Book review: "Prisoners of Geography"

"Prisoners of Geography," a 2015 book by British journalist Tim Marshall, is unlike any work I've ever read. It's a book that looks at the world from high above — the metaphorical view from 30,000 feet — to show you how the Earth's physical characteristics help determine the strength and weakness of nations and help define the political battlegrounds of today.

This is a book about countries and regions. Hardly any people are even mentioned by name. Marshall looks at the world like a global chess match between countries, which may seem cold, but is actually fascinating. 

As Marshall shows, geography defines what a nation is capable of accomplishing, long before it's even built a military or launched an economic policy. The United States, he notes, is geographically blessed, with easy access to two oceans (plus the Arctic Ocean, though not so easily), a large network of navigable rivers, good agricultural land and natural deep-water ports. 

On the other hand is s a country like Brazil, which despite its large size, lost in the geographic lottery, Marshall says. Its ports are small and insufficient, and its landscape so rugged and dense with forest and swampland that it makes it difficult to build highways and train routes. As a result, the vast majority of the population clings to the coast in crowded and poverty-ridden cities.

The book has weaknesses —  which I'll get to —  but it is worth reading if only for Chapter One, where Marshall explains why Russia desperately wants to hang on to Ukraine.

You might think that this book, written well before the Russia-Ukraine war, would be completely outdated on the topic. But Marshall shows that the history and geography of this part of the world is still relevant today. The author explains that Vladimir Putin needs Ukraine to be a buffer between Russia and its enemies in Western Europe. 

"Russia has never been conquered from this direction partially due to its strategic depth. By the time an army approaches Moscow it already has unsustainably long supply lines, a mistake that Napoleon made in 1812, and that Hitler repeated in 1941," Marshall writes. 

Marshall divides his book into 10 chapter dedicated to different parts of the world: Russia and Eastern Europe, the United States, Africa, Latin America, Western Europe, the Middle East, the Arctic, India and Pakistan, China, and Korea and Japan. You could easily read the chapters in any order, or only read the ones that interested you.

I didn't read this book quickly, but that's not a criticism. Each section of the book is so full of interesting facts that it takes time to digest.

Marshall identifies some of the most critical geographic conflicts of today as brewing in the the South China Sea, where China is attempting claim control of that body of water, riling its neighbors in the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia. 

"Every one of the hundreds of disputed atolls, and sometimes just rock poking out of the water, could be turned into a diplomatic crisis, as surrounding each rock is a potential dispute about fishing zones, exploration rights, and sovereignty."

Among Marshall's surprising assertions is that Indonesia and Malaysia could be a key players in world politics because they control the Strait of Malacca, a passage through which Chinese ships must pass to reach the oil-rich nations of the Middle East.

"It has always been a choke point — and the Chinese remain vulnerable to being choked."

Many of the problems of the Middle East can be traced to the rivalries between feuding Muslim groups, Marshall says. It's not just Israel vs the Arabs, as some would have you believe  "The problems of the region do not come down to the existence of Israel. That was a lie peddled by the Arab dictators as they sought to defect attention from their own brutality." 

Latin American is full of feuds I was unaware of. Bolivia has been peeved at Chile since an 1879 war. Guatemala claims Belize as its own territory. Venezuela believes half of Guiana belongs to it. Ecuador has historical claims on Peru. Chile and Argentina bicker over a water passage at the southern tip of the continent

Rivers can be a source of trouble. Egypt is afraid that a new dam in Ethiopia will threaten its Nile River water supply. Meanwhile, with global warming, Marshall warns that Turkey could take more water from the Euphrates River, sparking a conflict with Iraq and Syria.

Marshall helps me understand the importance of Cuba. The United States is fortunate to have no enemies on its borders, but Cuba is not exactly a friend either. The U.S. fears that a power like China could exert its influence in Cuba, and we'd suddenly have this rival at our doorstep. 

"Economically the United States will also compete with China throughout Latin America for influence, but only in Cuba would Washington pull out all the stops to ensure it dominates the post-Castro/Communist era."

Marshall points to the Arctic as an emerging battleground as sea ice melts from climate change, exposing new sea routes. This clearly benefits Russia — they have the most ports on the Arctic Ocean and the most icebreakers. 

Marshall does not pause to quote experts. He cites few reference works. This gives the book a smooth, streamlined pace, though occasionally I would have liked more explanation on some of his assertions.

For all its attributes, the book has some notable weaknesses. The biggest is that it doesn't have enough maps. 

The book's subtitle is "Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World," and indeed each chapter begins with a broad map of the region discussed. There are also some smaller maps sprinkled around.

But it's not nearly enough. This kind of  book should have LOTS and LOTS of maps. Every page features a discussion of something geographic. I spent a lot of time flipping pages back to the maps, but in many cases they didn't help. Periodically, I had to look up maps online to understand Marshall's points.

The other basic issue with the book is that it is growing more outdated every day. True, the geography doesn't change and the history remains the same, but Marshall also ties those elements to the current events of 2014 and 2015, when the book was being finished. 

Much has changed since then: Wars in Ukraine and Russia, a coup in Niger, China saber-rattling over Taiwan, tensions over control of the Black Sea.  And much more.

I would love to see an updated version of the book. We need Tim Marshall to tell us what it all means.