Recently when I was in the UK I went into Waterstones and bought a few books that I thought I'd share with you. Usually I can't bring myself to spend upwards of £7 per book (instead I buy them used on Amazon or at secondhand sales) but this time was different as I had a book token that I received from my Dad as a graduation present. I'm generally perfectly happy to buy books that are slightly damaged or worn, but I have to admit it was extremely satisfying to pick out some brand new pristine titles complete with that amazing 'new book' smell. And I've still got over half of my book token value left! Here's what I got...

The Almighty Dollar by Dharshini David

I included this book in my 'Top Pop Geography Books' post recently so you can read a sort of mini review there. Honestly I was initially drawn to this book by the beautiful cover (just look at it!) but on reading it I've discovered it's actually incredibly interesting and well-pitched. I've still got a chapter to go in it but it's already been featured in two blog posts which must be some kind of record...

Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

I've been following the Everyday Sexism handle on Twitter for years and the project actually cropped up in one of my modules this past year so I thought it was finally time to read Laura Bates' book. From what I've heard this is going to be a tough read as well as an eye-opener that manages to put into words a lot of the things I'm already aware of about how sexism operates in society - I just hope it doesn't fall into the trap of white feminism.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

I've been seeing this book everywhere lately in some unlikely places so I decided to get it. I don't know a whole lot about it but I did a lot of academic reading around critical race theory in uni so I'm interested to take it further under my own steam and engage with some more popular writing on the topic.

The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam by Douglas Murray

Having read a couple of reviews I think I'm going to disagree with a lot (read: potentially all) of this book but that's mostly why I bought it, because I think often it's only when we read things which are strongly contrary to our opinions that we actually articulate and realise those opinions. Also, it's important to be challenged intellectually and basically know how the rest think.

Strangely this is the only fiction book I bought but I just really loved the cover which is so pretty but also very dark and gothic. I've already read this and it was fairly good, kind of like a cross between The Woman in Black and The Woman in White (haha). It's set in the Victorian era and it's the story of a woman who is recently widowed and goes to live at her husband's crumbling family estate in the country. There she finds a group of painted wooden figures which seem to have a life of their own, while the local villagers have a history of active hostility towards the family. There are a couple of timelines going on at once, including the opening setting of a hospital where a kind doctor wants to help a mysteriously voiceless patient and a flashback to the Tudor period which is achieved through the discovery of a diary in the attic of the house in the primary timeline. As these various stories develop, the pieces of the story begin to be revealed and the plot draws together. Ultimately this is a well-told Victorian mystery novel but for some reason I wasn't completely convinced by the story - it was still an enjoyable read, though.

Since the beginning of university I've kept a scrapbook that's now essentially a tangible, physical record of my three years spent in Durham getting my undergraduate degree. I finally finished the last of the third year pages the other day so I thought I would share some photos of it here (but not every single page or else this post would be ridiculously long) in a more visual and less text-heavy kind of post.

But first, some background. The scrapbook itself is from Paperchase, unfortunately the exact one I have is no longer stocked but it's fairly big (perhaps A3? I'm not sure) and ties at one end with ribbon. I received it for my 19th birthday from some friends - along with some nice white and silver gel pens for writing on the black pages - and I knew immediately that I wanted to use it for something special and really put a lot of effort into creating something that I would treasure for a long time. Eventually I decided I wanted to use it to document my university experience, which was fitting as it was a present from people at uni.

The process of putting it together was fairly simple. At the end of each year I sat down and looked through the photos, ticket stubs, wristbands and other flat paper-ish items I'd accumulated that year and mentally organised them into groups by theme, after which I ordered the necessary photos from Photobox in 6"x4" prints. In a couple of cases I also used my handheld HP Sprocket mini printer which prints 2"x3" photos on sticky-backed paper) Then came the fun part: I spent ages arranging the various items on the pages before sticking them down and using the gel pens to write in a title for each page and often some other key names and dates.

Three years later I have a lovely memento of my years at Durham which I'm sure will be super nostalgic to look at in years to come. As there are plenty of pages left I'm planning to document my Masters too so it's a complete record of my whole uni experience. Quite apart from its main function, I also use my scrapbook to balance my laptop on when I'm watching stuff on it in bed to stop it overheating, although it's now on the heavy side since it's stuffed with photos!

As a student of both geography and (come September) international relations, there is nothing that thrills me more than adding to my understanding of how the world works on political, geographical and economic levels. There is so much to learn, whether fact or reasoned opinion, and while a lot can be gleaned from watching the news and keeping up with current affairs those fora only present a small snapshot of the events playing out in the world in the present day. I've found that an easy and enjoyable way to supplement my growing knowledge of geopolitical realities is to delve into a range of what I think of as 'pop geography' (or, arguably, 'pop IR' or 'pop economics') books. These are basically books about geopolitics or international relations which, although usually written by academics or experts, are not in a typical academic style with many-layered theoretical arguments drawing on other academic sources.

I've heard this genre of book denigrated by quite a few academics (some of my own lecturers included), and I do agree to a point that these topics are immensely complicated and benefit from being treated critically by experts. However, there's a simple reason these 'non-academic' takes are so popular: they make (geo)politics accessible, and everyone has to start somewhere. To be clear, these aren't the kind of books I would ever reference in an essay or bring up in conversation in an academic context - but they're something I enjoy reading recreationally to enhance my own knowledge. They also provide an opportunity to engage in some critical reading, especially if you have prior knowledge of the topics.

So today I wanted to share some of the best 'pop geography' books I have come across and own, in no particular order.

The World in Conflict by John Andrews

In this book the author presents a region-by-region analysis of contemporary conflicts and considers the causes, contexts, participants, impacts and likely outcomes. The book is really well-structured: each section begins with a general short chapter contextualising the politics and history of the region as a whole (e.g. Africa, or the Americas) which is followed by a selection of the most pertinent conflicts divided up by country. The exception is the USA, which has its own section and the subsections are more thematic. 

As is to be expected when discussing conflict in the present day, there is a fair amount of historical background and lots of names and dates which are essential to following the arguments and threads. As a result it's relatively dense but definitely readable, though I would still recommend reading this in short bursts and not trying to power through the whole thing in a couple of sittings. 

The contents lists every country discussed, so for instance if you specifically wanted to read about conflict in Uganda or the Philippines you would know to turn to pages 135 or 262 respectively. There are also mini maps before each country section which help to orient yourself in the world before you plunge in. It also has a useful index at the back, so while it's possible to sit down and read this cover to cover it also works well as a reference book. I plan to take this to university with me this year in case I need a quick concise geopolitical primers on a particular country or region as part of my coursework.

Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of Flags by Tim Marshall

By tracing their emergence and contestation through history to the present day, the author attempts to explain why flags are such potent political symbols and how the meaning attached to them can render them 'worth dying for'. He situates the impetus for the discussion within the recent resurgence of nationalism and national symbols and aims to answer the question of what it means to encapsulate a national identity within a flag. 

A couple of flags have chapters to themselves ('The Stars and the Stripes' and 'The Union and the Jack', for instance) but mostly they are grouped into themes such as 'Flags of Fear', 'Flags of Freedom' and 'Flags of Revolution'. These are also semi-geographical, as the latter two cover Africa and South America respectively. There is also a section at the end on non-nation-state flags including the NATO flag, the LGBTQ+ flag, the Red Cross flag and even the Jolly Rodger.

Nationalism is only of my particular academic interests so I enjoyed this book immensely because it addresses a dimension which we so often take for granted or don't see as explicitly political, essentially re-politicising the flag. It was also refreshing visual in places, with a guide to the flags mentioned in the middle of the book and also discusses the significance of the colours and even dimensions of individual flags. Flags are something we're all aware of and may even have flown or waved ourselves, so this book is inherently interesting and accessible. It's also highly readable and well-written.

Tim Marshall is also the author of Prisoners of Geography which I have also read and thoroughly enjoyed, but I think Worth Dying For is even better and more original. 

This book maps out what the authors see as the new security framework facing state and non-state actors today. Their central thesis is that the proliferation of technology (in the form of the internet, cybertechnology, biotechnology, robotics etc.) is enabling what they call the 'distribution of offensive capability', or essentially the ability for ordinary people to represent considerable threats to states and their populations with minimal expert knowledge and specialised technology. Basically, it's become easier for the average person to engage in activity which might have serious security consequences for a wide range of people (or, the 'distribution of vulnerability'). They then go on to explore the implications of this for privacy, liberty, legal jurisdiction and sovereignty, delving in political philosophy debates in some detail. Finally, they outline some options for domestic and international governance in light of the preceding discussions.

I'm not going to lie, this book was hard going. Although extremely well-written, the writing is dense (not to mention tiny) and definitely more academic in nature, and there are some extremely long sentences which I often had to read twice to grasp. But if you're genuinely interested in the content I advise you to stick at it, because it is worth the slog. The arguments are compelling and the hypothetical scenarios the authors present the reader with are especially helpful in demonstrating their points, and in general there is a good balance between theory and practical examples.

The Almighty Dollar: Follow the incredible journey of a single dollar to see how the global economy really works by Dharshini David

This book traces the journey of a single American dollar through the world's financial and economic circuits, from the US to China to Nigeria to India to Iraq to Russia to Germany to the UK and finally back to the USA. Each chapter is thematic and is centred around a single subsection of the journey ('Spicing up the recipe for success - Nigeria to India', for example) but also covers other related topics and draws comparisons with other countries. Although it has an economic focus, in explaining why certain countries' economies function in particular ways - and especially the relations between states - the book also covers a lot of history and (geo)political context and often touches on the concept of globalisation. It also uses some localised fictional examples, for instance giving names to typical figures who participate in the economy like 'Lauren Miller', a Texan woman who spends the initial dollar in a Walmart store, or 'Arjun Kumar', an Indian rice farmer. This does something to put the people back into the abstract web of transactions that is the global economy and makes the whole thing more tangible.

I found this book especially well-pitched in terms of the language and level. It's super accessible and easy to read with an almost colloquial register and the writing flows beautifully. In some places it really brings it back to basics with simple explanations of fundamental economic concepts like supply and demand or exchange rates, which makes it easy to understand even if you have only a rudimentary knowledge of the global economy (like I do). To top it off it was only published in 2018 so it's very up to date - and it has one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen!

That's all for now - I have plenty of other 'pop geography' books that I've yet to read so I might do a second part of this post when I get round to those.