Maps have a mysterious hold over us. Whether ancient, crumbling parchments or generated by Google, maps tell us things we want to know, not only about our current location or where we are going but about the world in general. And yet, when it comes to geo-politics, much of what we are told is generated by analysts and other experts who have neglected to refer to a map of the place in question.

All leaders of nations are constrained by geography. In one of the best books about geopolitics (The Evening Standard), now updated to include 2016 geopolitical developments, journalist Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the US, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic--their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders--to provide a context often missing from our political reportage: how the physical characteristics of these countries affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders.

Offering a fresh way of looking at maps (The New York Times Book Review), Marshall explains the complex geo-political strategies that shape the globe. Why is Putin so obsessed with Crimea? Why was the US destined to become a global superpower? Why does China's power base continue to expand? Why is Tibet destined to lose its autonomy? Why will Europe never be united? The answers are geographical. In an ever more complex, chaotic, and interlinked world, Prisoners of Geography is a concise and useful primer on geopolitics (Newsweek) and a critical guide to one of the major determining factors in world affairs.

• How did the US's rivers help it become a superpower?
• Why are harsh, cold and swampy Siberia and the Russian Far East two of that country's most prized regions?
• How come Japan prefers to trade along the coasts instead of across its land?
• What do the Himalayas have to do with war?

Tim Marshall's global bestseller Prisoners of Geography offered us a fresh way of looking at maps (The New York Times Book Review), showing how every nation's choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas, and walls. Since then, the geography hasn't changed, but the world has.

Now, in this wonderfully entertaining and lucid account, written with wit, pace, and clarity (Mirror, UK), Marshall takes us into ten regions set to shape global politics. Find out why US interest in the Middle East will wane; why Australia is now beginning an epic contest with China; how Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UK are cleverly positioning themselves for greater power; why Ethiopia can control Egypt; and why Europe's next refugee crisis looms closer than we think, as does a cutting-edge arms race to control space.

Innovative, compelling, and delivered with Marshall's trademark wit and insight, this is an immersive blend of history, economics, and political analysis that puts geography at the center of human affairs (Publishers Weekly).

Spy satellites orbiting the moon. Space metals worth more than most countries' GDP. People on Mars within the next ten years. This isn't science fiction--it's reality.

Humans are venturing up and out, and we're taking our competitive spirit with us. Soon, what happens in space will shape human history as much the mountains, rivers, and seas have impacted civilizations around the world. It's no coincidence that Russia, China, and the USA are leading the way. The next fifty years will change the face of global politics and the world order as we know it.

In this must-read work, bestselling author Tim Marshall navigates the new astropolitical reality to show how we got here and where we're heading. Extensively researched, thought-provoking (Popular Science), and drawing on the latest information from intelligence, government, and civilian institutions, this book provides a detailed, clear account of the new space race, the power rivalries, and how technology, economics, and war have a ripple effect on everyone across the globe. Written with all the insight and wit that have made Marshall one of the world's most popular and trusted writer on geopolitics, The Future of Geography is an essential read about global power, politics, and the future of humanity.

Maps have a mysterious hold over us. Whether ancient, crumbling parchments or generated by Google, maps tell us things we want to know, not only about our current location or where we are going but about the world in general. And yet, when it comes to geo-politics, much of what we are told is generated by analysts and other experts who have neglected to refer to a map of the place in question.

All leaders of nations are constrained by geography. In one of the best books about geopolitics (The Evening Standard), now updated to include 2016 geopolitical developments, journalist Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the US, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic--their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders--to provide a context often missing from our political reportage: how the physical characteristics of these countries affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders.

Offering a fresh way of looking at maps (The New York Times Book Review), Marshall explains the complex geo-political strategies that shape the globe. Why is Putin so obsessed with Crimea? Why was the US destined to become a global superpower? Why does China's power base continue to expand? Why is Tibet destined to lose its autonomy? Why will Europe never be united? The answers are geographical. In an ever more complex, chaotic, and interlinked world, Prisoners of Geography is a concise and useful primer on geopolitics (Newsweek) and a critical guide to one of the major determining factors in world affairs.

For thousands of years flags have represented our hopes and dreams. We wave them. Burn them. March under their colors. And still, in the twenty-first century, we die for them. Flags fly at the UN, on Arab streets, from front porches in Texas. They represent the politics of high power as well as the politics of the mob. From the renewed sense of nationalism in China, to troubled identities in Europe and the USA, to the terrifying rise of Islamic State, the world is a confusing place right now and it's important to understand the symbols, old and new, that people are rallying around.

In nine chapters (covering the USA, UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, international flags, and flags of terror), Tim Marshall's A Flag Worth Dying For is a brisk, entertaining read...that successfully answers a puzzling question: how can a simple piece of cloth come to mean so much? Marshall presents an informative survey of these highly visible symbols of national or international pride (Publishers Weekly), representing nation states and non-state actors (including ISIS, Hezbollah, and Hamas), and explains how they figure in diplomatic relations and events today.

Drawing on more than twenty-five years of global reporting experience to reveal the true meaning behind the symbols that unite us--and divide us--Marshall writes with the cool drollery that characterized the work of Christopher Hitchens or Simon Winchester (USA TODAY). The illuminating (The New York Times) A Flag Worth Dying For is a winning combination of current affairs, politics, and world history and a treasure vault for vexillologists, full of meaning beyond the hue and thread of the world's banners (Kirkus Reviews).

Spy satellites orbiting the moon. Space metals worth more than most countries' GDP. People on Mars within the next ten years. This isn't science fiction--it's reality.

Humans are venturing up and out, and we're taking our competitive spirit with us. Soon, what happens in space will shape human history as much the mountains, rivers, and seas have impacted civilizations around the world. It's no coincidence that Russia, China, and the USA are leading the way. The next fifty years will change the face of global politics and the world order as we know it.

In this must-read work, bestselling author Tim Marshall navigates the new astropolitical reality to show how we got here and where we're heading. Extensively researched, thought-provoking (Popular Science), and drawing on the latest information from intelligence, government, and civilian institutions, this book provides a detailed, clear account of the new space race, the power rivalries, and how technology, economics, and war have a ripple effect on everyone across the globe. Written with all the insight and wit that have made Marshall one of the world's most popular and trusted writer on geopolitics, The Future of Geography is an essential read about global power, politics, and the future of humanity.

The globe has always been a world of walls, from the Great Wall of China to Hadrian's Wall to the Berlin Wall. But a new age of isolationism and economic nationalism is upon us, visible in Trump's obsession with building a wall on the Mexico border, in Britain's Brexit vote, and in many other places as well. China has the great Firewall, holding back Western culture. Europe's countries are walling themselves against immigrants, terrorism, and currency issues. South Africa has heavily gated communities, and massive walls or fences separate people in the Middle East, Korea, Sudan, India, and other places around the world.

In fact, more than a third of the world's nation-states have barriers along their borders. Understanding what is behind these divisions is essential to understanding much of what's going on in the world today. Written in Tim Marshall's brisk, inimitable style, The Age of Walls is divided by geographic region. He provides an engaging context that is often missing from political discussion and draws on his real life experiences as a reporter from hotspots around the globe. He examines how walls, borders, and barriers have been shaping our political landscape for hundreds of years, and especially since 2001, and how they figure in the diplomatic relations and geo-political events of today.

Marshall is a skilled explainer of the world as it is, and geography buffs will be pleased by his latest (Kirkus Reviews). Accomplished, well researched, and pacey...The Age of Walls is for anyone who wants to look beyond the headlines and explore the context of some of the biggest challenges facing the world today, it is a fascinating and fast read (City AM, UK).

Tim Marshall's global bestseller Prisoners of Geography offered us a fresh way of looking at maps (The New York Times Book Review), showing how every nation's choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas, and walls. Since then, the geography hasn't changed, but the world has.

Now, in this wonderfully entertaining and lucid account, written with wit, pace, and clarity (Mirror, UK), Marshall takes us into ten regions set to shape global politics. Find out why US interest in the Middle East will wane; why Australia is now beginning an epic contest with China; how Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UK are cleverly positioning themselves for greater power; why Ethiopia can control Egypt; and why Europe's next refugee crisis looms closer than we think, as does a cutting-edge arms race to control space.

Innovative, compelling, and delivered with Marshall's trademark wit and insight, this is an immersive blend of history, economics, and political analysis that puts geography at the center of human affairs (Publishers Weekly).

The globe has always been a world of walls, from the Great Wall of China to Hadrian's Wall to the Berlin Wall. But a new age of isolationism and economic nationalism is upon us, visible not just in Trump's obsession with building a wall on the Mexico border or in Britain's Brexit vote but in many other places as well. China has the great Firewall, holding back Western culture. Europe's countries are walling themselves against immigrants, terrorism, and currency issues. South Africa has heavily gated communities, and massive walls or fences separate people in the Middle East, Korea, Sudan, India, and other places around the world.

In fact, at least sixty-five countries, more than a third of the world's nation-states, have barriers along their borders. There are many reasons why walls go up, because we are divided in many ways: wealth, race, religion, and politics, to name a few. Understanding what is behind these divisions is essential to understanding much of what's going on in the world today.

As with Marshall's first two books, The Age of Walls is a brisk read, divided by geographic region. He provides an engaging context that is often missing from political discussion and draws on his real life experiences as a reporter from hotspots around the globe. He examines how walls (which Marshall calls monuments to the failure of politics), borders, and barriers have been shaping our political landscape for hundreds of years, and especially since 2001, and how they figure in the diplomatic relations and geo-political events of today.

The top wheelchair athletes of today enjoy the same high-profile exposure and admiration as their able-bodied counterparts. This has come about partly through wheelchair participation in mass fun-running events such as the Great North Run.

Wheelchairs, Perjury and the London Marathon charts disability sports pioneer Tim Marshall MBE's journey from the rock-climbing accident which left him paralysed, to becoming a trailblazer for wheelchair racing.

The fun-runs of the 1980s enabled wheelchair road-racing to flourish, and Marshall took part in marathons and half-marathons where wheelchairs were welcome to compete. This did not, however, include The London Marathon, from which wheelchairs were banned for the first two years. This is the story of how this prohibition was overturned, told from the competitor's point of view. Tim and many others campaigned for the inclusion of wheelchairs in The London Marathon in the face of huge opposition from the organisers.

Finally, in 1983 the efforts of sportsmen and women, the press, the Greater London Council and members of parliament resulted in a breakthrough just ten days before the 1983 marathon, which at last agreed to wheelchair participation.

Wheelchairs, Perjury and the London Marathon reveals the tenacity and resolve required to achieving sporting greatness in the face of adversity. Tim Marshall's story -- and the legacy he has helped build for disabled sports -- are a testament to his love of racing and his passion for disability equality.

Perfect for fans of original and engaging sports writing, this is the first intelligent and accessible history of soccer chants in the UK

The tales we tell each other on the terraces create something you cannot see, only feel, but it is very real and it goes very deep. . .

Soccer chants--spontaneous, witty, tribal, and, sometimes, downright offensive--are the grassroots of the game, from the Premiership all the way down to the Conference, and the sentiments behind the roar when the Dirty northern b*st*rds! meet the Soft southern b*st*rds! follow the divisions and the history of modern Britain. No other sport has a culture quite like it. In this witty and insightful narrative, Tim Marshall explores this powerful and passionate weekly ritual from the industrial revolution to the sexual revolution, touching on issues of race, class, and regional identity. Telling stories of the deep-rooted, tribal rivalries between the great industrial cities, via Elgar's chant for Wolverhampton Wanderers, to the moving origins of Captain John Currie Lauder's Keep Right on to the End of the Road, now sung by thousands of Birmingham City fans, this book brings to life the love, hate, passion--and humor--that are the spirit of British soccer.

Maps have a mysterious hold over us. Whether ancient, crumbling parchments or generated by Google, maps tell us things we want to know, not only about our current location or where we are going but about the world in general. And yet, when it comes to geo-politics, much of what we are told is generated by analysts and other experts who have neglected to refer to a map of the place in question.

All leaders of nations are constrained by geography. In one of the best books about geopolitics (The Evening Standard), now updated to include 2016 geopolitical developments, journalist Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the US, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic--their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders--to provide a context often missing from our political reportage: how the physical characteristics of these countries affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders.

Offering a fresh way of looking at maps (The New York Times Book Review), Marshall explains the complex geo-political strategies that shape the globe. Why is Putin so obsessed with Crimea? Why was the US destined to become a global superpower? Why does China's power base continue to expand? Why is Tibet destined to lose its autonomy? Why will Europe never be united? The answers are geographical. In an ever more complex, chaotic, and interlinked world, Prisoners of Geography is a concise and useful primer on geopolitics (Newsweek) and a critical guide to one of the major determining factors in world affairs.