Why geography matters : three challenges facing America : climate change, the rise of China, and global terrorism / H.J. de Blij.
Material type: TextPublication details: New York, N.Y. : Oxford University Press, 2007, c2005.Description: xii, 308 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cmISBN:- 0195315820 (pbk.)
- 9780195315820 (pbk.)
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book | Main Library | NonFiction | 909.83 D286 | Available | 33111005741604 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Over the next half century, the human population, divided by culture and economics and armed with weapons of mass destruction, will expand to nearly 9 billion people. Abrupt climate change may throw the global system into chaos; China will emerge as a superpower; and Islamic terrorism and insurgency will threaten vital American interests. How can we understand these and other global challenges? Harm de Blij has a simple answer: by improving our understanding of the world's geography. In Why Geography Matters, de Blij demonstrates how geography's perspectives yield unique and penetrating insights into the interconnections that mark our shrinking world. Preparing for climate change, averting a cold war with China, defeating terrorism: all of this requires geographic knowledge. De Blij also makes an urgent call to restore geography to America's educational curriculum. He shows how and why the U.S. has become the world's most geographically illiterate society of consequence, and demonstrates the great risk this poses to America's national security. Peppering his writing with anecdotes from his own professional travels, de Blij provides an original treatise that is as engaging as it is eye opening. Casual or professional readers in areas such as education, politics, or national security will find themselves with a stimulating new perspective on geography as it continues to affect our world.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 283-286) and index.
Why geography matters -- Reading maps and facing threats -- Earth's changeable environments -- Climate and civilization -- A future geography of human population -- The mesh of civilizations -- Red star rising: China's geopolitical gauntlet -- Terrorism's widening circle -- From terrorism to insurgency -- European superpower? -- Russia: trouble on the Eastern front -- Hope for Africa?