Prisoners of Geography

By: Tim Marshall

Narrated by: Tim Marshall

THE PHENOMENAL INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER – 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD

The iconic bestseller Prisoners of Geography, now fully updated with brand new content to reflect the changing global geopolitical landscape since it was first published in 2015

‘One of the best books about geopolitics you could imagine.’ Evening Standard

Prisoners of Geography is the book people need to understand what’s happening in the news today, from China’s ambitions to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Bestselling author and geopolitics expert Tim Marshall looks at the past, present and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determines world history – because if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture.

This completely revised and updated edition brings the classic text up to date with the events and trends of the past decade, with new material including:

• the Russia–Ukraine war and Moscow's alliances with authoritarian states
• the conflicts in the Middle East
• China’s growing military and strategic power, and its stance on Taiwan
• American global power and pivot to the Pacific
• Europe’s leaning towards more extreme politics, increased defence spending, and the new ‘Iron Curtain’
• Japan's remilitarisation and increasing power
• great power play in Africa
• the growth of Indian economic and military strength

Listen to Tim Marshall’s geopolitical primers (Prisoners of Geography, The Power of Geography and The Future of Geography) to understand what’s happening in our fast-changing world.

*Want to test your world knowledge? Challenge friends and family with Prisoners of Geography: The Quiz Book, and discover who is the ultimate armchair explorer! *

©2025 Tim Marshall (P)2025 Simon & Schuster UK

Great insights, excellent presentation

Deep perspectives into the way geography has shaped history. The author, reading his own work, keeps the work interesting with his obvious enthusiasm.

Include the Maps, Tim!

I adore this book. I loved the 2015 version; this might surpass it. Marshall is smart, funny, and writes engagingly. And he is a tremendous narrator.

So why just four stars? The audiobook still lacks the maps that the hard copy includes. It was a mistake to omit a pdf of the maps from the first version. But now they’ve done it again! It is a book about maps! Please add a supplement. The audiobook is too good for a mistake this fundamental.

Please, Tim, your book is sublime. Make it perfect. You are that close.

Geography’s Grip on Global Power

Prisoners of Geography was an enlightening and engaging read (or in my case, listen). Tim Marshall does an exceptional job of showing how geography—mountains, rivers, plains, and coastlines—has shaped the politics, conflicts, and alliances of nations across centuries.

I’m especially glad to have gone through the revised edition. It highlights just how much has changed since the first edition, yet also how many of the same geopolitical realities still define the choices countries make. That balance between continuity and change really stood out for me.

The book gave me a sharper lens through which to view global events—not just as headlines, but as outcomes of deeply entrenched geographical realities. It’s both accessible and thought-provoking, making complex geopolitical themes easy to follow without oversimplifying.

Overall, I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to better understand why nations act the way they do, and how much of that story is written into the land itself. A genuinely worthwhile read that leaves you looking at the world map with fresh eyes.

Very well researched. Excellent.

An error in chapter 4. You say the Europeans have 12 types of tanks, then only one. I think you meant the Russians.