Book Review for Marshall
Every nation is influenced by its geography. Mountains, deserts, and rivers all play key roles in determining if a country can trade and grow or isolated and dependent on others. Marshall claims in his book Prisoners of Geography that technology, politics, and people will come and go, but geography has always been here, shaping the interactions of states. The best examples of geography shaping countries is seen in the topography of America where the land has been a blessing and allowed the nation to rise and Russia where the land has forced the nation to take strategic actions to defend itself.
Marshall argues geography determines the success of countries and this clearly shows in his chapter over Russia. He states …show more content…
There were no mountains, no deserts, and few rivers. In all directions lay flatland, and across the steppe to the south and east were the Mongols.” (Marshall, 14-15) The East Slavic peoples of early Russia centered around Moscow after being driven back by the Mongols. Ivan the Terrible in 1533 sought to change this and his strategy was to attack attack attack till you have a good border to defend. The new borders of Russia reached the Urals, Caspian Sea, and the Arctic Circle, “Now the Russians had a partial buffer zone and a hinterland—strategic depth—somewhere to fall back to in the case of invasion.” (Marshall, 15) With these new borders offering protection, Russia could look to areas of trade and nationalism to grow its expanding …show more content…
would gain Florida and the land up to the California and Organ border from Spain in the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819. America’s good fortune continued to roll on as gold was discovered in California shortly after it was seized in the Mexican American war in 1848. Now the United States was a nation bordered by two oceans on its East and West coast with a Gulf and desert blocking the south with the north having, “the Great Lakes and rocky land with few people close to the border….” (Marshall, 71) With its borders secured, the nation could focus on trade and infrastructure. The nation already had the Mississippi going north to south, but the Transcontinental railroad in 1869 connected the nation east to west, “Now you could cross the country in a week, whereas it had previously taken several hazardous months.” (Marshall, 72) Each new piece of land American gained, the stronger the nation became. Marshall finishes his chapter on the United States with discussing Roosevelt’s push for a blue water navy and fracking technology could make the U.S. self-sufficient in energy by 2020. What this chapter, and book, makes clear is that geography is a driving force in influencing a nations’ ability to rise. America, according to
Every nation is influenced by its geography. Mountains, deserts, and rivers all play key roles in determining if a country can trade and grow or isolated and dependent on others. Marshall claims in his book Prisoners of Geography that technology, politics, and people will come and go, but geography has always been here, shaping the interactions of states. The best examples of geography shaping countries is seen in the topography of America where the land has been a blessing and allowed the nation to rise and Russia where the land has forced the nation to take strategic actions to defend itself.
Marshall argues geography determines the success of countries and this clearly shows in his chapter over Russia. He states …show more content…
There were no mountains, no deserts, and few rivers. In all directions lay flatland, and across the steppe to the south and east were the Mongols.” (Marshall, 14-15) The East Slavic peoples of early Russia centered around Moscow after being driven back by the Mongols. Ivan the Terrible in 1533 sought to change this and his strategy was to attack attack attack till you have a good border to defend. The new borders of Russia reached the Urals, Caspian Sea, and the Arctic Circle, “Now the Russians had a partial buffer zone and a hinterland—strategic depth—somewhere to fall back to in the case of invasion.” (Marshall, 15) With these new borders offering protection, Russia could look to areas of trade and nationalism to grow its expanding …show more content…
would gain Florida and the land up to the California and Organ border from Spain in the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819. America’s good fortune continued to roll on as gold was discovered in California shortly after it was seized in the Mexican American war in 1848. Now the United States was a nation bordered by two oceans on its East and West coast with a Gulf and desert blocking the south with the north having, “the Great Lakes and rocky land with few people close to the border….” (Marshall, 71) With its borders secured, the nation could focus on trade and infrastructure. The nation already had the Mississippi going north to south, but the Transcontinental railroad in 1869 connected the nation east to west, “Now you could cross the country in a week, whereas it had previously taken several hazardous months.” (Marshall, 72) Each new piece of land American gained, the stronger the nation became. Marshall finishes his chapter on the United States with discussing Roosevelt’s push for a blue water navy and fracking technology could make the U.S. self-sufficient in energy by 2020. What this chapter, and book, makes clear is that geography is a driving force in influencing a nations’ ability to rise. America, according to