Ian Morris (1) (1960–)

Morris has written an engaging long-term history of what we call the United Kingdom and its place in the world.

He says he did that because he had to tell all the old stories so that we could understand the story of Brexit. The recent referendum and follow-on departure certainly echo earlier instances of insularity in the British isles, but I'm not really convinced you need to read the whole thing to understand the current chaos.

The next-to-last chapter, Keep Calm and Carry On (1992-2013), is an engaging read just on the events that led directly to the referendum that forced the UK to Leave. It's good on its own. The very short chapter that follows it, Can't Go Home Again (2017), where Morris returns to his hometown of Stoke on Trent and hangs out with regular folks, is likewise thought-provoking.

But the professional historian and Stanford professor does a good job with the big topic. I'd read his earlier book, Why the West Rules -- For Now, some years ago, and very much enjoyed it. This one is better, I think. Both make the point that China is already a global force, and that this century will see a remaking of the world order to accommodate that country.

I hope that Morris will write about that, too, in the next decade or so.… (plus d'informations)

This was a very intriguing book -an intriguing argument- that is well put together and argued. It is a disturbing thought that wars, of a certain kind anyway, might be ultimately useful and ultimately responsible for modern societies with all their goods. It isn't a theory that can, in my mind, ever be really tested (we can't rerun human history), but it does serve as a very enlightening alternative view. Perhaps war is not *solely* terrible and perhaps war does not serve 'no purpose'.

Of course, one can easily see how this same argument could be used to justify almost anything... as long as a government does't jail and/or execute too many protesters, apostates, minorities, etc. then it is arguably a 'good' government as long as it delivers lower violence and increased wealth and health to everyone else. Basically, a version of the argument/though experiment leveled against Utilitarianism (or, at least, naive Utilitarianism.)

But still very interesting. Five stars.… (plus d'informations)

Review excerpt from a longer article:

Time Take-aways for Life-Long Learners: Geography Connections

From forgotten and imagined places to powerful political relationships, connect geography with topics across the curriculum through these recently published books.

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Geography is Destiny: Britain and the World
Ian Morris, 2022, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan
Themes: History, Britain, Europe, Historical geography

Readers explore the 10,000 year relationship between the British Isles and the European continent along with the entire globe.
Take-aways: Use Britain as an example of the connection among geography, politics, economics, and history.

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Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb… (plus d'informations)