A non-fiction history by John Elledge

I often read non-fiction books on the commute to work (audio books), and until this year rarely reviewed them on Woehammer. But this year I’ve decided to include more non-Warhammer books on the basis that if I find a topic interesting, our readers may do so as well.

So onto a Book Review The History of the World in 47 Borders by John Elledge.

From the Book

People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very different if a war or treaty or the decisions of a handful of tired Europeans had gone a different way. By telling the stories of these borders, we can learn a lot about how political identities are shaped. Why the world looks the way it does – and about human folly. From the Roman attempts to define the boundaries of civilisation. To the secret British-French agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. To the reason why landlocked Bolivia still maintains a navy, this is a fascinating, witty and surprising look at the history of the world told through its borders.

Review

I listened to the audio-book, and it took me a while to get used to the narrator (the author). But I got used to him and he certainly did the ‘surprise/not surprise’ element of the stories well.

This is another wide ranging book taking in the history of borders from 3,000 BCE through to the present day. And including sea, time and space – it’s a big task.

The stories are by necessity short and definitely open to debate and discussion (and likely disagreement) by readers. And there are controversial topics in here including the impact of European empires.

But, despite the large breath of this work, the author succeeds in giving an overview of the origins of our current world (political) map. He includes interesting tales throughout including why the District of Columbia (USA) is a strange shape. And why the Prime Meridian is no longer through Greenwich Observatory.

Verdict

The pacing is good, and the stories are short enough they can be read or listened to in bite-size chunks. Perfect for short and long commutes alike.

It reads a lot like the series of books by Tim Marshall of Power of Geography fame. Despite this similarity John Elledge’s book provides a different view and is well worth reading on it’s own.

Check out the full list of Book Reviews we’ve done on Woehammer here

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— Declan & Eeyore