Description

‘Ian Morris has established himself as a leader in making big history interesting and understandable’ Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel

‘Morris succeeds triumphantly at cramming 10,000 years of history into a single book’ Robert Colvile, Times

Geography is Destiny tells the history of Britain and its changing relationships with Europe and the wider world, from its physical separation at the end of the Ice Age to the first flickers of a United Kingdom, struggles for the Atlantic, and rise of the Pacific Rim.

Applying the latest archaeological evidence, Ian Morris explores how geography, migration, government and new technologies interacted to produce regional inequalities that still affect us today. He charts Britain’s geopolitical fortunes over thousands of years, revealing its transformation from a European satellite into a state at the centre of global power, commerce, and culture. But as power and wealth shift from West to East, does Britain’s future lie with Europe or the wider world?

Publisher Review

Praise for Ian Morris: 'A great work of synthesis and argument, drawing together an awesome range of materials and authorities -- Andrew Marr Clever, acute and counterintuitive ... a pleasure to read -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * A fresh perspective from this thought-provoking book ... Ian Morris has established himself as a leader in making big history interesting and understandable -- Jared Diamond, author * Guns, Germs, and Steel * Brilliantly argued across a huge sweep, combining history with human geography, human and natural sciences. It is a magnificent and stimulating read, and should be given to anyone involved in the business of war and peace, or the human fate in any respect - and already a book of the year -- Robert Fox * Evening Standard * A provocative and extraordinary contribution to wide-screen comparative history ... a true banquet of ideas -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent * This is an astonishing book, full of controversy, brilliantly researched and thoughtfully argued ... one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking histories I've read in years * Daily Telegraph * One doffs one's hat to Morris's breadth, ambition and erudition * Sunday Times * An astonishing work -- David S. Landes, author * The Wealth and Poverty of Nations * An exuberant and wonderfully entertaining tour de force of history, archaeology, anthropology, geography, evolutionary biology and technological and military speculation... a terrific book -- David Crane * The Spectator * It is the book's elegantly succinct prose that will most captivate readers ... filled with lucid explanations of the most recondite questions, with many revealing quotations and witty asides -- Edward Luttwak * Prospect * Remarkable ... historian Morris argues not only that war is a source of technological advance but that it brings peace ... the thesis is disturbingly persuasive -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times * Gleefully provocative yet alarmingly persuasive... one of the most original history books in years * Mail on Sunday *