Description
Please note event tickets are neither exchangeable nor refundable.
Wednesday 20th November, 7.30pm
Backstory, 71 Balham High Road, SW12 9AP
We’re excited to welcome Jonn Elledge to Backstory to talk about the impact of borders–and the reasons behind those borders–on the world around us, both past and present.
About the book:
People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very different if a war or treaty or the decisions of a handful of tired Europeans had gone a different way. By telling the stories of these borders, we can learn a lot about how political identities are shaped, why the world looks the way it does - and about the scale of human folly.
From the Roman attempts to define the boundaries of civilisation, to the secret British-French agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, to the reason why landlocked Bolivia still maintains a navy, this is a fascinating, witty and surprising look at the history of the world told through its borders.
Tickets Available:
Ticket only - £15
Ticket & book ( RRP £25, to collect on the night) - £30