Book Review: A History of the World in 47 Borders - The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps by Jonn Elledge

Jonn Elledge has a witty and friendly tone. It skirts just the right line between trivia nerd and your favourite history teacher. He cheerfully points out the absurdities in history and swiftly pivots into the injustices of "Cartographic Colonialism". There are delightfully diverting asides and then we're brought right back into the horrors of a straight line.

The problem with history is that is is all a bit samey. Someone unities an country using violence and cunning thus setting up an empire that will last a thousand years - only for his heirs to immediately fall into civil war on his death. There's only so many times you can read about the bloody Habsburgs fucking over yet another country before it gets tiresome.

The borders of the world have little to do with geography and all to do with the mundanity of indifferent administrators carving up the world to fit into neat little boxes, regardless of the wishes of the boxes' inhabitants.

My only quibbles are that it could really do with a more illustrations. Sometimes only a picture of a map will do.