Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The room was small and shabby.

The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo

The Fog by James Herbert

The Influence by Ramsay Campbell

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

The Dark Country by Dennis Etchison

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

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The Man Who Went up in Smoke – 4/5 Stars This is the second of the Martin Beck books, and I’ve read about half of them now. This follows up Roseanna, the first of the books, and a strong entry into the series. I think this book is also quite strong, and like the other books in the series seems to be laying the groundwork for a lot of the ways these books have been so influential over the years. In this book, we follow […]

Flags Are Fascinating

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Best for: People interested in world politics. In a nutshell: Tim Marshall examines many (though not all) of the flags of nations, as well as flags of political movements and other organizations as a way to examine what these symbols mean to people. Worth quoting: “The people of the nations of Europe have stubbornly resisted becoming one, not because they don’t like each other but because they like themselves.” Why I chose it: I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Marshall’s examination of how geography influences world politics, […]

Geopolitics 101

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Best for: Anyone interested in a basic understanding of how the earth has influenced politics across the world. In a nutshell: Author Tim Marshall breaks the world into ten regions and gives an overview of how different geographic and cultural components (rivers, deserts, mountains, harbors, tribes) have affected different political decisions. Worth quoting: “The better your relationship with Russia, the less you pay for energy; for example, Finland get a better deal than the Baltic States.” “China has locked itself into the global economy. If […]



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