My new book
My new book
Sunday, 30 August 2009
I have written, edited and co-authored almost 30 books since my first book was published in 1979 (see HERE for details). I have never found this to be a particularly difficult task and I admit that I actually enjoy writing (maybe that is why I find writing weekly blogs on this website strangely therapeutic despite the many pressures on my time).
I suspect that writing a book is a bit like (I imagine) a pregnancy might be - a bit of initial fun and excitement as the idea first sees fruition, followed by months with no outings or normal social life, nights with too little sleep (and sometimes raised blood pressure), a long and uncomfortable wait, the intense pain of dealing with the final stages, and eventually the ecstasy of holding the little bundle in your arms for the first time. (I wouldn’t take the parallel too far of course; I have yet to try breast feeding any of the books I have written).
Like a pregnancy, however, each of the books I have written has been a labour of love - an often sacrificial investment of time, energy and creativity that is made in the sincere hope that the printed pages can convey the same love of learning and enthusiasm for the subject matter that I have felt personally. I always hope that the books I write will make learning easier and more enjoyable for the reader (and, if possible, a bit of fun), and that they will contribute something original that no other book has ever previously managed to do. For me as an educator, writing books seems like a great way to support and influence the next generation of learners in a way that extends well beyond the walls and confines of my own classroom.
My latest book, the completely re-written 5th edition of “Planet Geography” was published during the recent holidays. The book is intended to support the all-new International Baccalaureate Diploma Geography syllabus, the teaching of which commences in schools next week, with first examinations in May 2011. The book’s overall theme is the contemporary geographical challenges faced by people in today’s world, and it considers such diverse areas as population, development, environmental quality and sustainability, resource use, freshwater, the oceans, extreme environments, hazards and disasters, sport and tourism, food and health, urbanisation and globalisation. These are all areas that interest me deeply, reflecting as they do many of our wider focus areas in United World Colleges at the moment. Moreover, reflecting the new requirements of the International Baccalaureate, the book incorporates thorough ToK (Theory of Knowledge) perspectives in every chapter - sections which, as a practising ToK classroom teacher as well as a geographer, I gained huge pleasure from preparing.
The book is not small - it comprises 676 pages, and like the previous editions, it contains over 1,200 colour photographs that I have taken myself during many years of fieldwork and travel. The first edition of ‘Planet Geography” was published in 2002, the first book to be written in English specifically for IB Geography. I wrote it soon after I had finished my service as Deputy Chief Examiner for IB Geography between 1996 and 2001, and I did so as a way of giving something back to the subject that I loved so much. The book gained quick acceptance in hundreds of schools in many countries. This was followed by several subsequent editions; the 2nd edition in 2003, the 3rd in 2005 and the 4th in 2007. I am told that Planet Geography is now being used in 92 countries around the world.
I hope that the book will have a positive influence that extends well beyond its readers. As stated at the front of the book, “proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the establishment of medical clinics and improved health care in poor rural areas of China’s Guizhou province, as described in chapter 10”. The Guizhou medical clinics project is also described in the GCAT (Global Concerns Action Team) section of this website - for details, see HERE.
The book is supported by a DVD as well as its own website. On the website, additional details of the book can be found together with sample pages and medium resolution copies of every image that appears in the book. If you are interested, please have a look - the URL is www.planetgeography5.com.
And if you ever have the chance to see a copy of the book for yourself, please send me a note to let me know what you think.
As a footnote, Uzbekistan now joins the list of countries from which I have used one of my photos for the front cover of an edition of ‘Planet Geography’. Previous countries were New Zealand (1st edition), Switzerland (2nd edition), Iceland (3rd edition) and Malawi (4th edition).
The front cover of ‘Planet Geography’ 5th edition shows the dried up Aral Sea near Moynaq, Uzbekistan.