Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics

Ten maps of significant locations are used by an award-winning journalist to describe the geopolitical tactics of the global powers, following in the best-selling footsteps of Why Nations Fail and The Revenge of Geography.

Geography places limitations on all national leaders. Concrete, rivers, oceans, and mountains restrict their options. News outlets and other authorities often concentrate on individuals, concepts, and political movements in order to comprehend global events, but without geography, we can never fully grasp the situation. Now, experienced journalist Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the USA, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Japan and Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic—their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders—to provide a context often absent from our political reporting: how these nations' physical characteristics affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders. This is why Tim Marshall's timely and relevant book Prisoners of Geography is so relevant.

Marshall provides a straightforward and captivating explanation of the intricate geopolitical plans of these significant regions of the world in 10 current maps of each area. Why does Russia have to maintain a fleet when its ports are closed for six months of the year? What impact does this have on Putin's handling of Ukraine? In what ways does China's geographic location limit its future? Why is a unified Europe unattainable? Why won't anybody ever conquer America? Prisoners of Geography is a crucial resource that sheds light on the inescapable physical facts that influence all of our goals and ambitions. It is one of the primary—and sometimes disregarded—determinants of human history.