Tim Marshall

All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to understand world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture. To understand Putin's actions, for example, it is essential to consider that, to be a world power, Russia must have a navy. And if its ports freeze for six months each year then it must have access to a warm water port - hence, the annexation of Crimea was the only option for Putin. To understand the Middle East, it is crucial to know that geography is the reason why countries have logically been shaped as they are - and this is why invented countries (e.g. Syria, Iraq, Libya) will not survive as nation states. Spread over ten chapters (covering Russia; China; the USA; Latin America; the Middle East; Africa; India and Pakistan; Europe; Japan and Korea; and Greenland and the Arctic), using maps, essays and occasionally the personal experiences of the widely traveled author, Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present and future to offer an essential guide to one of the major determining factors in world history.

"This dictionary provides a stimulating and categorial foundation for a serious international discourse on design. It is a book for everyone engaged with design in their education and career, or for those who simply have an interest and enjoyment of design and want to better understand it." "Some 110 authors from Australia, England, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States have written over 260 original articles for the Design Dictionary. The writers' differing cultural perspectives provide a shared understanding of the key categories and concepts needed to communicate about design. A practical and scholarly book, it is ideal for both serious reading and browsing and reading at leisure."--BOOK JACKET.

When the Board goes after West Grayer for refusing to kill her next target, West must uncover the truth of the past to survive.