Nonfiction

Divided: Why We're Living in an Age of Walls

Divided: Why We're Living in an Age of Walls

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  • Create Date：2021-08-13 05:50:51
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Tim Marshall
  • ISBN：1783963972
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Summary

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

New from the No。1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography

Which side of the fence are you on？

Every story has two sides， and so does every wall。 We’re in a new era of tribalism and the barricades are going up。

Money， race， religion， politics: these are the things that divide us。 Trump’s wall says as much about America’s divided past as it does its future。 The Great Firewall of China separates ‘us’ from ‘them’。 In Europe， the explosive combination of politics and migration threatens liberal democracy itself。

Covering China; the USA; Israel and Palestine; the Middle East; the Indian Subcontinent; Africa; Europe and the UK， in this gripping read bestselling author Tim Marshall delves into our past and our present to reveal the fault lines that will shape our world for years to come。

**** “Informative and timely … a readable primer on the world’s biggest problems” – Daily Express

‘A timely and exhilarating clamber over the walls of history’ – Peter Frankopan， author of The Silk Roads

“Accomplished， well researched and pacey … for anyone who wants to look beyond the headlines and explore the context of some of the biggest challenges facing the world today， it is a fascinating and fast read” – City AM

“Accessible and timely … ultimately， Marshall’s lesson is one that we should all heed: differences can be overcome” – Prospect

“A very knowledgeable， timely book and a good primer on current problems in a longer-term context” – Irish News

“Perceptive … Marshall examines the walls – physical， religious， ethnic， psychological – that fence people off or， at times， pen them in… He has written frankly about the world。 We deny this at our own peril” – The National

“Striking words … Tim Marshall performs the daunting， yet highly pertinent， task of trying to make sense of one of the biggest issues of our times: in a world that is increasingly globalised， a backlash apparently grows ever stronger。 By taking a global view， Divided successfully brings some much-needed perspective” – Northern Slant

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Reviews

Delia Smith ，

Good， but not as good as his other work。

Daniil Lanovyi ，

Couldn't stop thinking about this song while reading: "Why do we build the wallMy children， my children？Why do we build the wall？Why do we build the wall？We build the wall to keep us freeThat's why we build the wallWe build the wall to keep us freeHow does the wall keep us freeMy children， my children？How does the wall keep us free？How does the wall keep us free？The wall keeps out the enemyAnd we build the wall to keep us freeThat's why we build the wallWe build the wall to keep us freeWho do we Couldn't stop thinking about this song while reading: "Why do we build the wallMy children， my children？Why do we build the wall？Why do we build the wall？We build the wall to keep us freeThat's why we build the wallWe build the wall to keep us freeHow does the wall keep us freeMy children， my children？How does the wall keep us free？How does the wall keep us free？The wall keeps out the enemyAnd we build the wall to keep us freeThat's why we build the wallWe build the wall to keep us freeWho do we call the enemyMy children， my children？Who do we call the enemy？Who do we call the enemy？The enemy is povertyAnd the wall keeps out the enemyAnd we build the wall to keep us freeThat's why whe build the wallWe build the wall to keep us freeBecause we have and they have notMy children， my childrenBecause they want what we have gotBecause we have and they have notBecause they want what we have gotThe enemy is povertyAnd the wall keeps out the enemyAnd we build the wall to keep us freeThat's why we build the wallWe build the wall to keep us freeWhat do we have that they should wantMy children， my children？What do we have that they should want？What do we have that they should want？We have a wall to work uponWe have work and they have noneAnd our work is never doneMy children， my children！And the war is never won！The enemy is povertyAnd the wall keeps out the enemyAnd we build the wall to keep us freeThat's why we build the wallWe build the wall to keep us freeWe build the wall to keep us free" （c） Anaïs Mitchell 。。。more

Filipa ，

Gostei muito。 Podia ter mais mapas e incluir a localização detalhada dos muros。

Elizabeth Bridcut ，

Very readable。 I think being a journalist rather than a historian makes Tim Marshall's writing very accessible and he does sweeping overview very well。 Sobering and disturbing in places。 Very readable。 I think being a journalist rather than a historian makes Tim Marshall's writing very accessible and he does sweeping overview very well。 Sobering and disturbing in places。 。。。more

Paul ，

Prisoners of Geography was an interesting book， I felt it had a somewhat flawed premise which it relied too much on， but was still worth a read。This isn't。 If ever there was a subtitle not lived up to it's this， because at no point does Marshall bother to address the 'why' element。 Instead all we have is a quick tour of major geo-political issues in the world， with a slight attempt to tie a 'wall/borders' theme into each。 There's very little analysis， and certainly no coherent thesis tying anyth Prisoners of Geography was an interesting book， I felt it had a somewhat flawed premise which it relied too much on， but was still worth a read。This isn't。 If ever there was a subtitle not lived up to it's this， because at no point does Marshall bother to address the 'why' element。 Instead all we have is a quick tour of major geo-political issues in the world， with a slight attempt to tie a 'wall/borders' theme into each。 There's very little analysis， and certainly no coherent thesis tying anything together。If you're interested enough in international politics to pick up this book， then you'll already be utterly familiar with the top-level summary of the various geo-political issues given here。 Save your time and read a book that actually has something to say。 。。。more

Kevin ，

Reading the first two chapters （China and the USA）， I began to think this was just Marshall's previous work， "Prisoners of Geography，" but constructed walls instead of geographic ones。 The Israel & Palestine chapter， followed by the Middle East， The Indian Subcontinent， Africa， and Europe chapters， proved me absolutely wrong。 This is thoughtful work that added greatly to my knowledge and understanding of these regions and many of the problems they confront。 While I know some readers have suggest Reading the first two chapters （China and the USA）， I began to think this was just Marshall's previous work， "Prisoners of Geography，" but constructed walls instead of geographic ones。 The Israel & Palestine chapter， followed by the Middle East， The Indian Subcontinent， Africa， and Europe chapters， proved me absolutely wrong。 This is thoughtful work that added greatly to my knowledge and understanding of these regions and many of the problems they confront。 While I know some readers have suggested this book is "shallow，" I found it to be nuanced enough for someone first encountering some of these nuanced problems and would suggest this to anyone looking for global context。 While "Prisoners of Geography" remains Marshall's most important work， this is a fantastic companion。 。。。more

Robert Cain ，

Difficult divisions have been a fixture of humanity for centuries; conflicts fought over territory， ideologies and other differences line our history books。 While the 21st Century offers the longest period of continuous peace in history， there are many signs of a new direction。 With walls， fences and other expensive barriers rising up， Tim Marshall is back to help us understand why this is happening。 What has sparked an increasing nationalism and how do historical events tie into this？ The answe Difficult divisions have been a fixture of humanity for centuries; conflicts fought over territory， ideologies and other differences line our history books。 While the 21st Century offers the longest period of continuous peace in history， there are many signs of a new direction。 With walls， fences and other expensive barriers rising up， Tim Marshall is back to help us understand why this is happening。 What has sparked an increasing nationalism and how do historical events tie into this？ The answers vary depending on where you are in the world。Much like “Prisoners of Geography” before it， “Divided” features a set of examples laid out with anecdotes and historical context。 Through the use of demographic data， news sources and accounts from major diplomats the amount of detailed information on display is stellar。 The question of what to do about each of the major divides is also discussed without leaning towards one side over another。 The series of world systems is certainly a complicated one， but the author allows many readers to navigate it along with him。 Many contemporary events are referenced that will be familiar to anyone following global affairs in recent years。In each case study， a component of division persists; one moment we’re looking into the tribalism that splits up much of the African continent and the next we examine the stark contrast of class and religion。 Marshall never bogs down into political discussions and also looks into the psychological side of things; that fear of the other， the sense of “us and them”， these approaches have consequences in both the long and short-term。 The book’s only weakness is how outdated it may feel to those reading a few years later。 It may need an update at some point in the next decade。 Recommended？YES: Marshall’s take on the modern age of division is a timely and incredibly relevant book， one which deftly balances history， societal divides and commentary to great effect。 The author relays his knowledge across a wide array of nations and conflicts; he’s both truthful and unbiased in his presentation。 This book is a must-read for anyone who follows world events， especially those who study the topic of geopolitics 。。。more

Izzy ，

not as good as prisoners of geography but still v interesting sometimes he was just stating the ovbious lmao

Carianne Carleo-Evangelist ，

I always enjoy Tim Marshall's writing， and this was no different。 He addressed the historical and current walls around the world and， most importantly， what they accomplish and what they don't。 While all of this was great， I most enjoyed the info on Nagaland and the Rohingya as they're discussed so much less than say the Berlin/US & Mexico War or the Separation Line between Israel and the West Bank。 Marshall also revisited Africa and the metaphoric walls that colonialism put on the tribes' lands I always enjoy Tim Marshall's writing， and this was no different。 He addressed the historical and current walls around the world and， most importantly， what they accomplish and what they don't。 While all of this was great， I most enjoyed the info on Nagaland and the Rohingya as they're discussed so much less than say the Berlin/US & Mexico War or the Separation Line between Israel and the West Bank。 Marshall also revisited Africa and the metaphoric walls that colonialism put on the tribes' lands and how that also intersected with the Middle East and the Kurds' plight。 While I had no particular interest in another read about Trump's Border Wall， I enjoyed his exploration of the changing landscape of the EU set against the formation following German reunification。 We knew from Brexit that there were issues， I don't think I realized the scope of them beyond the goal of stemming the flow of migrants。 It's going to be an interesting next century 。。。more

Junaid Awan ，

Finished this 2nd book of Tim Marshall。 It's a decent read though a bit dry as compared to his "Prisoners of geography"。This book explores how we have lived for centuries down the history lane inside walls and gated communities and why this trend is on the rise since 20th century。Besides discussing Physical walls like Hadrian wall in UK， The Great wall of China， Berlin wall or Iron curtain after 2nd world War， Fences along India， Bangladesh and Pakistan， Barriers between Middle Eastern countries Finished this 2nd book of Tim Marshall。 It's a decent read though a bit dry as compared to his "Prisoners of geography"。This book explores how we have lived for centuries down the history lane inside walls and gated communities and why this trend is on the rise since 20th century。Besides discussing Physical walls like Hadrian wall in UK， The Great wall of China， Berlin wall or Iron curtain after 2nd world War， Fences along India， Bangladesh and Pakistan， Barriers between Middle Eastern countries， Division between Israel & Palestine， dilemmas after colonial rules & Europe's physical separations despite of European UnionTimAlso discussed certain imaginary walls that are always there because of religions， ethnicities， economics， cultures， caste systems and politics in all of the above areas & which are way more challenging。He touched the hot issue of immigration and refugees settlement， their integration into European countries， response of natives and its repercussions。。。 70 % of the book I found quite interesting and while reading few chapters I just went through those with out going into details， skipping some portions which didn't tickle my interest。Overall it's an easy and short read。 。。。more

Marek Wójtowicz ，

Důležitá kniha。 Vřele doporučuji všem lidem， které zajímá dnešní velmi globalizovaný a tedy i propojený svět， který se ale čím dál více paradoxně zároveň začíná， bohužel， štěpit （i uvnitř dosud nevídaných celků）。Od britského autora Tima Marshalla jsem již zhltnul úplnou must-have knihu podobného ražení - V zajetí geografie。 Autor opět dokazuje， jak je schopen širší veřejnosti přiblížit důležité fakta a myšlenky ohledně dnešního komplexního světa。 Kniha je čtivá， rozdělena do jasných kapitol a s Důležitá kniha。 Vřele doporučuji všem lidem， které zajímá dnešní velmi globalizovaný a tedy i propojený svět， který se ale čím dál více paradoxně zároveň začíná， bohužel， štěpit （i uvnitř dosud nevídaných celků）。Od britského autora Tima Marshalla jsem již zhltnul úplnou must-have knihu podobného ražení - V zajetí geografie。 Autor opět dokazuje， jak je schopen širší veřejnosti přiblížit důležité fakta a myšlenky ohledně dnešního komplexního světa。 Kniha je čtivá， rozdělena do jasných kapitol a s názornými mapkami。 Možná bych při popisu oněch hrůzných （fyzických） zdí přivítal více než jednu fotku na začátku kapitol pro živější představu。Kniha mi určitě ukázala， že dnešní svět je více rozdělený， než jsem myslel。 Ne pouze fyzickými， ale i psychickými a dalšími "čárami"， které se při spojení a velké síle zhmotní v betonové zdi。 Dodnes si vzpomínám na moment， kdy jsem poprvé spatřil zeď mezi Izraelem a Palestinou， a jak stísněný pocit se mě tehdy zhostil。 Fakt， že v období po druhé světové válce došlo k až skokovému růstu budování zdí v posledních 20 letech je hrůzný。Ve mně samotném kniha zanechala dvě věci。 Kromě znalostí je to i pocit nutnosti a víry svět kolem sebe pojit。 Začít může každý。 。。。more

Rina ，

I liked this book， it made me think and it made me uncomfortable， it challenged some of my views and made me put myself in other people's positions。 This book is not perfect but what book about current politics is？ I think Tim Marshall does his best to stay objective and even though his opinions/stances are noticeable （how could they not be？）you can still separate what is fact from his thoughts。 The book's lesson is that a lot of issues are more nuanced than we think and that we should be lookin I liked this book， it made me think and it made me uncomfortable， it challenged some of my views and made me put myself in other people's positions。 This book is not perfect but what book about current politics is？ I think Tim Marshall does his best to stay objective and even though his opinions/stances are noticeable （how could they not be？）you can still separate what is fact from his thoughts。 The book's lesson is that a lot of issues are more nuanced than we think and that we should be looking for solutions instead of blame and punishment。 Of course， what this book is missing is the way the world got affected by Covid which of course strengthened every wall there is。 Nobody could've predicted the way the world has changed now but the fact that a lot of the things the world is struggling with now were already in motion in 2018 and 2017 is eye-opening。 Covid accelerated a lot of things and made them visible but they aren't really new。 。。。more

Lucy ，

Informative， unbiased and thoughtful book。 Hugely important pressing topics that separate humankind and threaten to destroy us。 Could do with revision of some more recent examples but his words still stand。 These issues need resolving。 How these current issues are dealt with will determine our future and I hope the leaders of our countries are considering the thoughts of people like Tim。

Kyle ，

An interesting look at how different cultures view borders and the impacts of "walls" on Homan behavior。 An interesting look at how different cultures view borders and the impacts of "walls" on Homan behavior。 。。。more

Narin ，

Quite a disappointment reading after Prisoners of Geography’， there is much less analysis compared to the Prisoners of Geography but also the welter has a shallow aproach to such an important question

George Stoian ，

O carte excelenta。

Anna Mezhova ，

3，5 stars。 Not bad， but not nearly as good as his other book， 'Prisoners of Geography。' 3，5 stars。 Not bad， but not nearly as good as his other book， 'Prisoners of Geography。' 。。。more

George Cook ，

Some chapters were much more engaging than others。 I loved the chapter on the berlin wall and Ireland。

Alejandra Miled ，

This is the book that got me into politics and international relations。 even mentioned it in my motivation letter！ i will be giving it a reread this summer before （finally） studying IR :）

amberrr ，

thank god it’s over。 ugh i did not like this one bit。 2/5

MR C D PITMAN ，

Interesting analysis and thought-provoking conclusion， but I generally found Prisoners of Geography a more interesting concept。

Sonakshi ，

Very average， dry book as compared to Prisoners of geography。

Inês ，

"Divided" provides an exciting and compelling overview of the walls that have divided us through time and continue to do so presently。 It is a wonderful book for all those who love geopolitical science an it is an incredible addition to those who have read "Prisoners of Geography"。 "Divided" provides an exciting and compelling overview of the walls that have divided us through time and continue to do so presently。 It is a wonderful book for all those who love geopolitical science an it is an incredible addition to those who have read "Prisoners of Geography"。 。。。more

Anghel Marius ，

O carte informativa care ne arata， din punctul meu de vedere， cat de superficiale si cat de serioase sunt temele care ne despart in epoca moderna。 Temele care ne fac sa construim ziduri intre noi。

Rita Malcata ，

Good， general book to help you think about today's society Good， general book to help you think about today's society 。。。more

Dave ，

I just read Prisoners of Geography last week and with both books I had to ignore some serious pet peeves of mine to make it through。 This guy's at least a little smarter than the average mainstream political analyst but that's obviously not saying a whole lot these days。 There's just a ton of praise for things that any sane person shouldn't be supporting。 In some cases he just seems to be compromising with things he doesn't necessarily agree with in order to be more "realistic"， in other areas h I just read Prisoners of Geography last week and with both books I had to ignore some serious pet peeves of mine to make it through。 This guy's at least a little smarter than the average mainstream political analyst but that's obviously not saying a whole lot these days。 There's just a ton of praise for things that any sane person shouldn't be supporting。 In some cases he just seems to be compromising with things he doesn't necessarily agree with in order to be more "realistic"， in other areas he really doesn't seem to get it。 I have very little patience for the idea that we need to be nicer to right-wingers so that we don't push them even further away。 He believes， or at least pretends to believe， that people who vote for Trump and other "crypto" fascist psychopaths have respectable reasons to do so and therefore shouldn't automatically be treated as bigots， as if it's okay to ignore the racist and ecocidal tendencies of a candidate as long as you like their economic policies， which also don't make any sense if you know anything about that by the way。 Sorry but there's just nothing respectable about it at all， and from my experience， I'm pretty confident that being nice to these assholes doesn't make them any more likely to listen anyway。 Their fundamentalist brains just aren't wired for reason。 He also buys into the idea that economic growth and increasing levels of technological dependency are "progress" （an admittedly popular idea， unfortunately） and at one point even talks about the need for the Japanese to increase their birth rate to keep their economy "healthy。" I mean， If intelligent people can't even agree that less human beings consuming less stuff is a good thing at a time when we're causing so much damage to the world that it's leading to a sixth mass extinction then I don't think there's much hope for anything。 He's just totally missing the bigger picture。 In case anybody's wondering， I come at this from sort of an anarcho-primitivist perspective。 I'm not entirely comfortable with that label though， having had a lot of disagreements with others in that category。 I don't think we're going to all be hunter-gatherers any time soon， and I don't think burning it all down and expecting the tree-huggers to be the sole survivors of collapse is a good strategy either。 It puts me in kind of a funny position where I ultimately want low-tech， localized lifestyles without any authorities large enough to even be called "governments" but tend to support progressive politics that depend on bigger governments to enforce their environmental regulations and global agreements， and to subsidize projects for rewilding ecosystems and transitioning farmland to permaculture， as well as things like the technologies that can automate jobs in the short-term to take the pressure off workers who currently will defend their livelihoods no matter how destructive and pointless they know they are。 These clearly aren't opinions that most people will agree with but this is what I think about when reviewing books on here。 With this one， I at least appreciate how much he summarizes about what's going on with geopolitics and can say it's worth a quick read for that。 I just can't say that I agree with his solutions。 If your views are a little more normal than mine then you probably will though。 。。。more

Riddhi ，

This book was a great （and accessible） introduction to geo-politics。 I liked that Marshall situated the nuances underlining the rise of nationalism and identity politics within a regional and historical framework， instead of painting both with a broad brush。 Whilst he still highlighted the shortfalls of both movements， I also learnt a lot about the symbiotic relationship between the two。 It is difficult to condense a global history of national and international conflicts within 280 pages， but I This book was a great （and accessible） introduction to geo-politics。 I liked that Marshall situated the nuances underlining the rise of nationalism and identity politics within a regional and historical framework， instead of painting both with a broad brush。 Whilst he still highlighted the shortfalls of both movements， I also learnt a lot about the symbiotic relationship between the two。 It is difficult to condense a global history of national and international conflicts within 280 pages， but I think he did it quite well。 There is a lot of focus on political events in the 2010s， and with reason， but including some more historical context would have made for a more comprehensive understanding of regional affairs that are fairly niche。 For example， ethno-national divisions in China and Europe today are rooted in an intricate history （the latter also embroiled in a colonial legacy）， which was sometimes glossed over。 Overall， though， I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the concept of 'borders'， as a good toe-dip in the sea of IR。 。。。more

Scarlett ，

“the human condition means we may never achieve complete unity， but that does not remove the obligation to try”

Rahman Sorosh ，

I would have given it 5 stars but there are some points in the book which I completely disagree with。 However， before mentioning why I disagree with certain points， I would like to first write that this book is really informative and a must-read for students of IRSo The points i disagree with are: First the biased views of the author about Islam。Particularly the author incorrectly mention that Quran views Cristians and Jews and inferior people。 （I don’t know if the Author has truly read the Qura I would have given it 5 stars but there are some points in the book which I completely disagree with。 However， before mentioning why I disagree with certain points， I would like to first write that this book is really informative and a must-read for students of IRSo The points i disagree with are: First the biased views of the author about Islam。Particularly the author incorrectly mention that Quran views Cristians and Jews and inferior people。 （I don’t know if the Author has truly read the Quran or not） Second， the author didn’t write in details， as I thought the Europe part in the book would be， about how the walls in Europe represent the hatred and the past rivalry between European states。 However， the author only mentioned the immigration as the sole cause of walls in Europe。 。。。more

Asta ，

"India is a magnet for migrants。 It is a democracy， there are laws to protect minorities， and compared to its neighbours it has a thriving economy。"Recommended for those interested in geopolitics。 This book offers a quick "bird's-eye view" of walls and borders around the world。 It presents both the historical context， and the changing situation in XXI century。 Some walls are famous - from the Great Wall of China to Trump's （in）famous wall。 Some border conflicts are also very well-known， such as "India is a magnet for migrants。 It is a democracy， there are laws to protect minorities， and compared to its neighbours it has a thriving economy。"Recommended for those interested in geopolitics。 This book offers a quick "bird's-eye view" of walls and borders around the world。 It presents both the historical context， and the changing situation in XXI century。 Some walls are famous - from the Great Wall of China to Trump's （in）famous wall。 Some border conflicts are also very well-known， such as Israel v Palestine。 Visible and invisible walls are appearing in the EU。 Brexit is also covered。Something which I did not know much about - India's walls， especially the one along its border with Bangladesh。The chapter on Africa includes increasing numbers of internal walls around "gated communities" because of high levels of inequality。 The author tries to offer solutions in the concluding chapter。 However， while policy recommendations seem rational， they are quite hard to implement。"If we do not move money to where most people are， many people will try to move to where the money is。""In politics， the present is often more important than the future， especially when you want to be elected。" 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Divided: Why We're Living in an Age of Walls

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Divided: Why We're Living in an Age of Walls&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Divided: Why We're Living in an Age of Walls&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0