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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I was quite excited to read this book - I went around telling people about how I checked out this book from the library and was SO EXCITED TO READ IT!! I studied anthropology and an interested in art, so I was looking forward to reading about the symbolism used in flags and their meaning. However, this book a bit boring - as in lots of dry descriptions of flags and general lists of meanings and history - but I wanted more of a story and development. And it it wasn't, there were weird 'relaxed' moments where the author would try to be funny I think. That being said - this type of writing is not successful to me, but I think if I would have attended a lecture on the topic, word for word, I would have found it quite interesting. I think the book could have been more successful for me if the images of the flags were with the descriptions. Ultimately, I did learn some, and am not mad I read it, I just wanted to be more captivated. I learned a lot of fun facts in this book that I am rattling off to my co-workers, so that is something too.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed Tim Marshall's map-focused book, and this was equally as informative. I found it a great introduction to histories and the symbolism of different flags
informative
medium-paced
Not as interesting as Prisoners of Geography. I guess flags aren’t as captivating…
A lot easier to read then I would have predicted,, in reality would like to give it 3.5 stars. I was a bit skeptical about the author's perspective as I (as an American) didn't agree with a lot of the generalizations made in the United States chapter. i recognize that it's good to read things I don't necessarily agree with, but it made me wonder about the validity of such generalizations made about other countries/people's opinions. all in all, deeply researched and that research led to a few really interesting insights on different flags/cultures/historical happenings.
informative
relaxing
fast-paced
informative
fast-paced
What promised to be an interesting book sadly turned out to be a string of wikipedia articles held together by the authors all-too-frequently offered opinions. It’s hard really to nail down what went wrong in this book but I’ll have a good go.
The most obvious thing that struck me at first was the fact that the bibliography for a dense c.300 page book condenses down to about four pages, and much of the reference material quotes there is from sources such as YouTube and the Guinness Book of World Records. It told me that a lot of this book was not supported by facts and that’s pretty much exactly what it is. At one point the author writes “the French proposed thirteen, an Italian said” which is symptomatic of hus cavalier attitude to the truth but I was even more impressed by him quoting one example of a 1915 film as the entirety of the evidence base to support a point he makes about the Dixie flag. I do appreciate it’s a ‘popular’ history book and the tall tales he tells are interesting to hear but even so, when the author starts banging on about just how wonderful he found Peru’s 1970 football stripe rather than giving you anything more infteresting than what he’s gleaned from wikipedia pages you start to switch off.
Another problem is the author’s aim. He evidently doesn’t want to address ALL flags of the world (too many, and too formal) but instead chooses a smattering of country flags and others of causes and organisations to try slim it down which is a fair choice. But then, he doesn’t manage to do this well either. The flag of Guatemala is a pretty interesting one with a quetzal bird and two crossed bayonets as well as two crossed swords, a scroll and a laurel wreath. The sentence you just read describes the flag in more detail than the author does, as he just mentions the crossed guns and swords and moves on. Strangely, a lot of the time he spends talking about flags that aren’t reproduced in colour in the central section and while I also appreciate that there are printing costs associated with this why not print those talked about in more detail (and perhaps harder for the reader to find) and leave out those mentioned briefly?
Another point that has been noted by many other readers is the author’s bias, which should not in itself be a bad thing. Marshall starts with a very long and heavy love-letter to the American flag, glossing over issues with many places that are forced to fly the Stars and Stripes in what has been referred to as the American empire (strange that he makes this point about Russia but not the US) to talk about the abiding love and respect with which many view the American flag. This becomes more evident when talking about US machinations around the world, such as the case in Panama later but the worst is that he doesn’t pursue some really interesting examples of people in the South not using the US flag - something I’m sure that would have interested much of his readership.
Still worse, is the very rose-tinted view he gives of the UK and the British Empire (noting quickly in passing that they were responsible for a couple of famines but que sera, sera) but he tries to get round this by offering his opinion that it’s only a “few self-hating Westerners” who don’t view the Union Jack with deep reverence. While there is definitely respect for the flag, I’ve seen far more examples of the St. George’s cross used than I ever have of the Union Jack in day-to-day life (actually I see much more of our county flag The White Rose of Yorkshire but this is beside the point) and so much of the fractious debate surrounding the Union right now is hastened over. To my mind he sets up the UK and the US as his prime example of all that is good and great in the world, even going as far as to suggest that the Nordic countries are falling apart at the seams in comprison and this view is carried throughout, often referred back to in later passages. Perhaps this view makes more sense when viewed in light of his seeming dislike for international organisations of all stripes.
These points are of course my own interpretation and others may disagree, but I found it hard not to note the recurring evidence of Marshall’s opinions throughout and the fact that he tries to use glib humour to pass over them. I can’t say I’ll be searching out Prisoners of Geography any time soon.
The most obvious thing that struck me at first was the fact that the bibliography for a dense c.300 page book condenses down to about four pages, and much of the reference material quotes there is from sources such as YouTube and the Guinness Book of World Records. It told me that a lot of this book was not supported by facts and that’s pretty much exactly what it is. At one point the author writes “the French proposed thirteen, an Italian said” which is symptomatic of hus cavalier attitude to the truth but I was even more impressed by him quoting one example of a 1915 film as the entirety of the evidence base to support a point he makes about the Dixie flag. I do appreciate it’s a ‘popular’ history book and the tall tales he tells are interesting to hear but even so, when the author starts banging on about just how wonderful he found Peru’s 1970 football stripe rather than giving you anything more infteresting than what he’s gleaned from wikipedia pages you start to switch off.
Another problem is the author’s aim. He evidently doesn’t want to address ALL flags of the world (too many, and too formal) but instead chooses a smattering of country flags and others of causes and organisations to try slim it down which is a fair choice. But then, he doesn’t manage to do this well either. The flag of Guatemala is a pretty interesting one with a quetzal bird and two crossed bayonets as well as two crossed swords, a scroll and a laurel wreath. The sentence you just read describes the flag in more detail than the author does, as he just mentions the crossed guns and swords and moves on. Strangely, a lot of the time he spends talking about flags that aren’t reproduced in colour in the central section and while I also appreciate that there are printing costs associated with this why not print those talked about in more detail (and perhaps harder for the reader to find) and leave out those mentioned briefly?
Another point that has been noted by many other readers is the author’s bias, which should not in itself be a bad thing. Marshall starts with a very long and heavy love-letter to the American flag, glossing over issues with many places that are forced to fly the Stars and Stripes in what has been referred to as the American empire (strange that he makes this point about Russia but not the US) to talk about the abiding love and respect with which many view the American flag. This becomes more evident when talking about US machinations around the world, such as the case in Panama later but the worst is that he doesn’t pursue some really interesting examples of people in the South not using the US flag - something I’m sure that would have interested much of his readership.
Still worse, is the very rose-tinted view he gives of the UK and the British Empire (noting quickly in passing that they were responsible for a couple of famines but que sera, sera) but he tries to get round this by offering his opinion that it’s only a “few self-hating Westerners” who don’t view the Union Jack with deep reverence. While there is definitely respect for the flag, I’ve seen far more examples of the St. George’s cross used than I ever have of the Union Jack in day-to-day life (actually I see much more of our county flag The White Rose of Yorkshire but this is beside the point) and so much of the fractious debate surrounding the Union right now is hastened over. To my mind he sets up the UK and the US as his prime example of all that is good and great in the world, even going as far as to suggest that the Nordic countries are falling apart at the seams in comprison and this view is carried throughout, often referred back to in later passages. Perhaps this view makes more sense when viewed in light of his seeming dislike for international organisations of all stripes.
These points are of course my own interpretation and others may disagree, but I found it hard not to note the recurring evidence of Marshall’s opinions throughout and the fact that he tries to use glib humour to pass over them. I can’t say I’ll be searching out Prisoners of Geography any time soon.
Interesting book on how some nations came to develop the flags they use today.
really enjoyed this one! super accessible and a good survey/intro into the topic.
Interesting read - quick fire tour of the world entertainingly written