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  • Prisoners of Geography

  • Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics
  • By: Tim Marshall
  • Narrated by: Ric Jerom
  • Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (6,151 ratings)
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Prisoners of Geography

By: Tim Marshall
Narrated by: Ric Jerom
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Summary

All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to follow world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture.

If you've ever wondered why Putin is so obsessed with Crimea, why the USA was destined to become a global superpower or why China's power base continues to expand ever outwards, the answers are all here. In 10 chapters (covering Russia, China, the USA, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, India and Pakistan, Europe, Japan and Korea, and the Arctic), using 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 insight into one of the major factors that determines world history. It's time to put the 'geo' back into geopolitics.

©2016 Tim Marshall (P)2017 Audible, Ltd.

What listeners say about Prisoners of Geography

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Step back and look at politics through a new lens

I have a feeling this will be a book I listen to again at least once. It offers physical geography as a lens through which to understand many aspects of both historical and modern world affairs and makes a pretty convincing case. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Russia and China which offered far more balanced stories than I often read.

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77 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

An interesting and thought-provoking approach

I had wondered if a book based on maps might be unsuitable as an audio book, however, the author guides one to imagine the geography being described. I had realized that some events in history were shaped by geography, but not how all pervasive the influence of mountains, rivers, deserts and seas are on history as well as the legacy of colonialism creating artificial countries without regard to topography, racial groups and religious differences. When it’s pointed out it seems obvious.

I enjoyed the book but was left feeling down-hearted about the future of the planet owing to over-population and climate change combining with the geography of the countries that will be most affected. There certainly seems to be potential for yet more conflicts between countries competing over diminishing resources and vying for influence in the world.

The narrator is excellent.

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72 people found this helpful

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interesting

interesting take on global politics. Great for someone like myself who have buried their heads in the sand and ignored politics for several years

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42 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Deeply fascinating and enlightening

This book opened my mind to a totally new description of the world, her geography and her politics. It challenged my current perception of humanity, power and resources. The narration of the book was excellent. Love to read more on geopolitics.

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31 people found this helpful

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Insightful

Fantastic. Really helps to understand the conflicts of the world and to give some 'alternative' understanding to the conspiracy theories. From religion, geography, ethnicity and mistrust bringing together our history and most likely our future.

Isn't it a shame we can't just share :)

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26 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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A book about maps with no maps

This was a fantastic book to read, however, it was at times difficult to follow the train of thought as the maps are not provided in the audiobook :(

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23 people found this helpful

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Just enthralling, beginning to end!

I listened to the whole thing in a 48 hour time frame. It was fascinating!

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23 people found this helpful

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Very informative

Interesting and well read. It is also updated to current times. Sometimes a little too much detail but overall worth listening to.

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19 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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good recap on what most of us already know.

Some good facts and figures thrown in too.

The narrator keeps things moving along nicely.

Not too sure about the Russian accent though. . . .

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18 people found this helpful

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Fascinating

Eye - opening view of the history of the world from the perspective of geography. Timely in the digital age.

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17 people found this helpful