From Geopolitics to the Landscape: Dictionary of Geography
Publisher
:
Editions Armand Colin
Parution date
:
2003
EAN
:
9782200265380
Description
In his truly unique work of reference, Yves Lacoste sets out to record the set of words we use to describe our planet. De la Géopolitique aux paysages demonstrates how a geographical lexicon applies not only to the world’s physical characteristics, but also to its environmental, political, anthropological, economic, and cultural ones as well. Such a strategy permits Lacoste’s crystal clear entries to decipher complex territorial conflicts and delineate various tribes, all the while defining the differences between a river and a stream. The entries, which provide the meaning, etymology, and history of the words, offer both uncommon insights into the most familiar words (“mountain”), and introduce the reader to incredibly obscure terms (“elb” – dunes rendered rectangular and parallel by regular winds). Lacoste also tackles more abstract ideas, such as “war,” “globalization,” and “freedom,” seen through the lens of geography. The result is a stimulating journey over the hills and through the woods, an invitation to re-imagine the planet we live on and its profound effect on us.
Author
Yves Lacoste : Yves Lacoste is France’s most famed expert on contemporary geography. He is the founder and director of the magazine Hérodote, and won the Prix Vautrin Lud at the International Geography Festival in 2000. He has published numerous works including Dictionnaire de géopolitique (Flammarion, 1995), La légende de la terre (Flammarion, 1995), and L’eau des hommes (Le Cercle d’art, 2001).
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