Prisoners of Geography

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 ten chapters (covering Russia; China; the USA; Latin America; the Middle East; Africa; India and Pakistan; Europe; Japan and Korea; and the Arctic), using maps, 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.

About the Author

Tim Marshall is a leading authority on foreign affairs with more than 25 years of reporting experience. He was diplomatic editor at Sky News, having worked for the BBC and LBC/IRN radio. He has reported from thirty countries and covered conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. His blog Foreign Matters was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2010.

He has written for papers including The Times, Sunday Times, Guardian, Independent and Daily Telegraph, and is the author of Shadowplay: The Overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic (a bestseller in former Yugoslavia) and "Dirty Northern B*st*rds!" and Other Tales from the Terraces: The Story of Britain's Football Chants (E&T, 2014). He is the founder and editor of TheWhatandtheWhy.com.