Simon Clark's Reviews > Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics

A very interesting overview of global geopolitics and the geography that informs it. By splitting the world into distinct regions Marshall allows for the isolation of particularly important geographical features, such as the North European Plain on Russian politics, and the lack of navigable rivers hampering internal development in Africa. The author is clearly authoritative and even includes a few personal anecdotes with foreign ministers when making points. This being my first book on the subject I'm unable to review how accurate his take on the subject is, however I found every chapter entirely plausible. It has already shaped my perception of events happening in the news - for example Russia's strategy in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus being played out via its relationship with the USA and Turkey over the Syrian conflict.
As a general introduction to why world politics is the way it is, I'd struggle to recommend anything better.