Don't know much about....

One of my favorite kind of books is the sort that takes a different look at something commonly understood. One of the best examples is Plagues and Peoples, which considers the impact of disease on history. Why Geography Matters on the other hand, challenges you to think spatially. Given the near lack of geographical education in the US, it is not surprising that many people can't find China on the map. It is a bigger problem when policy makers fail to consider human and physical geography as seems to have happened in Iraq. As the Publisher's Review article mentions, many of his recommendations aren't that novel, but looking at information on a map is always interesting, at least to me. Building your geographic knowledge can also help out if you play on a trivia team too. If you are fond of geography, these quizzes will probably entertain you.