Future of Geography
THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF 2023
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
Review:
'A voyage of galactic discovery' Robert Verkaik, The Mail on Sunday
'[An] engaging exploration of power politics in space' Irish Independent
'A superb survey of planetary politics' Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times
'[Tim's] prose is brisk in pace and refreshingly crystalline in its clarity, affording a highly readable lesson in historical geopolitics... 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
'An important contribution to the growing work of space-power theorists' Times Literary Supplement
'Insightful, hopeful and endlessly fascinating, Marshall's latest non-fiction masterpiece sets out the possibilities and pitfalls that lie ahead' Daily Express
'A fascinatingly insightful book, written with humour and excitement about the road ahead' Geographical
'A fascinating and crucial insight into how, even as humanity moves upwards into the final frontier, we'll be influenced by the geographies of space. Marshall has done it again!' Professor Lewis Dartnell, author of Being Human
'Astropolitics is a word I never thought would enter my lexicon - but after reading this fascinating book, I'm hooked!' Dr Becky Smethurst, astrophysicist and author of A Brief History of Black Holes
'Tim Marshall captures the excitement, anxiety and strangeness of being at the beginning of a period of major geopolitical change. A fascinating book.' Helen Gordon, author of Notes from Deep Time
'If space is our future, this urgent book reveals that we're in danger of handing it over to warmongers, plutocrats and conquistadors as rapacious as those on Earth. Tim Marshall shows us why we need to look up - fast.' Tom Burgis, author of Kleptopia
'A chilling, insightful exploration of the political and military implications of our presence in space.' Brian Clegg, author of Final Frontier
'This stirring book shows why astropolitics matters for everyone on Earth - not just the scientists and the dreamers.' Dr Bleddyn E. Bowen, author of Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space
'In his typical style - wielding a wickedly clever pen - Marshall provides a thoroughly enjoyable, dizzyingly thought-provoking, and technologically plausible ride through the terrain of solar space.' Professor Everett Dolman, author of Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age
'The Future of Geography takes us on a gripping and amazing journey, to guide us expertly and often amusingly into the exploration of space and its profound implications for those of us left behind on planet earth.' --Professor Ian Goldin, author of Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years
'Having conquered the world with his bestselling series on how geography shapes international relations, Tim Marshall is reaching for the skies. As states and companies compete aggressively for scarce resources on Earth, the desire to control space grows ever more powerful. The next stage of geopolitical rivalry is being shaped, he says, by who and what will dominate the final frontier. What could go wrong?' Jason Cowley, The Sunday Times, Best Thought and Ideas Books of 2023
'In his latest analysis of international relations, our geopolitical columnist Tim Marshall turns his attention to the skies and the geopolitics of outer space, or 'astropolitics'. We're headed back to the Moon and this time we're there to stay. Will it be a mission for the benefit of all humanity? Unlikely, says Marshall in his new book, The Future of Geography - at least, not unless we see a lot of changes, and we're running out of time to make them.' Geographical, The best books of 2023