Harm J. De Blij (1935–2014)

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.… (more)