The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization's Rough Landscape

Here geographer Harm de Blij tackles globalization in a fascinating and well-researched refutation of dimwitted "the world is flat" theories thrown around by armchair globalization proponents, in the belief that all will be well when economic policies make the whole world the same. It's not nearly that simple because people are still at the root of all economics and they have different worldviews and life experiences that are largely influenced by where they come from. And despite oncoming economic standardization, human beings are as prone as ever to breaking up into small groups, with place-based values easily trumping global ideologies. de Blij applies geographic theory to topics like health, literacy, urbanization, and many others with surprising connections to cultural and physical geography. The book contains many excellent maps and de Blij writes in a readable style. Granted, de Blij's thoughts on religious conflict seem rather simplistic, and the closing chapter on proposed solutions to geographic problems is a bit unfocused, with vague prescriptions that don't line up with the details of the previous chapters. But otherwise, this is a rewarding book for those interested in the diversity of the world's peoples and their experiences, and you'll find that the world is only "flat" for certain economic elites. For everyone else, geography creates many "rough" cultural and economic landscapes that will preserve not just diversity but also inequality. [~doomsdayer520~]

Though the globalization debate has been raging for awhile, this book looks at it from a new perspective: geography. The author persuasively claims that place--physical and cultural geography--imposes severe limits on human thought and action. Lots of maps help make this unique perspective even clearer.