626 Revista del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos Núm. 2 / 2013 Santos Castro Fernández. ROBERT D. KAPLAN BOOK REVIEW Last August, the publisher RBA presented in Spain Robert D. Kaplan’s book entitled: “The Revenge of Geography”, with the very illustrative and provocative subtitle, “What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate”. In his work, Kaplan gives us the opportunity to return to century-old, but still relevant analyses and debates on the impact of geography on the history of humanity and the coexistence or confrontation of nations, peoples and civilisations. And he does so accurately, without falling into the all-too-easy pitfall of simplistic geographic determinism. To the contrary, his emphasis on the impact of geography is influenced and balanced at all times by a permanent focus on the human factor and, moreover, an endorsement of the probabilistic determinism of R. Aron, of whom he claims to be a loyal follower. This book is packed with knowledge, enriched with brilliant strategic vision, evocative, daring in its predictions and rich in ideas, with which you may agree or disagree, but which are open to intense debate, in any event. Geography is the lens through which Kaplan sees the world; the vast geography that shapes spaces, connects large territories and sets boundaries; geography as the mother of history, as a backdrop to the unfolding of humanity. The reader will take great pleasure in finding history and geography reunited in the right balance, in line with the best tradition of the Annales School, one of whose founders - Fernand Braudel – Kaplan pays tribute to, acknowledging his indebtedness to his monumental work on the Mediterranean.
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