Interview with Jonn Elledge, author of A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps
Jonn Elledge, author of A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps recommends a super set of books! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Jonn's book:
Description from Bookshop.org: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps
People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very different if a war or treaty or the decisions of a handful of tired Europeans had gone a different way. By telling the stories of these borders, we can learn a lot about how political identities are shaped, why the world looks the way it does - and about the scale of human folly.
From the Roman attempts to define the boundaries of civilisation, to the secret British-French agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, to the reason why landlocked Bolivia still maintains a navy, this is a fascinating, witty and surprising look at the history of the world told through its borders.
Buy On:
Bookshop.org UK £23.75
Bookshop.org US $23.20
Blackwells £25.00
Waterstones £20.99
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
The Truth About Markets: Why Some Nations are Rich But Most Remain Poor by John Kay. Description from Bookshop.org: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
I'm not sure about 'favourite', I'm a terrible one for getting obsessively into a subject for a few months, then getting bored and moving on, so I've obsessed about a lot of different books for short periods. Probably the one which has had the biggest impact on my worldview is The Truth About Markets, by John Kay. Its subhead was 'Why some countries are rich and others remain poor', and it explains just that, as well as teaching you a lot about economics and boring-sounding but actually important things like how to structure negotiations. More than that - so much political discourse assumes that either business is evil or the state incompetent, depending on which side you're on. Kay really brings home the fact it's more complicated than that, and what really matters are structures or incentives. That's shaped a lot of my work as a journalist, and how I see the world.
The Truth About Markets: Why Some Nations are Rich But Most Remain Poor
Capitalism faltered at the end of the 1990s as corporations were rocked by fraud, the stock-market bubble burst and the American business model – unfettered self-interest, privatization and low tax – faced a storm of protest. But what are the alternatives to the mantras of market fundamentalism?
Leading economist John Kay unravels the truth about markets, from Wall Street to Switzerland, from Russia to Mumbai, examining why some nations are rich and some poor, why ‘one-size-fits-all’ globalization hurts developing countries and why markets can work – but only in a humane social and cultural context. His answers offer a radical new blueprint for the future.
Buy On:
Bookshop.org UK £14.24
Blackwells £12.99
Waterstones £14.99
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants by James Vincent. Description from Bookshop.org: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
I read my friend James Vincent's book Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement not that long ago, and that's an incredible piece of work. It's not just full of fascinating stories about a topic I've had a nerdy interest in for decades: it sort of transcends its subject to be a sort of history of how mankind has seen the world, as much philosophy as history or science. Honestly, it's incredible. I hope my own new book is a fraction as good.
Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants
We measure rainfall and radiation, the depths of space and the emptiness of atoms, calories and steps, happiness and pain. But how did measurement become ubiquitous in modern life? When did humanity first take up scales and rulers, and why does this practice hold authority over so many aspects of our lives?
Written with vim and dazzling intelligence, James Vincent provides a fresh and original perspective on human history as he tracks our long search for dependable truths in a chaotic universe. Full of mavericks and visionaries, adventure and the unexpected, Beyond Measure shows that measurement has not only made the world we live in, it has made us too.
Buy On:
Bookshop.org UK £12.34
Bookshop.org US $17.62
Blackwells £12.99
Waterstones £12.99
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Boxset by Douglas Adams. Description from Bookshop.org: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Oh, loads. This is probably not the sort of answer you're after, but one of my first obsessions was the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. There are loads of versions of that, including TV and the original radio show, but it was probably the book I read most as a kid, even if I wasn't quite ready for a lot of the existential jokes or bits about splitting restaurant bills.
The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Boxset
One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace express route.
For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this seems already to be rather a lot to cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun.
The Galaxy may offer a mind-boggling variety of ways to be blown up and/or insulted, but it’s very hard to get a cup of tea.
Buy On:
Bookshop.org UK £42.75
Bookshop.org US $18.60
Blackwells £45.00
Waterstones £45.00
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
I think they serve different purposes, really. I've always loved audiobooks ever since my mum and grandfather bought me severely abridged versions of Dickens novels as a child, and I've found listening while walking a great way of working through giant Victorian novels or big thick history books, the sort of stuff I really want to have read but know I'm never realistically going to finish in hard copy. The immediacy and accessibility of a Kindle - the fact you can start reading immediately - is pretty life changing. But come on, there's nothing like a proper old fashioned book - not least because you're less likely to get distracted by Twitter.
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
Foyles
Probably Foyles, on London's Charing Cross Road, because kindly older relatives used to take me there when I was a kid, and I used to take trips there with my best friend Manu when we were old enough to get into London on our own. I've never quite forgiven it for modernising the decor or moving to a new site - I really liked the midcentury vibe of the old store, the feeling you can just sit in a corner and read all week and no one would really mind. But a few days ago someone sent me a picture of 47 Borders in the window and I genuinely felt quite emotional. Like, it had finally happened. I think my granddad would be proud.
Many thanks to Jonn for recommending a super set of books! Please don't forget to check out A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: (A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps), Penguin Books Ltd (The Truth About Markets: Why Some Nations are Rich But Most Remain Poor), Faber & Faber (Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants), Pan Macmillan (The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Boxset).
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