaped over years! Highly recommend

A thoroughly written and informative book unpacking our world. Highly recommended. It covers all the continents, even those regions like the Arctic which may get overlooked.

Very good survey of global issues. Easy read. Would recommend for high schoolers on up.

Its a good book but now feels like it needs an updated

This book is FANTASTIC. Was recommended. If you think you know geopolitics, think again! Well written. HIGHLY recommend this book.

id say that if you are ignorant on geopolitics and politics as a whole, this book may be a good starting point,

Impressionante ler este livro em plena guerra da Ucrânia. Verifica-se a veracidade do escrito pelo autor. Possivelmente teremos outras passagens semelhantes nos próximos anos

Ich hätte vorher nicht gedacht, dass die Zusammenhänge zwischen Geographie und Politik so interessant sein können. Tatsächlich war ich beim ersten Blick ins Buch etwas enttuscht, weil mich der Untertitel in die Irre geführt hatte: "Ten maps that tell you everything you need to know about global politics" - da hatte ich gedacht, dass den Leser spezielle Karten erwarten, die dann im Text näher erläutert werden. Die Karten zu den einzelnen Kapiteln sind aber ganz normale Ausschnitte, wie man sie aus jedem Atlas (oder einem Onlinedienst) nehmen könnte. Es sind die erhellenden Erläuterungen von Tim Marshall, die den Unterschied machen und viele Dinge klar werden lassen, die vorher unverständlich erschienen. Die zehn Kapitel behandeln einerseits Großmächte wie die USA, China und Russland, andererseits Problemzonen wie den Nahen Osten, Indien/Pakistan, Japan/Korea; auch Westeuropa und die Arktis sind vertreten, Afrika und Lateinamerika. Immer geht es darum, wie die Gegebenheiten der Naturräume Politik und Geschichte ganz wesentlich beeinflusst haben (und es noch tun). Wer sich schon immer gefragt hat, woher etwa die unermüdlichen Aggressionen eines Herrn Putin rühren, wird nach diesem Buch mehr wissen. Im Grunde ist es einfach: Völker, Nationen und Staatengebilde haben zwei Grundbedürfnisse, die sie erfüllen wollen: Sicherheit vor Angriffen von außen und gute Verkehrsverbindungen im Inneren, um Handel und Wirtschaft blühen zu lassen. Beides wird stärker durch die Geograhie beeinflusst, als wir uns das in unserer technikgläubigen Zeit vielleicht vorstellen. Das Zusammenspiel der politischen Grenzen mit Gebirgen und Ebenen, Flüssen und Meeren, führt in den realen Situationen der verschiedenen Länder zu den ganz verschiedenen Verwerfungen, die wir heute kennen. Das ganze Buch ist ein einziges großes Aha-Erlebnis. Eine besondere Aktualität gewinnt es noch dadurch, dass sich - auch darauf geht Marshall ein - Jahrzehntausende alte Gegebenheiten etwa im arktischen Meer derzeit durch den Klimawandel verändern, was auch die Spielregeln der globalen Geopolitik ändert. Ein hochgradig spannendes Buch für Leute, die verstehen möchten, wie unsere Welt funktioniert!

Super interesting book. Now I want to read more work from the author!

Very good book to have a great overview of the geopolitical situation in the world