A History of the World in 47 Borders
The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.99/mo for the first 3 months
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
A History of the World in 47 Borders
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jonn Elledge
-
By:
-
Jonn Elledge
About this listen
'Fascinating' TOM HOLLAND
'A delight from start to finish' MIRANDA SAWYER
'A novel and fascinating perspective on world history' BILL BRYSON
'By turns surprising, funny, bleak, ridiculous, or all four of those at once' GIDEON DEFOE
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.
Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about A History of the World in 47 Borders
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nick Walker
- 29-06-24
Pithy and informative
It's a breezy fascinating look at the world thru a powerful lens, works perfectly as thought provoking conversation. The quick chapters make for nice bite sized chunks to digest
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 24-09-24
A fascinating journey across the borders of the world and time.
Engrossed from the beginning, a great delivery by a passionate writer and delivered with a good dose of humour.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mick Kelly, author
- 01-07-24
Entertaining and informative book about a ridiculous subject
I laughed a lot while listening to this, and so will you if you enjoy the sight of puffed up, red-faced politicians, dictators and generals thumping the table while pointing at a map. Slightly sobering to remember how many people die as a result of the table-thumping.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. K. Sowden
- 17-01-25
Absolutely Fascinating!
Really interesting and lots of fascinating details. Lots of history, geography & geopolitics. Definitely recommended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- stating the obvious
- 07-04-25
thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking
occasionally amusing, thought provoking and very enjoyable ramble through the daftness of things that we don't often think about.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- MR D ROSCOE
- 28-07-24
Very breathless reading
Enjoyed listening to Mary stories and interesting background to international borders however I found it quite distracting at times but rather breathless reading often pausing for a breath mid sentence.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-07-24
Fascinating
Incredible level of detail communicated in an entertaining way. A very well researched work. Would definitely recommend it to people looking for an interesting read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-02-25
good but, badly produced narration
Very good book but the narratorion/production wasnt good at all. you could hear the narrator taking breaths after every sentence
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris King
- 06-02-25
Learn is fun when the delivery is spot on
An excellent book - informative, without being heavy on detail - and delivered as if Jonn was sat in the room, sharing in his droll/dry and often exasperated way, to show how bizarre a lot of the way we see the mapped world really is.
Poor, poor Liechtenstein
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- D.N.W.
- 21-02-25
Informative, witty, relevant
Very well put together, very informative on various border zones old and new and well read out - with a good dose of subjective comment which is serious. Enjoyed the dry humour. A book you will hear out to the end...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!