The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space Will Change Our World – THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER (Tim Marshall on Geopolitics)
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THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A WATERSTONES PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 2023
Space: the biggest geopolitical story of the coming century – new from the multi-million-copy international bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography and The Power of Geography
Spy satellites orbiting the Moon. Space metals worth billions. Humans on Mars within our lifetimes.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s astropolitics.
We’re entering a new space race – and it could revolutionise life on Earth.
Space: the new frontier, a wild and lawless place. It is already central to communication, economics, military strategy and international relations on Earth. Now, it is the latest arena for human exploration, exploitation – and, possibly, conquest. We’re heading up and out, and we’re taking our power struggles with us. China, the USA and Russia are leading the way.
From physical territory and resources to satellites, weaponry and strategic choke points, geopolitics is as important in the skies above us as it is down below. If you’ve ever wondered if humans are going back to the Moon, who will benefit from exploration or what space wars might look like, the answers are here.
With all the insight and wit that have made Tim Marshall the UK’s most popular writer on geopolitics, this gripping book shows how we got here and where we’re going, covering great-power rivalry; technology; commerce; combat in space; and what it means for all of us down here on Earth. This is essential reading on power, politics and the future of humanity.
Praise for The Future of Geography:
‘A voyage of galactic discovery’ The Mail on Sunday
‘[An] engaging exploration of power politics in space’ Irish Independent
‘A superb survey of planetary politics’ The Sunday Times
‘Deeply thought-provoking’ BBC Sky at Night
‘Marshall is an engaging writer, good at explaining the science as well as the politics, and with an eye for a telling fact’ Lawrence Freedman, The New Statesman
‘Written with insight and great wit, this is an essential take on power, politics and the future of humanity from the UK’s most popular writer on geopolitics.’ The Daily Telegraph
‘In the latest instalment of his popular books on the meaning of geography, Marshall looks to the stars and the new frontier where astropolitics will be the new geopolitics’ Financial Times
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Additional information
| Publisher | Elliott & Thompson, 2nd edition (1 Oct. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 356 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1783967242 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1783967247 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 2.7 x 19.9 cm |
by top blurk
Great read, and a tad worrying
by Anthony Patey
Comprehensive, highly-readable and clear overview of the current situation of astropolitics.
As someone who as a child was excited by Sputnik (1957) it’s been fascinating watching events unfold in the decades since.
In space as on Earth, China, Russia and the US are the Big Three, but many other countries are also staking their claims in space.
Big prizes are Moon bases and then Mars and beyond, but a host of countries are aiming for lower but strategically important targets, putting up satellites for various reasons.
Therefore, we have to face and meet some challenges – “the arms race, the competition for territory and resources, the lack of laws and many other negative aspects” (page 234). Including the massive amount of debris circling the planet.
After potted histories of astronomy and space travel, Marshall launches into a fair and balanced account of current astropolitics.
It’s interesting that only China appears to have called for the United Nations to have a central role “in managing outer space affairs.” (page 107).
And private companies have also emerged as major players – SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, and i-Space in China and Arsenal in Russia (page 86).
Marshall details threats of violent solar flares and asteroids (pages 92-4) and it’s unsurprising these concerns are also mirrored in the recently published, equally brilliant, The Earth Transformed by Peter Frankopan (pages 649-50).
These two books might be read in tandem to give a complete picture of the history and recent escalation of terrestrial and off-Earth geographical challenges.
Marshall has done a competent and enlightening job in giving us the facts and background – we see what needs to be done, but will it be done?
by Sean W
A lot of factual information about the future of conflict etc in space. Scary stuff on balance I wish I did not now know!
by tackleberry
Tim Marshall has a beautiful way of blending the technical facts within a subject so vast, you just want his story to continue, page after page. The reader will admire the way they are captured by the precision and knowledge used to guide you ‘Out of this World’.
by cplee43
The book was quite well presented- a thorough appraisal of the reality that Space is in many ways just the same as every other sphere of life on Earth – dominated by geo-politics (“posture politics”) on the one hand and unrealistic altruism in outlook on the other. This is where my main criticism would lie. Until the final chapters he took a reporters view- gathered the evidence and presented the case dispassionately without falling into euphemisms. Sadly he drops the ball at the end. He enters his own personal philosophy when considering the contribution offered by Goldsmith and Rees in their book “The End of Astronauts” rather than analysing as with other sections. He would surely have realised (if he had read this?) that the trope “Space is our Destiny” and “Humans are born Explorers” etc has been shown to be false. As a result his personal position of a hopeful future for Human Exploration trumps realities that robotics can and will do the job in most cases and always at lower cost. Since its tax payers who fund all this (for now) he might conclude (as Goldsmith and Rees realise) that the Future of Geography is about to enter a very different world dominated by Big Business and AI/robotics rather than nation states and “grand gestures”.
by Pye’s Mum
An easy read due to the style of writing. Great ‘story line’s to lead you from simple to harder concepts.
A bit scary…sounds like we may well mess up this next step like we’ve messed up Earth
by William Garland
Item arrived expeditiously, well wrapped, and in excellent condition
by Reflective and Moved
I have learned more about space reading this one book than the sum total of my 74 years of life on this planet. It almost makes me want to live another lifetime to see what happens but not quite.