The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization's Rough Landscape

by H.J. de Blij

The world is not as mobile or as interconnected as we like to think. As Harm de Blij argues in The Power of Place , in crucial ways--from the uneven distribution of natural resources to the unequal availability of opportunity--geography continues to hold billions of people in its grip. We are all born into natural and cultural environments that shape what we become, individually and collectively. From our "mother tongue" to our father's faith, from medical risks to natural hazards, where we start our journey has much to do with our destiny. Hundreds of millions of farmers in the river basins of Asia and Africa, and tens of millions of shepherds in isolated mountain valleys from the Andes to Kashmir, all live their lives much as their distant ancestors did, remote from the forces of globalization. Incorporating a series of persuasive maps, De Blij describes the tremendously varied environments across the planet and shows how migrations between them are comparatively rare. De Blij
also looks at the ways we are redefining place so as to make its power even more potent than it has been, with troubling implications.

Genres: Geography, Nonfiction, History, Sociology, Economics, Politics, Maps

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2008

About the author

Harm J. de Blij (see IJ (digraph); closest pronunciation: "duh blay") is a geographer. He is a former geography editor on ABC's Good Morning America. He is a former editor of National Geographic magazine and the author of several books, including Why Geography Matters.

Dr. de Blij is a Distinguished Professor of Geography at Michigan State University. He has held the George Landegger Chair in Georgetown University's school of Foreign Service and the John Deaver Drinko chair of geography at Marshall University and has also taught at the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Miami.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard of the late Harm de Blij because of the wine-tasting event in a box that comes with a video he narrated, and even with my lack of interest in wine, his charm came through. But I had not read any of his work, so when I saw this book in Modern Times bookstore, I decided to buy it. Just now I read online that this title was shared with a PBS series he created, so I guess I should pay more attention to TV after all.

Being a lifelong geography nerd, I really enjoyed and appreciated this book. He had a great authorial voice, I will probably seek out other work by him (possibly including that TV series).

R.I.P., Harm de Blij, and thanks for leaving us your body of work.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I was very put off by Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat," and judging by the title - The Power of Place - I thought I would find the perfect rejoinder in this book.

(If you want a good rejoinder, read this PDF: http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/document... )

All that said, I was supremely disappointed by the book. I can't say I learned anything from it. The most interesting parts of the books were the occasional maps; outside that, I don't think de Blij adds much to the debate.

And while I disagree with Friedman's premise (or at least find it highly misleading), at least he is a good writer. The Power of Place plods along at an uninspiring pace, jumping around from topic to topic before devolving into nothing more than a laundry list of all the reasons why it sucks to be a "local" rather than a "mobal" (or whatever he calls them).

A great idea for a book -- really weak execution. Quite unfortunate, given my interest in the 'power of place.'

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been a long while since I read this book, but a key part of it comes to mind frequently. This is perhaps because we were fortunate to bring Dr. de Blij to our campus shortly after this was published, and I can remember him writing these words as he delivered his talk: GLOBAL, LOCAL, MOBAL (that last one being a word he coined).

Many of my friends are MOBALS in his model -- people who build connections far beyond the LOCAL communities in which they are raised. Often these are people who enjoy welcoming visitors, reading widely, and making connections. As a geographer, I rely on such people and count them among my closest friends -- though we. spend most of our time thousands of miles apart.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

De Blij a naturalized American, who was born in the Netherlands, is a Professor of Geography at Michigan State. He is the author of many articles and books including Why Geography Matters. For seven years he was the geography editor for ABC's Good Morning America.

The objective of The Power of Place is to partially refute Friedman's The Earth is Flat. De Blij's point is that all people are not favorably affected by globalization because they do not live in the right place or because of many other reasons outlined in the book. He divides humanity into three classes: locals, mobals and globals. Most people are locals, they rarely go far from their birth place. Mobals also do not stray far from their birth place but are fortunate enough to be able to partake in the economic advantages of globalization. Globals, as the name implies, travel far from their birth place and take full advantage of globalization. Globals are a very small minority.

De Blij's most useful and powerful observation is a map divided between the core and the periphery. The core consists of wealthy areas such as Australia, Singapore, Japan, Canada, the United States, Europe and Israel. The periphery consists of the rest of the world where most people live. Thus, the power of place; you have a much better chance of an economically satisfying life if you are lucky enough to be born in the core.

But, there are many other conditions that make it impossible to take advantage of globalization. If you know English as a first or second language you will be better off. If your religion does not restrict gaining knowledge you are better off. Your health affects your ability to participate in globalization. You may be so unhealthy, as are persons with severe malaria, AIDS and TB that you physically can not take part. If your periphery area is frequently at war you are out of luck. You are much more likely to share in the benefits of globalization if you live in a major city especially San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Mexico City, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfort, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo or Seoul.

De Blij walks a fine line between revealing new and interesting ideas on the one hand and stating the obvious on the other. He does not always succeed. After all, we have known that the poor are always with us for more than 2,000 years. De Blij is strong on analysis and weak on recommended cures and reforms.

[Mike Whatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun! Place', the Earth's physical geography, shapes global society. The world, we learn, is not flat but is indeed a rugged terrain, in which climate, topography, natural hazards, pathogens and much more, shape economy, politics, language, culture, and power. The Power of Place is a treat for the specialist and a thrilling eye-opener for the general reader." --Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive look at how geography and locations play a role in every aspect of the world in terms of migrations, religion, economics, cultures, and equality. A good introduction for those curious about geography and the scope of geography outside of "memorizing states and capitals." Plenty of case studies to give you examples of his theories and claims around the world.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the basic premise of this book, that geographical factors of various kinds make the world "rough" rather than "flat" for the vast majority of people. The author provides good examples and the maps really brought the concepts across well. I'm troubled by the author's somewhat sly hostility toward religion. WHile I can agree that violent and/or deeply intolerant religious ideas do much to make the place a more dangerous place, I think the author puts too much emphasis on the problems created by religion while allowing other strong cultural factors a by. Overall, this is a fairly basic geography overview of some of the major factors that lead to inequality in the world. The most important lesson reinforced here is that no one is "self-made" and the poverty and disadvantage are just that, disadvantageous. Worth reading, but when the author strays into philosophy, I got frustrated.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband made me read this because he's a huge fan of De Blij. Frankly, the overall argument was nothing new to me, and I agree with it. It was backed up with a litany of facts (sometimes it reads like a list), some facts new to me, some not. The writing style is pretty dry and academic. Since he's a geographer, he deals mainly in generalizations, which is sometimes annoying to me since my academic background is anthropology. But, if you're a "facts junkie" like my husband, you'll like it.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tell me something I didn’t already know. I suppose this book would be adequate for a layperson or college student, but as a social studies teacher I didn’t find much new information here. I honestly don’t know what all the fuss was about this book. It came so highly recommended, and it was disappointing. The information is now a bit dated as well. The author harps on the same theme redundantly throughout the book. Globalization is overrated and people are still fundamentally local in their outlook. I get it. I already knew that. The author uses too many made up words like unflat, mobals, and globals. He has some disturbing anti-religious biases. He laughably claims that teaching your children the fundamentals of your religious traditions is psychologically damaging to them. He over-generalizes and doesn’t always support his claims. He has trouble separating his politics from objective social science analysis.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the point being made but sometimes the author sites data from the early 1980's or further back and it actually takes away from the force of his argument. His core premise is correct, as I have seen it in both my domestic (U.S.) and world travels, but a stronger argument with strictly newer data could have been made.

If this subject is new to you, or a point of view you had to considered, so give this a read.

[Alex Broughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Friedman declared that the world is flat, but Harm de Blij begs to differ. de Blij's basic premise is that Friedman's premise is based on the cosmopolitan people New York Times reporters tend to interact with. de Blij goes into detail about how the vast majority of people never leave their home country (and often even their home district) for a wide variety of reasons from religion to natural and political barriers. Overall, a convincing case that the world is not actually flat.

[Scott C · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're not into geography I would say you may dislike this book a lot more. Harm De Blijj has mostly a western view of geography, but does a great job with discussing many current issues when it comes to modern geopolitics, geography, economics, and other human geography pieces.

He does clearly write like a professor.

[Philip Stouffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Larry- ok, but old news.

[David Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Power of Place by Harm De Blij is an interesting book that details the effects of globalization taking place in the world today. His primary thesis is that globalization is creating more wealth and opportunity for some who have opportunity to take advantage of it, but that the vast majority of the world is not benefitting. Rather they are falling further behind by comparison, and the barriers are growing larger. Throughout the book he uses 3 categories to describe different types of people. The first group of people are called ‘globals’ and they make up approximately 15% of the world population while controlling approximately 85% of the world’s wealth. The second, much larger category of people he calls ‘locals’, the people who are born in a place and extremely limited in opportunity and access to the ‘global core’. The third group he calls ‘mobals’. These are the small minority (3%) of the world population who are able to leave their country of origin and seek prosperity elsewhere. Throughout the book the author details the many barriers that locals face in accessing the ‘global core’. He includes chapters on language, religion, health, and sex and how these factors affect locals who consider becoming mobals. In later chapters, especially 8 and 9 he details how urbanism and economic development, while happening in the countries where locals reside, often does not benefit these people. As on the global scale, the local development leaves the poorest of the poor behind.

There were many parts of this book that were painful to read, particularly the hardships and conditions that locals face including disease and lack of rights and opportunity. As a middle class American, it is always shocking to consider the vast population of people that live in poverty throughout the world. The difficult thing about the book is that it is more descriptive than prescriptive. A lot of the problems outlined seem valid, but the reader is left feeling helpless. I have lately been reading a lot of economics and been slowly coming to an understanding that aid and relief cannot help the poor, only economic development will truly bring people out of poverty. But this book raised many facts and examples to show how this is often not the case. Many people end up working and living in terrible conditions in large chaotic cities. A few people at the top of the government end up making a lot of money, often through corruption, but the same pattern of the poor being left behind is consistent. The author concludes that the twin forces of globalization and urbanization will continue on in these areas, but it has not been determined whether this will be a positive thing for the people who live in the periphery of the global core. More thinking needs to be done to determine how to lower the barriers in many cases so those in poverty have greater opportunity.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book makes a number of important points that challenge the fashionable notion that the world is now flat, that ubiquitous affordable transportion and network technologies have leveled the world and created opportunity for all. His observations on the distribution and causes of income disparity between globals, mobals, and locals, on diplomats' willful ignorance or ignoring of geographic realities, and on the lack of progress toward eliminating some of the most crippling causes and contributing factors to poverty (infectious disease, ethnic strife) are all insightful. However, they lack the unifying power of a thesis or a call to action beyond the mere assertion that the world is in fact not flat.

This book disappoints most where the author appears conflicted, as if he longs to launch on all-out diatribe regarding the sins of religion inflicted upon on society, citing the popular fundamentalist atheist author Richard Dawkins, and just beginning to scold Pope Benedict XVI for simply re-iterating a basic article of faith long held by the Catholic Church. He should have either kept his presentation fact-based---which it was for the most part---or perhaps he should have simply written what he meant and contributed in a useful way to the dialogue on the role of religion in the modern world. As it stands, the work is a mixture of incompletely stitched, if valuable facts, arguably unsatisfying to those of the fundamentalist atheist bent, and just bordering on offensive to the sensitively religious.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book answers the question to which extent progress, economy and culture depend on geographical factors. The main message of the book: Yes, even in a globalized, interconnected world our geographical situation greatly determines our individual opportunities regarding wealth, education, health and freedom. Even more, today's world is strictly divided into the affluent core which are the industrialized/OECD countries and the fringe (developing countries). Addressing topics such as race, gender, education, or science de Blij clearly uncovers this division and explains how social and political structures today foster it even more.
Even though de Blij is a renown emeritus geography professor the book is easy to understand for non-geographers and takes you on a eye-opening journey through our so-called globalized world.

[John Grange · Rating 2 out of 5]

De Blij certainly debunked, albeit not very aggressively, the "world is flat" narrative surrounding globalization and international affairs. However the book lacked the depth and scholarship necessary to provide an adequate intellectual foundation for its premise. I also felt the prescriptions for the world's globalization-induced ailments were somewhat obvious and lacked novelty. Overall, I enjoyed the aspect of it that was more-or-less a survey of the global geopolitical environment. The maps, charts, and the overall subject-matter expertise displayed by De Blij made the read more enjoyable.

[Leanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

De Blij writes an interesting, though not terribly influential or groundbreaking work that supports the notion that locals, rather than "global core" dwellers or mobals, as he terms migrants, are unlikely to see a change in situation, other than for the worse, in the age of globalization. There's nothing new here, and I second those reviewers who learned little from his wide-reaching chapters. Each chapter, with a focus such as "religion," read like a freshman-level reader with generalizations and little specificity.

That said, I did appreciate his vocabulary and felt that at the least, I added to my lexicon, even if it didn't improve my global understanding.

[Pamela Arjona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was assigned to me by one of my favorite teachers in high school and it remains one of the most influential books I have ever read. I read it again about 4 years after the first time and I found it to be even better. it breaks down why place and geography matter so much to the world and globalization as it changes our environments and interactions. The older I get, the more I realize how accurate this book is. I also find myself quoting it and referencing it in conversations more than almost any other book I've read

[Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as a reminder that the world is not flat, "The Power of Place" makes a convincing argument. However, while the book contains much data and many factoids, the narrative fails to elicit emotional or visceral responses to it's many good points. The writing tends to be dry and is devoid of anecdotes which could draw the reader closer to its subject matter.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really fun to read a geography book again. I remembered why I loved the outlook of this discipline. deBlij was a geographer when I was so he must be older than the hills, but his writing was so intelligent and his reasoning so clear that I was amazed. I learned new things and remembered old things. Nice.

[John Wyss · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I liked this book, it had a lot of interesting ideas. I rated it lower because it was a little disjointed. Each chapter was like its own vignette, which would be fine except there wasn't a really strong thesis tying everything together. yes, the fact that place matters, and will continue to matter, is the central idea; it just wasn't as strong as it could be.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

great primer for geography learners, funny, compassionate, and up-to-date. you WILL need a magnifying glass for some of the maps though. Blows friedman's "world is flat" out of the water, read this by de blij instead of that bestseller drivel.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could give this 2 and 1/2 stars because certain parts were boring, certain parts were okay, but other parts were really interesting. But when I considered the book as a whole, I could only give it two stars.

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will admit, it was funny at some points. He was clever, insightful, and interesting. But the overall message of the book (facts and graphs aside) is not something we should have not figured out already on our own.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the book is that while globalization is in fact happening, it hasn't had any positive effect on the vast majority of humanity. It describes in detail how most peoples' lives are still laregly determined by the place they were born. Interesting, but dry and pessimistic.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world is not flat. A geographer knows! This is a very sensible approach to the many inequalities that remain unaddressed in our world. A sobering book. More thoughts: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

[David Wen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very broad brushed overview of the issues affecting various countries around the world. What's keeping them back and what others are doing right. If you're up to date on world events, there's not much there to pickup.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

An answer to Friedman's The World is Flat arguing that there are many natural, social, cultual barriers which still divide the world's citizens.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend it for understanding of international events, and business