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Geography

Why It Matters
Series: Why It Matters
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( 103 ratings, 15 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Alexander B. Murphy explores the vital role of geography from its origins in primitive map-making to its relevance in understanding today’s rapidly changing world. The book delves into how geography explains the organisation and interconnectedness of people, environments, and places, shedding light on critical issues such as climate change, urbanisation, and migration. By revealing why geographic context shapes environmental and human affairs, this book highlights the enduring importance of geography in contemporary society.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2399
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in environmental studies, social sciences, and global affairs, as well as students and general readers seeking to understand the significance of geographical perspective in contemporary issues.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Ever since humans sketched primitive maps in the dirt, the quest to understand our surroundings has been fundamental to our survival. Studying geography revealed that the earth was round, showed our ancestors where to plant crops, and helped them appreciate the diversity of the planet.

Today, the world is changing at an unprecedented pace, as a result of rising sea levels, deforestation, species extinction, rapid urbanisation, and mass migration. Modern technologies have brought people from across the globe into contact with each other, with enormous political and cultural consequences. As a subject concerned with how people, environments, and places are organised and interconnected, geography provides a critical window into where things happen, why they happen where they do, and how geographical context influences environmental processes and human affairs. These perspectives make the study of geography more relevant than ever, yet it remains little understood.

In this engrossing book, Alexander B. Murphy explains why geography is so important to the current moment.

Series: Why It Matters

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    Graham Ward argues that the study of theology and religion, as a single academic discipline, plays a vital role in helping us to understand politics, world affairs, and the nature of humanity itself. Religion can be used to justify inhumane actions, but it also feeds dreams, inspires hopes, and shapes aspirations. By invoking a sense of wonder about the natural...
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  • Archaeology
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  • Geography
    Ever since humans sketched primitive maps in the dirt, the quest to understand our surroundings has been fundamental to our survival. Studying geography revealed that the earth was round, showed our ancestors where to plant crops, and helped them appreciate the diversity of the planet. Today, the world is changing at an unprecedented pace, as a result of rising sea...
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  • History
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  • Literature
    β€˜Facts alone are wanted in life,’ exclaims Mr Gradgrind at the beginning of Dickens’ Hard Times. Literature is not about facts alone, and – despite two and a half thousand years of arguments – no one can agree on what it is, or how to study it. But, argues Robert Eaglestone, it is precisely the open-ended nature of literature that...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

β€œThis is a wonderful brief guide to the uses of geography as a field of study at a time when it is all too necessary.” — John Agnew, UCLA β€œIn a world of increasing specialization, it is crucial to understand the connections between spaces, places, and nature, between war, climate change, and economic inequality. This must-read book provides a riposte to all those who criticize geography as a generalist subject.” — Linda McDowell, University of Oxford

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509523016

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 October 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly, Adult education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 122.0mm

Height: 188.0mm

Weight: 204g

Pages: 140

About the Author

Alexander B. MurphyΒ is Professor of Geography and Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Oregon.

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