Discover Andrew Brooks’ top literary picks from his library, in our latest instalment of Writers’ Reads…
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Andrew Brooks is a regular columnist and book reviewer for Geographical. He is a reader in uneven development and deputy head of the geography department at King’s College London. Read on to find out eight of his top literary picks…
River of Shadows by Rebecca Solnit (2004)
I could have chosen any of Rebecca Solnit’sworks, but this book is my favourite – a biographical portrait of a photographer and inventor who explored the natural world.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
The definitive story of the African experience under colonialism. A timeless, short and powerful book.
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The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi (2020)
A must read for anyone that wants an accessible background for understanding the unfolding tragedy in Gaza.
For Space by Doreen Massey (2005)
A foundational human geography classic.
Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis (2002)
This book exposes the cruelty of imperial capitalism and the way disasters are made by social rather than environmental forces. I’ve always used it to start my first-year teaching as it challenges new university students to think differently about geography.
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf (2015)
An expertly crafted biography. Humboldt’s explorations in the Americas provided the blueprint for modern environmental science.
Legacy of Violence by Caroline Elkins (2022)
Provides a clear-eyed description of the true impacts of imperialism. This history helps explain how Britain is viewed around the world and challenges national myths around Churchill and other tyrants of colonialism.
Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi (1994)
This is the book that I always give as a gift, first as it’s a fabulous read, a proper page-turner of a novel. Second, because the testimony feels timelier than ever, as the story of a journalist witnessing Portugal descending towards fascism is a cautionary
