A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders

Surprising Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Oct 08 2024 | Archive Date Oct 07 2024

Talking about this book? Use #ABriefHistoryoftheWorldin47Borders #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

This file is NOT currently available for Kindle. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have difficulties with downloading, please email us (at publicity@theexperimentpublishing.com) for assistance or leave a note in lieu of a review rating. 

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 civilization, 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.

This file is NOT currently available for Kindle. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have difficulties with downloading, please email us (at publicity@theexperimentpublishing.com) for...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781891011573
PRICE $24.95 (USD)
PAGES 368

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Download (PDF)

Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

This was such a great read! I love geography and history so this was right up my alley. The bite sized chapters made it easy to read whenever I had the time, and all the stories were very interesting. I also enjoyed the humor sprinkled throughout.

Was this review helpful?

"A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders" is a captivating book that offers a global tour through time. The book's conversational, clear writing, and delightful sense of humor make it an engaging and entertaining read. I recommend it to anyone with a passion for maps, as it provides a unique perspective on the historical and geopolitical implications of the world's borders. The book is a rich source of both well-known events and lesser-known tidbits, expanding the reader's historical and geopolitical knowledge.

My only complaint is that there needed to be more maps; it would have made a few chapters easier to visualize.

Many thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. And thank you, John Elledge! I eagerly anticipate the next book's release to delve even more into history and random snippets!

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book. The writing is conversational in tone and very clever. The geography and history of borders are explained well. Jonn Elledge displays a great sense of humour and even the footnotes are well worth reading. The book is well-paced and never gets bogged down in minutiae. Indeed, I would describe the writing as crisp. The maps were excellent, important for a book about borders. I recommend this book for anyone interested in geography or history. Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for the advance reader copy.

Was this review helpful?

This nonfiction book looks at various borders around the world in short, easy to read vignettes. I found this one so interesting! Elledge did a great job doing a combination of historical, modern, and potential future issues. I appreciate the nuance he brought to a lot of these topics, especially the more sensitive ones. I didn't really care as much for the ones about the prime meridian, international dateline, etc., but overall, I really enjoyed this collection. I also appreciated the length of each chapter as it was easy to read, and made it easy to put down when needed (but then also easy to pick back up!).

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This is a great nonfiction read, not just about maps, but how the borders were created and why. So if you love history and geography (I do!), this is a great read. It’s written in a conversational tone. Reminds me of sharing cool things you have learned with friends.

Thank you NetGalley and The Experiment! #ABriefHistoryoftheWorldin47Borders #NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: