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informative slow-paced

kittymamers's review

4.0

olen enda meelest alati olnud keskmisest parem riigilippude tundja, aga näe, selgub, et ajast, mil ma neid A&O taskuteatmikust uurisin ja ENEKEsest maha joonistasin (mäletate seda isetehtud kaartidega mängu, kus oli riigilipp ja rahvaarv ja pindala jne?), on vett mitmesse merre voolanud ja nii riike kui lippe üksjagu ümber disainitud. nii et täitsa huviga andis lugeda.

Marshall on kenal meeleolukal moel kirja pannud eri riigilippude arenemislugusid, kasutamisreegleid, omavahelisi seoseid ja muud huvitavat, mis nendega seondub - märksõnadeks nt Boliivia merevägi või kõige esimese olümpialipu mõistatuslik kadumine 1920. aastal ja kuidas ta 1997. aastal jälle välja tuli. Stars&Stripes ja Union Jack saavad kumbki oma peatüki, edasi lähenetakse piirkondade kaupa (Euroopa, Lähis-Ida, Aasia, Aafrika, Ladina-Ameerika) ja leitakse pigem mingi ports seotud või sarnaseid lippe pluss mõned huvitavad erandid - nt Euroopast on ette võetud Skandinaavia ristilipud, aga räägitakse ära ka Makedoonia ja Bosnia-Hertsegoviina lood. (Eesti lipust ei räägita, aga leiame äramainimist Taani lipu loos, nii et elevant on meist vähemalt teadlik, kui ka midagi ei arva.)

siis on veel mõned peatükid, mis ei räägi riigilippudest - "Flags of Fear" (lähis-ida terroriorganisatsioonide lipud) tundub ausalt öeldes veidi aegununa, sest aastal 2021 ma pean lausa googeldama, et teada saada, mis sellest IS-st sai, mis raamatu esmailmumisel aastal 2016 tundus maailma kõige tähtsam asi. aga selle peatüki hoolsa läbitöötamise pluss veel mõningase lisauurimistöö järel tean ma nüüd, kuidas teha vahet AK-47 ja M16 siluettidel (need on ühed... püssid. või ei tohi öelda püss, peab ütlema relv?) ja see on ju ka suur asi. inimese kohta, kes enne ei teadnud, et neid... püsse üldse eri sorti olemas on. muide, ainus _riigilipp_ maailmas, kus kujutatakse kaasaegset relva (st mõõgad ja täägid ei loe), on Mosambiigi oma ja seal on Kalašnikov, kui te juba küsisite.

viimases peatükis käiakse läbi kõik ülejäänud inimkonnale mingitel aegadel olulised lipud - Jolly Roger ja Punane Rist (teate, et lisaks ristile ja poolkuule on nüüd ka Punane Teemant olemas? tähendus ikka sama) ja vikerkaarelipp ja olümpialipp jne, kuni ruudulise finišilipuni välja. ühesõnaga, sujuv ja meeleolukas lõpp. Marshall on üldse mõnus humoorikas kirjutaja, tean seda juba ta eelmisest hitist, "Prisoners of Geography".

"To believe that the Council/EU flag is a symbol of an Illuminati/lizards/Catholic/etc. conspiracy, you'd have to be convinced that two of the world's dullest organizations, which crack with boredom, devised a plan so devilishly fiendish that surely only Dr Evil from the Austin Powers films could have hatched it while on a time-travelling mission from his underground lair. This dullness, by the way, is a very good thing, especially when compared to 1939-45. It is supposed to be boring."

värvitahvlid kõigi jutus mainitud lippudega on raamatu keskel, nii et kui lugema hakkate, varuge heaga kaks järjehoidjat, on mugavam!
informative reflective relaxing fast-paced

An interesting and fun read, albeit not Tim Marshall’s most impactful I don’t think. I enjoyed learning about symbolism and the history surrounding the flags that were covered, although his Prisoners and Power of Geography books are much more enjoyable.

generalheff's review

5.0

A fantastic mingling of history, geopolitics and vexillology.

This book, I believe, is ideal for anyone with an interest in flags (obviously) but likely not someone who considers themselves an expert already. I imagine for the already-a-boffin, the details in this book may be a little obvious or will already be known.

But for someone like me who can just about recognise most countries' flags but has no clue what their origins are, this book is ideal. It not only gives a background on a whole host of flags from around the world, but it is amusing, a bit silly at times and clearly written both by someone who loves flags but also someone who knows about the countries being discussed. The interweaving of Marshall's experiences as a journalist in war-torn areas gives the books a realism and topical quality that may have been lacking from an out-and-out vexillologist's book of flags - maybe a downside to the diehards - but I believe that is this books greatest strength.

In my view a must read for anyone who is keen on world affairs and has an interest in, but likely is not an expert on, the esoteric topic of flags.

This was fine. It felt all over the place. Sometimes the sections talked about specific history related to the flag, and other times it was felt like random historical facts. I think Marshall’s other works are better.
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susani_'s review

2.0

I agree with the author's main point, and Flags have substantial symbolic power. But dear god was highly biased, and a very “Western world is amazing, and we always do amazing things, and everything we fight for is for like the best… go us”.

I had a lot of issues with how this author depicted Arabs and Muslims. The mental gymnastics Tim went to avoid calling the Palestinian flag the Palestinian flag but instead called it the “Arab flag of revolt”.

Highly disappointed that he couldn’t write an informative book without the obvious bias.
funny informative
informative medium-paced

Another interesting read from Marshall. A very different style compared to the fully Geography-based books but still worth a read as I learnt so much from it.
informative reflective medium-paced

irish_kl's review

3.25
informative reflective medium-paced