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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
This book is interesting at times, but compared to previous books I found this a lot drier, making it more difficult to keep reading. A die-hard flag fan might appreciate this book more. Other than that, the book does provide many fascinating insights into the political messages and history behind the designs of flags.
Worth reading.
I enjoyed this book, it is rather an easy read but that is in no way a negative, instead it is engaging and interesting and well worth your time if you have even a passing interest in the subjects related to this book. Tim Marshall writes in an informative and entertaining manner and I look forward to reading "Prisoners of Geography"which I purchased at the same time.
I enjoyed this book, it is rather an easy read but that is in no way a negative, instead it is engaging and interesting and well worth your time if you have even a passing interest in the subjects related to this book. Tim Marshall writes in an informative and entertaining manner and I look forward to reading "Prisoners of Geography"which I purchased at the same time.
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
An interesting book, if (sadly) not a fascinating one. Prisoners of Geography set some very high expectations, and there are sections here which are genuinely compelling and shed some intriguing light on history, and identity politics. There's rather too much in the way of factoids and not enough in the way of insight for it to be genuinely great, though. Worth reading - but don't expect a repeat of the previous book's quality and value.
Good as a primer - awfully short, seemingly in an effort to not bore the reader but I was left wanting more. Marshall's habit of ending every chapter with a sort of "in conclusion, [blank] and its flag are lands of contrasts" high-school-essay-esque summary is an odd one. Yet...still 4*. I enjoyed it. It was a fun read, and I learned something...and I wasn't bored, so job done.
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
Shoddy, arbitrary and riddled with bias. Anyone who refers to China as 'godless Communists' might as well be living in the 1950s. The references to 'Judeo-Christian values' are similarly ridiculous: the vast majority of European countries actively persecuted Jews and did not allow them to participate in political or cultural affairs. It is clear that Marshall uses this phrase as a euphemism for 'Christian' and harbors animosity towards Muslims, as an entire chapter is dedicated to Islamic terrorist groups, but no other terrorist groups. He also compares the anthem of the Soviet Union to ISIS in a bizarre analogy that relies on the fact that it mentions a flag positively.
In addition to being biased, the choice of flags included is otherwise random: despite being included on the cover, the flags for Greece, Barbados and Canada are not covered, and neither are the majority of the world's flags. Rather, he devotes two chapters to the USA and UK flags, then engages in Crusades apologism for a few European flags. Africa, Asia and Central and South America are included, albeit only a few flags from each. For some reason Uruguay is included, but the entry is only a paragraph long (compared to most of the other entries, which are at least a page). No Caribbean or Polynesian countries are included.
Insultingly, he ends the LGBT flag section with a paragraph praising M16 for flying it, blissfully unaware of the many crimes they have committed and continue to enable against the LGBT community. He also claims that flying it in Africa or the Middle East would get someone in trouble, but conveniently leaves out that the same is true for many European countries (e.g. Poland and Russia).
In short, this is a shambolic book that is utterly disappointing when compared to Prisoners of Geography.
In addition to being biased, the choice of flags included is otherwise random: despite being included on the cover, the flags for Greece, Barbados and Canada are not covered, and neither are the majority of the world's flags. Rather, he devotes two chapters to the USA and UK flags, then engages in Crusades apologism for a few European flags. Africa, Asia and Central and South America are included, albeit only a few flags from each. For some reason Uruguay is included, but the entry is only a paragraph long (compared to most of the other entries, which are at least a page). No Caribbean or Polynesian countries are included.
Insultingly, he ends the LGBT flag section with a paragraph praising M16 for flying it, blissfully unaware of the many crimes they have committed and continue to enable against the LGBT community. He also claims that flying it in Africa or the Middle East would get someone in trouble, but conveniently leaves out that the same is true for many European countries (e.g. Poland and Russia).
In short, this is a shambolic book that is utterly disappointing when compared to Prisoners of Geography.
Very interesting read. A quite comprehensive tour around the world in flags. The author definitely knows what he's talking about, and at the same time writes very accessibly. I went into this expecting to learn mainly about the 'big' and/or 'interesting' flags, but the way it was written as a geographical round trip gave me a lot of information about, well, pretty much every flag in most every region, as well as historical roots, common symbolisms, and interesting anecdotes full of witticisms and dad-puns. The whole text is very easily digestible, and I had no trouble getting through it as a layman -- no vexillology degrees needed to enjoy this (do they even have those?)
The nature of the chosen structure made some parts a bit boring, to me at least: I didn't need a rapid-fire description of every Central American, African, and "-stan" nation's flag, and I could tell in a few places the author didn't really have all that much to say about many of them either -- I think he just felt he needed to include them for completeness's sake. Which is all just as well.
I'd recommend this to people who have a general interest in flags and/or geopolitics (myself the former). It's generally very informative and accessible (have I said that already?)
The nature of the chosen structure made some parts a bit boring, to me at least: I didn't need a rapid-fire description of every Central American, African, and "-stan" nation's flag, and I could tell in a few places the author didn't really have all that much to say about many of them either -- I think he just felt he needed to include them for completeness's sake. Which is all just as well.
I'd recommend this to people who have a general interest in flags and/or geopolitics (myself the former). It's generally very informative and accessible (have I said that already?)