Book Review Series- Episode I: "Prisoners of Geography" by Tim Marshall

As shared in my previous blogs, the summer of 2020 gave me the freedom to get back to my reading habits. I made a conscious effort of practicing the popular concept of speed reading in order to make a better use of the free time that quarantine granted us.

Speed reading is a wonderful concept for those who tend to get distracted through the process of reading and find it difficult to stick with a book for a long time. It enables you to focus more for short time periods leading to fast paced consumption. Adopting speed reading helped me to increase my pace and move on from one book to another at my fastest rate. 

This summer has been going extremely well with a haul of 6 books in a span of 2 months. Now that I have read and been through 6 different journeys, I thought it would be exciting to share my personal review and feedback regarding the same. So my summer started with-

Prisoners of Geography

I have always had a keen interest in understanding the geopolitical scenarios of our times and how they came to shape. However, the subject matter in itself is so complex that explaining the root cause and the consequential developments in this field is not easy to put in simple words. Prisoners of Geography came up as a top recommendation for this particular genre.

Genre

Non-fiction

Language

The language of this book is so beautifully simple that even the intricacies and complexity of geopolitical issues can be easily understood. The author has made sure to avoid the use of jargon-y language and has prioritized the detailed analysis of the matter at hand.

Format

It is not easy to figure out the different relations and global issues that exist between different combinations of key players of the world, certainly not easy at all when there are 195 countries with dynamic foreign policies and ever-changing global relations. However, Tim Marshall must be commended for his formatting and structuring of the book in such a manner that all of the major international topics of concern are not only covered in the scope of this book but they are also analyzed as per their socio-economic and political aspects.

The Idea

The most fascinating aspect of this book to me, as a reader was the idea behind it. It has almost always been found that while studying the geo-political landscape of the world, the geographical aspect is overlooked. However, in this scenario, each and every event of importance in the history of our world has been explained with special emphasis on geography and its role in shaping the same. It is very interesting to note this brand new perspective.

In conclusion, it is a brilliant book for those who are looking to explore a new perspective of geo-political relations and understand the importance of geography and its dominance in shaping the future of our world. It is an easy to read book which is filled with information that will stay with you and help you in understanding the relations of all the key players of the world.