Yet Steven Pinker shows that this is an illusion - a symptom of historical amnesia and statistical fallacies. If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred, and irrationality.

Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible? Prices accurate at time of writing)Įnlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

(All affiliate links earn commission from purchases that help fund this site. Spread over ten chapters (covering Russia China the USA Latin America the Middle East Africa India and Pakistan Europe Japan and Korea and Greenland and the Arctic), using maps, essays and occasionally the personal experiences of the widely travelled author, Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present and future to offer an essential guide to one of the major determining factors in world history.īuy On: Book Depository €8.50 Waterstones £8.49 Wordery $11.62 Syria, Iraq, Libya) will not survive as nation states. To understand the Middle East, it is crucial to know that geography is the reason why countries have logically been shaped as they are - and this is why invented countries (e.g. And if its ports freeze for six months each year then it must have access to a warm water port - hence, the annexation of Crimea was the only option for Putin. To understand Putin's actions, for example, it is essential to consider that, to be a world power, Russia must have a navy. Yes, to understand world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements.but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global PoliticsĪll leaders are constrained by geography.

Tim marshall books