A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders: Surprising Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps by Jonn Elledge is a captivating and enlightening exploration of the world’s borders, offering readers a unique perspective on the political, historical, and cultural significance of national boundaries. Elledge takes us on a journey through 47 borders around the world, each one telling its own story about identity, conflict, power, and geography.

Through witty and accessible writing, Elledge delves into the surprising histories and complexities behind each border, from well-known divides like the one between North and South Korea to lesser-known but equally fascinating examples. His blend of humor, history, and insightful analysis makes the book both informative and entertaining.

What sets A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders apart is its ability to offer both a macro and micro perspective on borders—showing how they affect everything from international relations to the lives of individuals living on the frontlines of these divisions. It’s an engaging read for anyone interested in geopolitics, history, or simply curious about how the world’s political boundaries came to be.

Elledge’s engaging approach makes this book a great choice for those looking for a blend of educational value and accessible storytelling. It’s a must-read for those interested in how borders shape the world we live in and the stories behind them.

In this brilliant new world history title, Jonn Elledge combines history, politics, geography, and many other disciplines in this study of world history and geopolitics through an evaluation of 47 borders and how they shaped modern nations and their policies. From the Roman Empire to the World Wars and the Cold War, Elledge’s brilliantly written, cleverly worded, and complex world history book brings readers a complex yet digestible understanding of the topic to better understand the current geopolitical landscape. Providing context and analysis, the book’s chapters focus on different borders and place them in conversation with relevant events and figures to better explain why certain borders made the book over others and their long-term impact on world and global histories. Elledge is an excellent writer, making the history enjoyable for advanced readers and for those new to the topic, and the prose itself is entertaining and engaging through its high level of detail and information. As an excellent introduction to world history and an excellent supplementary text, this style of history book is incredibly enjoyable because it gives readers a chance to explore multiple places around the world within one book -- and inspire them to choose other titles -- and understand how our current society came to be.

A cheeky, irreverent and fun read about the history of the world as told through 47 borders! This book was packed full of interesting tidbits and I learned a lot of new things. It is the opposite of an academic book - the style and footnotes are humorous yet the writing is very comprehensive and informative. This is definitely a worthwhile read!

Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

This was a cheeky and delightful but yet informative romp through several hundred years of history and several different global flashpoints. Difficult issues handled deftly and with finesse. An easy but good read,

Overall, I think this was a very interesting read and I especially enjoyed the groundwork that was laid out in the introduction regarding the ways we've now come to conceptualize maps and draw out borders. I think the historical work is also interesting and provides fascinating insight into the interplay of all the aspects that go into make a border a 'border'. Having said that, once it came time for more recent 'borders' and the interplay of socio-political. economic, geographical, etc. factors, I believe the author tried very hard to be apolitical in such a way that it became political and the attempt to simplify nuance or draw equities between bordering lands became a detriment to his writing and his arguments.

This book explores the fascinating history of world borders, revealing how arbitrary lines on maps have shaped political identities and the world we know. From Roman times to the present, it examines the often-surprising stories behind these boundaries, highlighting human folly and the impact of historical events.

This is a fun book to read, full of fascinating facts that offer new perspectives on how we see the world. It’s written in a relatable, accessible style that will appeal to a lay audience.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This nonfiction book looks at various borders around the world in short, easy to read vignettes. I found this one so interesting! Elledge did a great job doing a combination of historical, modern, and potential future issues. I appreciate the nuance he brought to a lot of these topics, especially the more sensitive ones. I didn't really care as much for the ones about the prime meridian, international dateline, etc., but overall, I really enjoyed this collection. I also appreciated the length of each chapter as it was easy to read, and made it easy to put down when needed (but then also easy to pick back up!).

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great nonfiction read, not just about maps, but how the borders were created and why. So if you love history and geography (I do!), this is a great read. It’s written in a conversational tone. Reminds me of sharing cool things you have learned with friends.

Thank you NetGalley and The Experiment! #ABriefHistoryoftheWorldin47Borders #NetGalley.

"A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders" is a captivating book that offers a global tour through time. The book's conversational, clear writing, and delightful sense of humor make it an engaging and entertaining read. I recommend it to anyone with a passion for maps, as it provides a unique perspective on the historical and geopolitical implications of the world's borders. The book is a rich source of both well-known events and lesser-known tidbits, expanding the reader's historical and geopolitical knowledge.

My only complaint is that there needed to be more maps; it would have made a few chapters easier to visualize.

Many thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. And thank you, John Elledge! I eagerly anticipate the next book's release to delve even more into history and random snippets!

I loved this book. The writing is conversational in tone and very clever. The geography and history of borders are explained well. Jonn Elledge displays a great sense of humour and even the footnotes are well worth reading. The book is well-paced and never gets bogged down in minutiae. Indeed, I would describe the writing as crisp. The maps were excellent, important for a book about borders. I recommend this book for anyone interested in geography or history. Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for the advance reader copy.

Some really fascinating things i'd never heard of, but very dry. Took me forever to read. Still, I have used some of this information in conversation already, so it's worth the read!

This was such a great read! I love geography and history so this was right up my alley. The bite sized chapters made it easy to read whenever I had the time, and all the stories were very interesting. I also enjoyed the humor sprinkled throughout.