What I'm reading ...

I have started Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall. It was time for some non-fiction and this was highly recommended by a friend, who said that it had given him a much better understanding of current politics and recent conflicts. Here’s the blurb:

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.

The Pillars of the Earth - by Ken Follett

When I started on this book, both the size and the subject - historical fiction - seemed daunting. Fortunately, I had some good reading time ahead of me - long flights and a holiday - so I got stuck in. After 200 pages or so, I was thoroughly hooked. It still took me quite a while to finish, but I enjoyed the journey.

My concern about the size was that the author would be verbose. In fact, his writing style is quite economic and he has a very straightforward way with words. He used all the space to go off on occasional tangents, which always added to, instead of distracting from, the story. The story is complex, over quite a long period, with many characters, but I never felt lost.

I always hope that, when I read a novel, apart from being entertained [which I was], I will learn something. Although I have yet to do any fact checking, I did have the impression that I learned much about everyday life in 12th Century England and the historical context.

I will be tempted to read the sequel at some point - it has a similar page count. I discovered that a 3rd volume will be available later in the year.