Myths of Geography: An Insightful Exploration of World Maps, Borders, and Civilizations―Debunking Long-Held Assumptions and Unraveling the True History of the World

Are myths created even when unsuspected? In Myths of Geography, Paul Richardson invites readers to cross back and forth between geography and history in eight chapters, advancing from familiar questions to particular challenges. We may recognize the names of continents even though we cannot define a visual line separating Europe and Asia or question and reject how a wall can solve the complexity of a border like the festering one between Mexico and the southern US.

Countries and their sovereigns may seem less intriguing until we take time to stop and consider their significance in everyday life. Further, he emphasizes how gross domestic product (GDP) is severely limited as an exclusive tool to measure a country’s wealth and health.

Richardson’s take on the myth of Russian expansion and the myth of China’s New Silk Road presents considerable information to supplement the headlines on daily network news programs. The eighth myth, ‘that Africa is doomed to fail,’ when the 54 countries are linked as a single history, launches Richardson’s bitter diatribe on the destructive power of colonialism.

This is an astonishing book, written with clarity and a smattering of wit, long waiting to be written and answering multiple questions and concerns.