Golf and sex are about the only things you can enjoy without being good at, which must be the reason why a certain friend in Fairfield has been at them for so long. However, even all things that you're not good at must come to an end, which is why, via this blog, I keep introducing him to books that may interest him.
Tim Marshall's "Prisoners of Geography" is one such book. I bought it several months ago, and shortly afterwards bought the follow-up "The Power of Geography". Both are essential reading if you've finally given up on golf and sex and want to know what else is going on in the world.
You can also read it online here
Go straight to page 64, Des, to read, "Location, location,location. If you won the lottery, and were looking to buy a country to live in, the first one the estate agent would show you would be the United States of America." The same chapter ends with the words, "The Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck, in a double-edged remark, said more than a century ago that 'God takes special care of drunks, children and the United States of America.' It appears still to be true." Feeling better already about having left Australia, Des? You owe me a Coke!
Finally, here are two more video clips - not based on Tim Marshall's books - which explain today's two major flashpoints, Russia and China:
