The Edge of the Plain

SHORTLISTED FOR SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL NON-FICTION BOOK AWARD 2023 No matter where you turn, it seems that the taut lines of borders are vibrating to - or even calling - the tune of global events Today, there are more borders in the world than ever before in human history. Beginning with the earliest known example, Crawford travels to many borders old and new: from a melting glacial landscape to the conflict-torn West Bank and the fault-lines of the US/Mexico border. He follows the story of borders into our fragile and uncertain future - towards the virtual frontiers of the internet and the shifting geography of a world beset by climate change. As nationalism, climate change, globalisation, technology and mass migration all collide with ever-hardening borders, something has to give. And Crawford asks, is it time to let go of the lines that divide us?

Auteur

James Crawford

Texte du rabat

In this book James Crawford argues that our enduring obsession with borders has brought us to a crisis point: that we are entering the endgame of a process that began thousands of years ago, when we first started dividing up the earth. Today, nationalism, climate change, globalisation, technology and mass migration are all colliding with ever-hardening borders. Something has to give. At stake is the future of the world as we know it. Borders are the ultimate test - can we let go of the lines that separate us? Or are we fated to repeat the mistakes of the past, as our angry, warming and segregated planet lurches towards catastrophe? Combining history, travel and reportage, The Edge of the Plain, takes us through the history of borders - from the first ever marker which denoted the edge of one land and the beginning of the next, to the walls going up around the world today. It is a story told in four parts: Making, Moving, Crossing and Breaking. Each part explores a different aspect of the lifecycle and experience of borders all around the world and throughout history - how they are created, how they can change and evolve, how they are crossed or breached, and, finally, how they are overcome or broken.