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Jeanette's Reviews > Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics
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Outstanding!
If one reads only one politico book this year, read this one.
Wanting to compose a 20 paragraph reaction, at least that long upon each one of the 10 world "entities" that this book is divided into! (Not always a continent, but sometimes that nomenclature relates.) Well, I will not. Because Marshall's concise and succinctly factual is beyond my superlatives OR my summation of it, could ever be.
But possibly I could make one comparison. In my youth, when exact structures of observance were taught and charted- the biological body (human or animal, or plant) was learned to naming of touch and recognition by seeing, measuring, or handling within feel of topography or dissection. Thus the first lesson, most often became accompanied by the intense mantra "Structure is for Function".
Comparing this geographical analysis of forms for function for each of these 10 regions of the Earth!
The forms (GEOGRAPHY) will continually replay the same questions, fears, answers, attempts for the functions of those who live there.
If you have isolation upon 3 fronts, no coastline, or a coastline with no harbors or faced with immense cliffs (actually this is no coastline at all)? Or if your weather harbors ever living insect viability, or human occupation for 15 thousand millennia?
Some sections I read twice. And to be completely truthful, I still do not understand some aspects of what the repercussions have evolved within the topography of Africa.
I do know that I'm buying this one. And that I will get the next book for the regions he has not been able to complete in this one. He states it will be out soon.
This one is for the main 10 regions of divisions in geography today: Russia, China, United States, Western Europe, Africa, The Middle East, India & Pakistan, Korea & Japan, Latin America, and lastly The Artic.
If you have learned your history and politico from the stance of administration ideologies, religion, colonialism or any whole piece belief system of division or operations, you need to read this book.
Because the mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, oceans will alter, change. Over great periods of time, they will. But not all that much. And structure still insists functions and outcomes in majority. Great majority proportionally. And with use of the Artic, Space and other huge changes that will occur- you will always have the human geographic restraints of your human location.
This book is surprisingly current on top of it. It even has the proposed Strait of Nicaragua- which if funding by China continues, should be finished by the end of 2020.
Highest recommendation by me in non-fiction category for this year, 2016. So far- and I doubt it will be beat.
Read Russia and the Middle East alone if that is your tolerance level.
If one reads only one politico book this year, read this one.
Wanting to compose a 20 paragraph reaction, at least that long upon each one of the 10 world "entities" that this book is divided into! (Not always a continent, but sometimes that nomenclature relates.) Well, I will not. Because Marshall's concise and succinctly factual is beyond my superlatives OR my summation of it, could ever be.
But possibly I could make one comparison. In my youth, when exact structures of observance were taught and charted- the biological body (human or animal, or plant) was learned to naming of touch and recognition by seeing, measuring, or handling within feel of topography or dissection. Thus the first lesson, most often became accompanied by the intense mantra "Structure is for Function".
Comparing this geographical analysis of forms for function for each of these 10 regions of the Earth!
The forms (GEOGRAPHY) will continually replay the same questions, fears, answers, attempts for the functions of those who live there.
If you have isolation upon 3 fronts, no coastline, or a coastline with no harbors or faced with immense cliffs (actually this is no coastline at all)? Or if your weather harbors ever living insect viability, or human occupation for 15 thousand millennia?
Some sections I read twice. And to be completely truthful, I still do not understand some aspects of what the repercussions have evolved within the topography of Africa.
I do know that I'm buying this one. And that I will get the next book for the regions he has not been able to complete in this one. He states it will be out soon.
This one is for the main 10 regions of divisions in geography today: Russia, China, United States, Western Europe, Africa, The Middle East, India & Pakistan, Korea & Japan, Latin America, and lastly The Artic.
If you have learned your history and politico from the stance of administration ideologies, religion, colonialism or any whole piece belief system of division or operations, you need to read this book.
Because the mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, oceans will alter, change. Over great periods of time, they will. But not all that much. And structure still insists functions and outcomes in majority. Great majority proportionally. And with use of the Artic, Space and other huge changes that will occur- you will always have the human geographic restraints of your human location.
This book is surprisingly current on top of it. It even has the proposed Strait of Nicaragua- which if funding by China continues, should be finished by the end of 2020.
Highest recommendation by me in non-fiction category for this year, 2016. So far- and I doubt it will be beat.
Read Russia and the Middle East alone if that is your tolerance level.
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Feb 27, 2016 10:04AM
Sounds fantastic! Thank you for the recommendation. I look forward to getting to this one.
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Great review, Jeanette! Thanks for the recommendation. This looks like a book I'd truly enjoy :)
Thank you for the insightful review!
You are welcome, Lisa. Everyone in North America, Middle East should have the Russia chapter as a required reading. Obama certainly didn't read that chapter.
Thanks for pointing us to this great resource! Definitely TBR. I don't think I've ever learned as much from any experience as I did from a single undergrad Political Geography class. OTOH, over my almost 30 years of teaching, we've gone from most K-16 classrooms having at least one serious map to many rooms without any.
The first things I taught my Grandkids in a toddler but "formal" manner were all on maps. First a 50 state USA puzzle one I have that has tiny but sturdy wooden pieces and then on to the round and elemental globe. The names may change, but the nations as entities, much more rarely. FOR REASONS.If you don't know "what" is "where"- you just DO NOT know.
When they quit teaching geography in grade school classrooms, I knew the downhill slope was increased tenfold. GPS has actually made those who KNOW their geography, forgetful of its largest lessons.
Jeanette wrote: "The first things I taught my Grandkids in a toddler but "formal" manner were all on maps. First a 50 state USA puzzle one I have that has tiny but sturdy wooden pieces and then on to the round and ...""GPS has actually made those who KNOW their geography, forgetful of its largest lessons."
Yes, something like not being able to see the forest for the trees immediately at hand.
Far more than that factor, HBalikov are several others much wider and more important to outcome factors. The larger (probably largest actually) danger is thinking/ believing that the tech and "authority" of human knowledge/ invention/ hubris of homo sapiens intelligence of elites and government will surmount the reality of the physicality and the practical applications of that physicality. It never will.
The "authority" always knows last too (and too late always) how badly the "real" exists. Always 4 steps behind in their condescension of having all the answers. And far too late for it to do anything but regress to the real existing state of structures and placements as they exist and will contain to exist for majority of the populations in those placements.
It's not only missing the trees that becomes the homo sapiens primarily governmental/ organizational problem at all. It's when the elites who run it no longer know what a tree does or how it works or what it actually looks like in individual reality. Or what is optimal for it to grow, or what it needs to produce leaves and seeds. Trees need several factors you can list. Humans need families. Not villages.
