Linee invisibili: I confini e le frontiere che disegnano il mondo

by Maxim Samson

Il mondo è sempre più diviso da confini, frontiere, faglie, muri. Molti di questi non sono così facilmente riconoscibili, sono linee invisibili, divisioni a volte tanto sottili da risultare quasi impercettibili, eppure separano e dividono.
Con il geografo Maxim Samson andremo alla scoperta di molte di queste linee in modo sorprendente e originale.



La superficie del nostro pianeta è segnata da innumerevoli confini. Alcuni sono naturali, altri sono legati all'opera dell'uomo, marcati da frontiere, muri e barriere. Accanto a questi, ne esistono molti altri che sono meno scontati e tanto sottili da risultare quasi invisibili. Sono quelle linee che separano, dividono, porzioni del nostro mondo a vari dividono popoli, custodiscono identità e culture, sono capaci di generare tensioni e conflitti anche molto gravi.
Il geografo Maxim Samson esplora trenta di queste linee dalle correnti artiche o la 'cintura della malaria' a quelle che abbiamo segnato per circoscrivere gli effetti delle nostre azioni, come la 'zona rossa' di Černobyl o i cordoni sanitari del Covid. O le linee utilizzate per reclamare territori contesi, come quelle nella ex Jugoslavia o tra le gang di Los Angeles, o quelle che servono a definire e difendere le diverse identità, come il Bosforo, gli Urali o la 'Bible Belt'.
Queste linee compaiono raramente sulle nostre mappe fisiche e politiche, ma sono ugualmente rilevantissime in qualche parte del mondo perché segnano un qualche tipo di divisione tra un 'noi' e un 'loro'.
Originale e appassionante, questo libro è una guida indispensabile per osservare e comprendere il nostro pianeta in tutta la sua consistenza e in tutto il suo disordine.

Genres: Nonfiction, Geography, Politics, History

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 17, 2024

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was both very insightful and satisfying, and irritatingly dull at the same time.

It goes over probably 15 or so different global examples of borders, lines, zones, etc, such as the Chernobyl zone, the international date line, the tree line, an island in India that has an untouched civilization, etc. some examples were extremely boring, and there are way too many facts and historical retelling without enough insight, but other parts were quite interesting. There is no persuasive cohesive point behind the book, and overall the takeaway is that our world constructs lots of different lines, both based on environment, geography, etc but also made in the mind and difficult to destroy (such as divides in dialect or religion). It just read as a collection of articles, some of which are more interesting than others.

I did learn a lot about random things from this book so I’d say it’s worth a read

[David Sabater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una atractiva colección de 30 curiosidades geográficas, geopolíticas y urbanísticas que el autor agrupa bajo el paraguas de las "fronteras invisibles". Como en cualquier recopilación de este tipo, hay miniaturas más y menos interesantes, pero el resultado final es notable. Una grata sorpresa, pese a su feísima portada, más propia de un libro de texto de colegio que de una buena edición (tirón de orejas para Crítica en este aspecto).

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought this was a good glimpse into different lines dividing the world. Some are geographical, some are social, some are political. The vignettes were easy to read and shed some light on the nuances of what was on one side versus the other - I particularly enjoyed learning about Brittany and the Ural Mountains. Some were draggy (like the one about high and low German), but overall I found the book enjoyable.

[Montecristo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessante ed eterogenea lettura che parte da un concetto astratto per parlare di una miriade di diversi argomenti. Ovviamente si va poco in profondità, ma è un libro che può offrire diversi spunti per approfondimenti.

[Margaret Fast · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Unusual book. Part history. Part geography. Part philosophy. With the notion of lines, borders, boundaries holding it loosely together. Many interesting facts and factoids.

[Josu Garcia Artaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muchas interesantes líneas que no conocemos, que no sabemos dónde poner, pero que sabemos instintivamente que hemos cruzado cuando lo hacemos.

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uit Invisible Lines heb ik het één en ander geleerd. Dat mag ook wel, want het boek bestaat uit een dertigtal besprekingen van grenzen. Deze zijn niet allemaal even geslaagd: naar mijn aanvoelen zijn de eerste beter dan de laatste.

Soms komt Samsons proza wel erg geforceerd over - niet in het minst als hij aan het einde van een stukje de brug probeert te slaan naar de volgende grens. Zeker in een boek als dit is er niets mis met een scherpere afbakening van de hoofdstukken!

[Talia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was incredibly interesting, covering 30 "invisible lines" across our planet. It taught me a great deal and made me aware of many things I had not known before. I now have about 30 new things I want to learn more about, since this book just scratches the surface of each "barrier." Some were more interesting than others, and some were better explained than others, but overall, a really interesting read.

[Tamara]

I stopped reading this. It was okay, but I've always found that books about geography are a bit like so many books about history - a fascinating subject, but so hard to find good books about it. They're either written too dryly and are boring, or they're infected by socio-political views and preaching. This one is a bit of both, although the author does it very nicely.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book with some very interesting parts & some rather boring parts. It covered 30 instances of invisible lines in the world. Like a book of short stories, some parts were better than others.

[Benj · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of essays on the theme of geographical lines and boundaries; some more interesting than others, some cleverer than others. I enjoyed it.

[Steven Beningo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent geography book, examining a wide variety of demarcations.

[Heather King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and relevant insight into the world as it exists today - we should definitely be paying more attention to those lines that we can't see! I learned a lot from this book.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borders are more than geographic, Samson explores many of the other borders/lines that divide us. Fascinating observations