In March, our Book of the Month, "Prisoners of Geography" teached us the importance of geography when talking about politics. We wanted to share our final thoughts on what we have learned last month and how it can help you to become your best self.
Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall talks about the importance of geography when we look at political conflicts. It helps us to understand the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine. Mountain ranges, rivers and the climate have more impact on the geoplitics of a nation than we might think. That's one of the reasons why Tsarian Russia, the Sovietunion and modern Russia all seek to expand further west to the Baltics and the Black Sea, even though they differ vastly politically speaking. Find out what we thought about our book of the month.
In 2016, I discovered the captivating world of geopolitics through Tim Marshall's "Prisoners of Geography". His insightful narrative not only sparked my interest but explained in a very easy to understand manner the intricate dynamics that shape our world. I can also recommend his second book "Power of Geography". In this follow-up, Marshall continues his exploration of the world's geopolitical complexities, providing further enlightenment on how geography influences power dynamics and shapes global affairs.
I wholeheartedly recommend Marshall's works to anyone seeking a broader perspective on international relations.
Normally you would expect completely different content on our website. But this month, as a book club, we have decided to leave the internal cosmos and take a step into the global world. In our daily lives, we are constantly moving between two poles. What do I mean by that? If we take the two extremes of love and hate, for example, then we always move between these two poles when we see someone, do something or have an experience. But we always move between these two extremes and are rarely completely on one side of one pole. This is also the case with geopolitical issues.
But we don't think like that when it comes to geopolitical issues. Here we tend very quickly to push a global event to one extreme, even though, as with everything, it is in the middle of the two poles. This book has helped us to understand the motivations of some nations a little better and to think outside the box. This is where Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Georaphy convinced me to form new thoughts and not immediately attach a positive or negative connotation to every geopolitical event.
I always had the feeling that climate, mountains, rivers, deserts, so geography in general, played a huge part in the politics of countries. But Tim Marshall put in Prisoners of Georaphy my gut feeling that I developed studying Asian history in an understandable, easy-readible book. He showcased ten ongoing conflicts and demonstrated the importance of geographic features in those. It helped me to understand the backgrounds of conflicts for example in the Southern Chinese Sea.
It helped me personally as well as I give courses on politics and I was asked why China is trying to expand to the southern seas. I was able to answer this question in detail thanks to Tim Marshall. A life saver!
However to be honest I must say that even though the book was an interesting read and written in an easy-to-understand manner, it didn't quiet help me to grow personally - something we want to achieve with our book of the months. Therefore even though I learned a lot, I learned hard facts and less valuable lessons for life. I still highly recommend the book in order to understand the background of political conflicts. We have to undestand that the world isn't black and white, good and evil, but many shades of grey and you have to understand both sides. This is something you can achieve reading Prisoners of Geograhy. But maybe not so much if your goal is to create your best self.
Favorite quotes:
Why do you think your values would work in a culture you don’t understand?
Every month we read one book of the month and discuss the topics from this particular book. If you want to join the discussion, take a look at our book of the month blog.
If you haven't read our book of the month from March 2024 "Prisoners of Geography" yet, you can add the book to your bookshelf here: