The Lie of the Land

Maps are great, if shy, historians; their borders tell stories. Tales about the land, tales about people who drew them. They have lasting consequences. This book explores some of those borders with the most to tell us. History, biography and politics all play a part. Some of the oddest frontiers and some of the most painful consequences are examined, from Palestine to The Punjab, by way of Ireland, The Caucasus, The Balkans and Africa. Not all stories are peaceful, and the too-forgotten fights of the Opium Wars and Kurdistan are examined, along with the people who made the decisions.

This book is for anyone who has spent a happy hour reading a map, and wondering just how and why some of those lines got to be where they are - mostly boundaries, but also other oddities and curiosities, and for anyone perplexed by a news story from an exotic land, far away in place or time. Copiously illustrated with maps and pictures, it is illuminating, enjoyable and, hopefully, disturbing.