Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever

Overview: In Recent Years Our World Has Seen Transformations Of All Kinds: Intense Climate Change Accompanied By Significant Weather Extremes; Deadly Tsunamis Caused By Submarine Earthquakes; Unprecedented Terrorist Attacks; Costly Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan; A Terrible And Overlooked Conflict In Equatorial Africa Costing Millions Of Lives; An Economic Crisis Threatening The Stability Of The International System. Is There Some Way We Can Get Our Minds Around These Disparate Global Upheavals, To Grasp These Events And Their Interconnections, And Place Our Turbulent World In A More Understandable Light? Acclaimed Author Harm De Blij Answers This Question With One Word: Geography. In This Second Edition Of The Immensely Popular And Influential Why Geography Matters, De Blij Tackles Topics From The Burgeoning Presence Of China To The Troubling Disarray Of The European Union, From The Dangerous Nuclear Ambitions Of North Korea To The Revolutionary Arab Spring. By Improving Our Understanding Of The World's Geography, De Blij Shows, We Can Better Respond To The Events Around Us, And Better Prepare Ourselves To Face The Global Challenges Ahead. Peppering His Writing With Anecdotes From His Own Professional Travels, De Blij Expands Upon His Original Argument, Offering An Updated Work That Is As Engaging As It Is Eye-opening. Casual Students Of Geography And Professional Policy-makers Alike Will Benefit From This Stimulating And Crucial Perspective On Geography And The Way It Shapes Our World's Events. America, De Blij Warns, Has Become The World's Most Geographically Illiterate Society Of Consequence. Indeed, Despite Increasing Global Interconnectivity And Rapid Change, Americans Seem To Be Less Informed And Less Knowledgeable About The Rest Of The World Than Ever. In This Compelling Volume, De Blij Shows Why This Dispiriting Picture Must Change, And Change Now. Dedication -- Preface -- 1: Why Geography Matters-more Than Ever -- 2: Reading Maps And Facing Threats -- 3: Geography And Demography -- 4: Geography And Climate Change -- 5: Climate, Place And Fate -- 6: Geography Behind War And Terror -- 7: Interpreting Terrorism's Geographic Manifestations -- 8: Red Star Rising: China's Geopolitical Gauntlet -- 9: Europe: Superpower In The Making Or Paper Tiger Of The Future? -- 10: Russia: Trouble On The Eastern Front -- 11: Africa In A Globalizing World -- Epilogue: More Than Ever -- Works Cited -- Index. Harm De Blij. This Work Was First Published By Oxford University Press In 2005 As Why Geography Matters: Three Challenges Facing America. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.