Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

This. Book. Was. Life-Changing. So many revelations about the world and why it is the way it is today. Marshall talks about how the world’s physical geography has led to the nations we know today and the political positions we find in all of these nations. It gives geographical explanations as to why certain wars happened, why some countries failed to succeed or are seriously underdeveloped. An example of this could be that India and China have never been at war because of the natural (huge) divide between them: the Himalayas. Another example is that of the US and why it has been able to become a superpower among the international arena. Whilst countries, say in Europe, have many neighbouring countries, the US has only two, both of which are either allies with the US or weaker that the US. Therefore, because it need not worry about its neighbouring countries planning to attack it, the US can focus on other priorities and use more resources in developing those priorities such as international affairs, which therefore spreads dependency on the US and elevates it to its current status.

The book is structured in chapters, each of which focuses on certain parts of the world. My favourites were China, Russia, the Middle East and Africa because they are so unknown to me due to the Western education that I have received. I believe it is important to read about parts of the world that are foreign to us because it allows you to get a more accurate and wholesome understanding on a topic which can often be misunderstood. Two prime examples of this are Africa and the Middle East because due to our lack of education about these areas, it is easy for the media to manipulate our opinions about them.

This book really opened my eyes to a whole new aspect of politics and that is the physical geography upon which our nations are formed. After reading this book I believe it is an essential piece of reading for anyone interested in global politics and international relations. Also, if you are interested in history then this will definitely be the perfect book for you. This book also inspired me to read his other book Divided, which I will be reviewing soon! I hope you guys love the book as much as I did!