In the bestselling tradition of Why Nations Fail and The Revenge of Geography, an award-winning journalist uses ten maps of crucial regions to explain the geo-political strategies of the world powers. All leaders of nations are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas, and concrete. To understand world events, news organizations and other authorities often focus on people, ideas, and political movements, but without geography, we never have the full picture. Now, in the relevant and timely Prisoners of Geography, seasoned journalist Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the USA, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Japan and Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic—their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders—to provide a context often missing from our political reportage: how the physical characteristics of these countries affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders. In ten, up-to-date maps of each region, Marshall explains in clear and engaging prose the complex geo-political strategies of these key parts of the globe. What does it mean that Russia must have a navy, but also has frozen ports six months a year? How does this affect Putin’s treatment of the Ukraine? How is China’s future constrained by its geography? Why will Europe never be united? Why will America never be invaded? Shining a light on the unavoidable physical realities that shape all of our aspirations and endeavors, Prisoners of Geography is the critical guide to one of the major (and most often overlooked) determining factors in world history.


在暢銷書《國家為什麼會失敗》與《地理環境的反噬》當中，一名獲獎的記者利用 10 張涵蓋重要地區的地圖，闡述全球勢力的地理政治策略。山脈、河流、大海、其他具體屏障等地理環境都局限了所有國家領導人的選擇。為了瞭解全球大事，新聞組織以及其他官方機構常常聚焦在人民、思想、政治運動，但少了對地理環境的認知，我們將難以一窺全貌。現在本書將提供讀者與時俱進且具有重要關聯的內容，資深記者提姆．馬歇爾深入檢視俄羅斯、中國、美國、拉丁美洲、中東、非洲、歐洲、日本、韓國、格陵蘭以及北極等地區的天氣、海洋、山脈、河流、沙漠與邊境，以求補齊政治新聞報導所遺漏的內容。例如，這些國家的地理樣貌如何影響整體國力的強弱，左右領導人的決策。馬歇爾透過這 10 張最新的區域地圖，以深入淺出的方式闡述全球重要區域間複雜的地理政治策略。俄羅斯的港口每年會結冰 6 個月，但該國同時間還是備有海軍艦隊，這意味著什麼？這些考量是如何影響普丁對烏克蘭的政策？中國未來的發展又如何受到自身地理環境的限制？為什麼歐洲永遠無法整合統一？為什麼美國總能獨善其身，不受侵略？本書詳細說明了這些無法改變的地理環境如何影響各國未來的發展與努力方向。地理政治因素常受到忽略卻至關重要，本書將帶領讀者一窺地理政治因素如何促成世界歷史的形成。