Harm J. De BlijReviews

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Three challenges facing America: Climate change, the rise of China, and Global terrorism

I really like the basic premise of this book, that geographical factors of various kinds make the world "rough" rather than "flat" for the vast majority of people. The author provides good examples and the maps really brought the concepts across well. I'm troubled by the author's somewhat sly hostility toward religion. WHile I can agree that violent and/or deeply intolerant religious ideas do much to make the place a more dangerous place, I think the author puts too much emphasis on the problems created by religion while allowing other strong cultural factors a by. Overall, this is a fairly basic geography overview of some of the major factors that lead to inequality in the world. The most important lesson reinforced here is that no one is "self-made" and the poverty and disadvantage are just that, disadvantageous. Worth reading, but when the author strays into philosophy, I got frustrated.

I had to buy this textbook for a class; I started reading it on my own before the semester even started. It's very interesting and informative, and well organized, with a clean layout.

I do not regret for a second buying this book, and had I looked through it at the store I would have bought it even if it wasn't required.

This is the first edition of this outstanding book, published in Sept. 2005. The 2nd edition, under the name "Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever" was just released yesterday (8/18/2012), providing a needed update. The book more than succeeds in answering the title question, and provides an answer in remarkable depth for a not-that-long book. Guess I now need to find the new edition.

This book was interesting in a boring way.

I loved this book, but, then again, I'm quite a nerd.

Thomas Friedman may have sweepingly said, "the world is flat" to capture the changes that have occurred in the way we live in the 21st century, but De Blij reveals how that is the narrow perspective of those privileged few who live in the "global core". For everyone else (the majority of the world's population) the power of place -- geography/place of birth -- continues to hold billions of people in an unrelenting grasp.

This is a work that is at war with itself. An intriguing title, geography, climate, China, and global terrorism, all beckon the reader, yet de Blij fails to reconcile these discordant topics although it is an interesting exercise. He states the obvious: geography matters a great deal yet many people are ignorant of its details and it is a crucial factor in international relations. There is nothing new in stating the point. Climate change, largely no longer global warming as people have become more aware of "junk science" so the name changes, also states nothing compelling. It is a rehash of standard Euro thinking on the matter. China is a rising power but not really a threat to anyone. This is hardly the case. China is polluting more than almost anyone on the planet, it has little in the way of rectifying the problems, and their pollution reaches the U.S. Global terrorism is a problem which arises out of the legitimate concerns for resource equity. I do not buy it.

The work promises a great deal but fails to deliver the goods.

This is an excellent book. It reviews the state of the world's politics and economies from a geographic perspective. De Blij is a good writer, and engrossing. Each chapter spotlights different concerns that we Americans should be aware of. This ranges from climate change and environmental concerns, to a review of situations unique to China, Europe, Russia, and Africa. Nicely drawn maps accompany each chapter, and portray visually what one is reading in the text. The book is a plea for a more geographic outlook, more spatial. We need to grasp the world as a whole, but then see how societies and history have functioned differently in specific countries to produce what they are today.½

12/7/22

12/7/22

12/7/22

Rating of 2.90

Geography, destiny, and globalization's rough landscape

He lectured at TVS