Prisoners of Geography - Politics I dont often think about.....

Recently I was asked the question...

"Tell us about a book that has had an impact on you in the last 12 months."

I wanted to share my answer below...

The book that has had a sizeable impact on me in the last 12 months is a non-fiction book called “Prisoners of Geography – Ten maps that will tell you everything you need to know about Global Politics” by Tim Marshall. I personally bought and read the re-mastered version which adds to the clarity in which Marshall speaks about his subject matter.

From the first page, I was hooked. This book has broadened how I think about politics locally and globally whilst only discussing geopolitics. The introduction has passion and thought. He lays out his topic concisely adding in some facts to lure readers in. For example, the fact that India and China have never gone to war due to the Himalayas being too great an obstacle to make any war worth it, was something that I was unaware of but now use as an interesting fact in any team-building exercise or conversational lull.

Apart from witticisms at parties, the main reason this had an impact on me however was because of the fact that it has allowed me to re-evaluate how I think about other countries and the politics issues that they individually deal with. I am an advocate for inclusion and would like to think that I am quite interested and up to date in politics but by reading the one sentence, it made me realise how out of tune I was with the politics of the world as a whole. There is no specific journey around the world that Marshall chooses but each chapter starts with a map of the area the author will be discussing. However, he does visit every one. Mainstream media shows UK and US politics but unless it affects us, how much are we presented with? We have to go searching for it. Marshall does the searching for us and presents specific issues from all parts of the world right the tube where I read on the way to work.

Each region has its own specific issues that geography and the terrain brings about. Marshall also discusses the wider scope, drawing parallels to military, social and economic issues that arise from the initial geography of a country. A big realisation for me was how land affects us to this day and how we put a lot of faith in world leaders making decisions when some are out of their hands because of World Geography – something that I have never given much thought too. Using the example of Russia;“known as the Grand Principality of Muscovy was indefensible. There was no mountains, no deserts and few rivers. In all directions lay flatland, and across the steppe to the south and east were mongols".

The description that Marshall gives presents the issues that world leaders have before any other human factors come into it. Reflecting this back into my own life, it can be easily shown that many things are not in our control. I am proud to say that I prefer to find solutions rather than fret about problems that aren't in my control and this reoccurring theme really enforced this belief in me more so than ever before.

Another reason this book has had an impact on me is through the example regarding Africa and China in the book. I knew for a while that China is a superpower that is emerging. However, I did not realise the influence that it had in a continent as big as Africa. Because of the influence and money that China is investing in Eastern Africa. Marshall focuses on Tanzania claiming that "It is planned that Bagamoyo will be able to handle 20 million cargo containers a year, which will make it the biggest ports in Africa". This helped me realise that things are not as black and white as what they seem on TV. This made me even more passionate about the book as I realised that it can be readdressed into the mainstream media as the media can be very pointed at times when concerning topics relating to young people in the UK.

I think that it is easy to get swept up in media and social media especially for young age groups but it is really important to have an informed opinion (whatever that may be) and have conviction with it - something which I am applying to my daily life.

I hope I've answered the question that I was asked as I've pondered this for a long time! And if anyone fancies reading Marshall's book, let me know! I would be more than happy to lend you my copy!