Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of Flags by Tim Marshall

Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of Flags Reviews

• 
  Noor

  My first impressions of this book were highly positive. Instantly, I imagined giving this book a rating of five stars. What drew me in the beginning was the chapter names; I really liked the way that the book was structured. The first few chapters were stimulating, concise, and highly educational; I certainly learned a great deal. Then, I reached the chapter on Arabian flags, and I spotted a few sloppy errors by the author that brought my initial impression down to four stars. And including Turkey and Iran in a chapter called 'Colours of Arabia'? At least change it to 'Colours of the Middle East'. The sloppy factual errors, while irritating and slightly orientalist, could still be forgiven. After all, the book was still highly engaging and informative.
  
  Then, I reached the 'flags of fear' chapter. Let's put aside the fact that the author chose to focus solely on flags purporting to represent Islam. Marshall meekly tried to defend this in the beginning by saying that, by focusing on Islam he was not singling it out, but he was making it more relevant to the reader and more relatable in terms of current affairs. So talking about Islam in an us-versus-them-way makes for a capturing read. Why couldn't he have included the Nazi and Communist flags here? It would have fit better and made for a more balanced chapter. But moving on.
  
  This chapter in particular is filled with so much orientalist writing that really put the book in perspective for me. The first thing he does is make ISIS sound like the biggest evil since the medieval times (hello Nazis and the KKK?) in a highly sensationalised opening paragraph.
  
  Later, he quotes a hadith that ISIS use for propaganda regarding following the black banners as behind them is a caliph. Never mind that ISIS may actually misquote this hadith and use it to try and lure followers; warping the truth is what they do best. But the author had an obligation at least to contextualise anything that he was quoting. In this particular instance, Muslims believe that the hadith refers to the coming of the mahdi (messiah) towards the end of time, something completely unrelated to the ISIS phenomenon. And the second hadith he quotes, regarding army under black flags coming from the east, actually comes from the same narration and refers to a time before the coming of the mahdi where Muslims will be killed by an army from the East bearing black banners. This actually works as a proof against ISIS, but this is not conveyed in Marshall's inclusion of it in the text. And by the way - yes, Muslims 'really do believe' in narrations regarding the end of the world. Maybe not exactly as the author has written them in his book, but his tone was extremely patronising nonetheless. Writers of academic pieces of work also have an obligation to be neutral and not let polemics interfere with their writing.
  
  All this made me realise that the author doesn't actually know much at all. He knows little bits of information about a lot of things and was able to make a book out of it. And there is a lot of danger in a little bit of knowledge. And then it got me thinking to the earlier chapters that I enjoyed so much; what if I enjoyed them because I actually know little about their history? What if he was also quoting some contested bits of information, or omitting crucial bits of context from some of his other explanations? At least with the chapters on Arabia and flags of fear, I was able to recognise some of the sloppy mistakes because of some background knowledge on them.
  
  All this aside, it is a highly accessible book. And I did still learn a lot. So I'm not sorry that I read it, but I am disappointed. But it isn't academic; it's a pseudo-intellectual book. While admittedly, academic books are usually dry, this book is contrastingly very easy to pick up and read. This has its positives of course, but can also be dangerous if this is what the lay person ends up reading and takes for gospel.
• 
  Greg

  This book reads as though it was written in the middle of the night by a smug and overconfident high school student on a deadline, simultaneously cherry-picking factoids from Wikipedia and the CIA World Factbook while augmenting the final word count with insipid opinions and weak humor. I give it one star only because zero is not an option.
• 
  Jack Vaughan

  Below average read. A disappointing offering from the author, prisoners of geography was a hugely captivating read, yet Tim Marshal's latest left me feeling underwhelmed.
  
  There were some genuinely interesting parts to the book, but there was also a great deal of unnecessary wish wash with generous helpings of under-researched bias.
  
  A book for the sake of sales only.
• 
  Bandit

  This is exactly the sort of nonfiction I love. Smart, educational without being pedantic, exceptionally well written, humorous and informative. Marshall is no stranger to politics and this book definitely showcases his erudite knowledge, this is geopolitics mixed in with historical data and even anthropology and sociology. Flags are crucially important not only as the emblems of nations, but also political and/or social parties, organizations, etc. They are wildly recognizable and imbued with a power far beyond their representational qualities alone. They also have fascinating backstories and wildly varied rules and regulations about their use. This book covers the entire globe, continent by continent, highlighting all of the major and some of the minor players, with the last chapter dedicated to the category of other...from rainbow flags to NATO. It's a journey around the world well worth taking with the Marshall as a travel guide. FYI...vexillology is a study of flags. So there, you just learned something new. Now read this book and learn a lot more, all presented in an engaging and entertaining manner all nonfiction should aspire to. Terrific book. Enthusiastically recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
• 
  Fábio de Carvalho

  Tim Marshall's bias is evident throughout this whole book that barely talks about flags, spending most of its time presenting the author's old man fallacious rants. The book is full of inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and opinions presented as facts. I do not recommend this book to anyone, ever.
• 
  Ana

  This is what it says on the cover: a book about flags. And a very good one at that. For someone with an insatiable curiosity like me, books such as this one are pure gems: they give me very useful information packaged in a highly appealing way. Marshall is a very good writer, and he can be incredibly funny - laugh out loud type of funny - even in a book about the history of flags. Do pick it up if you have the time, and definitely do pick it up if you're just interested in the subject - it's a very good place to start.
• 
  Karolína H.

  How does a piece of fabric inspire, frighten, unite, and divide entire populations?
  
  Tim Marshall’s book explores not only the historical contexts in which flags develop, but also how they gain the power to represent a nation’s cultural identity. Covering a range of (non-)state flags from around the world, the author touches upon, among others, the intricate symbolism of the Iranian flag, why the Union Jack doesn’t feature a dragon, and how to conduct a proper burial ceremony for the Stars & Stripes.
  
  This is a worthy read for anyone interested in politics & history, and a perfect one for vexillology enthusiasts.
• 
  Adam

  The only positive for this book is if one literally judges it by the cover. The dust jacket is a brilliant piece of aesthetic. Now put the book down and walk away. The only enjoyment a reader can possibly get has been had.
  What can be learned about flags from the point of opening the cover is a simple listing of the meanings of colors, research that could easily be completed in an hour on wikipedia.
  This reader foolishly persisted and was treated to numerous facile opinions on if a flag looked nice and if the author liked a country. Liked a country? Yes. As in does he enjoy the local food or is a fan of the national soccer team.
  Two sections of the book treat us to an Islamophobia-lite. For it is not enough to have "Colors of Arabia" but to have an entire section on flags of armed non-state organizations boiled down to armed non-state actors with Islam informing their ideology. The author has a ridiculous explanation as to why this approach is OK.
  The author has more pages devoted to the evils of Communism than to any one subject (14 total). He compares Communism to Nazis and ISIS (neglecting to mention 18 million Soviet citizens who died fighting Nazis in WW2 or that the most important resistance to ISIS grows out of the Kurdish PKK).
  14 pages of rants about the evils of Communism from a Yankeephile Brit.
  This is altogether too much like being back in 10th grade history class, complete with the srtoked-out former basketball couch stumbling into the classroom, drooling from one side of his mouth, pants zipper open, still drunk from last nights last call.
• 
  Swathi

  A book filled with intelligent trivia that's tainted by the author's commentary. Even for a geo-politics newbie like me, Marshall's biases were impossible to ignore. Perhaps if you avoid the 'Flags of Terror' chapter and the author's relentless obeisance to the United States, the book would make for a spectacular read. It's a treasure trove of the histories of nation's flags written in a highly capable journalist's immaculate way of stitching the world together. Unfortunately, those biases do exist, and the Flags of Terror chapter is a central part of the book, both of which fell uncomfortably on my boundaries of bearability.
  
  I've had my fair share of obsession with flags of the world, and questions like "Why are the Mexican and Italian flags so similar" have certainly entertained me. So this book was fantastic - at the least, it informed me on which questions were worth pondering more on and which of them were truly inconsequential (The Mexican-Italian coincidence, for instance.) The optimistic chapter on Central and South American flags (Flags of Freedom) and the chapter that quickly and efficiently analyzed the African flags were some of the high points of the read.
  
  If the narration hadn't so obviously been affected by Marshall's political views, this book would have been an instant recommendation from me. As it stands, I'll add the disclaimer and assert that it's still worth a read. However, I'd recommend one to read Prisoners of Geography first, Marshall's more recent release which, while still being opinionated, is more reasonably so.
• 
  Shaheer

  The book discusses an interesting topic and you learn a fair bit about the history and meaning of flags of countries, organisations, and institutions. I picked up this book having heard raving reviews about Prisoners of Geography, which I am yet to read.
  
  However, what irked me were areas where Tim discusses, often unrequired for the context of the book, the political and cultural positioning of countries. These areas appear to be based more on Tim's opinions rather than facts, contain inconsistencies and stereotypes, and make the book fall short of a good read.
  
  For example, Tim focuses on militant Islamic organisations in the chapter 'Flags of Fear'. The Nazi swastika or the KKK flag would've equally suited this chapter, but Tim only discusses them in the passing in other sections. In another instance, Tim confuses religious conservatism and fundamentalism by pointing out that a Muslim man "having a beard but shaving the top lip is a sure sigh that he is of a fundamentalist bent."
  
  Overall, The Power and Politics of Flags had a very western bias in writing. A more neutral approach would have indeed made the book more appealing.
• 
  Carlos

  Entertaining book, a little bit too much centered around the US and Europe but informative nonetheless. If you want a brief historical background about mot countries and why they chose the flags they did this is the book for you. Very brief mention about South American countries, African and Asian countries are underrepresented as well. the information was factual to the best of my knowledge .
• 
  Daniel Hrenak

  O chvíľu je olympiáda, majstrovstvá v hokeji, potom nejaký ďalší šport a možno nejaká návšteva pápeža... proste udalosti, na ktorých vlajka nemôže chýbať. Kde inde ju tak veľmi vnímate? Ak by ste boli američan, asi by to vnímali inak. Nemusela by to byť občasná hrdosť hej-národniara, ale každodenná pýcha a dôvod pre čo žiť. Ale odkiaľkovek človek je, ten kus farebnej látky má pre každého význam, pre ktorý je často ochotný položiť život. Na jednej strane vtipné, na druhej desivé. A pritom významu farieb a symbolov na tej látke rozumie málokto, esencii ale každý. A tak hoci by mala vlajka spájať, vo výsledku iba viac rozdeľuje. "A v-v-v-vo tom to celé je". Tim Marshall je must read, ak sa chcete troška viac orientovať v dnešnom svete.
• 
  Miranda Alford

  Thank you Emma for giving me this book, and as promised here’s the review!
  
  I thought it was highly informative and incredibly interesting, especially for someone like me who hoovers up facts like a well... hoover and spits them back out to people who are either willing or unwilling. For example, I bet you didn’t know that Bolivia has a Llama on their flag or the name ‘Union Jack’ originated from the jackstaff of a ship; I didn’t even know a jackstaff was a thing. I could literally go on but then you need to read the book yourself to get these snazzy facts that I now have. Mwhaha...
  
  Marshall’s style is incredibly easy to read and explains things in just the right detail so you’re not entirely in the deep end for any novices (like me) yet doesn’t get repetitive, so it certainly would be suitable for anyone interested in learning more about history and well flags.
  
  However some times I did feel that these facts and countries were just randomly thrown together just because he had these facts in the back of his brain and wanted to put them in a book. This wasn’t constant but there were certain points I was thinking ‘Huh?!?’. In particular Marshall mentioned something about beards showing tradition which was incredibly randomly placed and added absolutely nothing to the background of the flag or the country (in my humble opinion anyway). There were also parts that seemed added just because, like at the end of the book the International Flag of Planet Earth had only a couple of small paragraphs randomly inserted within the UN part. It didn’t seem fully necessary, and was kind of confusing as it didn’t fit at all, although admittedly what was there was interesting.
  
  This is me just being picky now but there were a couple of sentence mistakes I.e words that shouldn’t have been there or missing words as well which was a shame but it didn’t detract from the book at all though; just annoying.
  
  There was also only one page in the middle with the flag photos and because I’m no expert on flags I had to constantly keep on flicking back to that middle page to see what he meant -I mean that is a minor bug bear but it was a bit of a hassle and meant that I cracked the spine a LOT (anyone who knows me know I have a weird issue with cracking spines)
  
  So, overall I thought it was a pretty decent book and I have learnt a lot (and enjoyed reading it too) with lots of highly interesting facts and one of my all time favourite quotes now: “How can you govern a country with 246 different types of cheese?” -De Gaulle.
  
  
  
• 
  Daniel

  This was a terrific book! The author takes the reader on a world and history tour to describe the flags of the world. Marshall goes further than current nation states and discusses the flags of non-state actors such as the Red Cross, Hezbollah, the United Nations and NATO. Each color and design on every flag has some type of meaning, either real or legend. Some flags have symbols of piece, others display swords, or an AK-47. Colors on flags can represent ethnic groups, religion, or red for blood combined with white for peace.
  For anyone interested in world history, military history, or flags in general, I highly recommend this book.
• 
  Nick Black

  Proverbial goodtime nonfiction, with a nice ratio of new trivia to text, not too many editing missteps, and a refreshingly centrist, ahysterical approach to the world and recent history. Two easy hours. While such a short book can't cover every national flag, I would have appreciated at least a miniature color reproduction of all 193, as my Aspergersy year of flag-memorizing was 1987, and I know I'm out-of-date on any number. Oh well.
• 
  Pedro Costa

  2.5
  Incredibly unfocused, some really bland takes, very much a liberal™ text and it even begins a chapter with a Rowling quote.
  
  I'd probably be upset if I had payed for this
• 
  Teodor Zhelyazkov

  This book is exactly what it claims to be - the history of flags. The author goes over the majority of the more recognizable national flags and their origin stories, myths and legends. The range is wide and covers all continents. It is full of curious, interesting and entertaining stories of how the flags evolved and what their represent. The book is also an insightful course into the beginning of the cultural identities of these countries as they are represented on the flags. If you are interested in flags, culture and their origins across countries around the world, you will enjoy this a lot.
  "When you see your nation's flag fluttering in the breeze, what do you feel?"
• 
  Jacob Stelling

  An enjoyable read, but one which was disappointing given the success of the first book in this series, ‘Prisoners of Geography’.
  
  This was a meticulous and well-researched history of flags, and had this been what the book set out to achieve, it would have been an admirable effort. However, I expected to see more about the ‘power’ of flags - more about their influence and what they represent in the modern day.
  
  Overall, a well-written but nonetheless disappointing read.
• 
  Aisling

  Not quite as fascinating as Prisoners of Geography, but at least I now know a lot about flags.
• 
  terry

  Sarebbero state anche quattro stelline se non fosse un libro americanocentrico/eurocentrico.
• 
  jocelyn

  i actually did not finish this book but 90% is good enough😁👍
• 
  Ashley

  Best for: People interested in world politics.
  
  In a nutshell: Tim Marshall examines many (though not all) of the flags of nations, as well as flags of political movements and other organizations as a way to examine what these symbols mean to people.
  
  Worth quoting:
  “The people of the nations of Europe have stubbornly resisted becoming one, not because they don’t like each other but because they like themselves.”
  
  Why I chose it: I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Marshall’s examination of how geography influences world politics (
  https://cannonballread.com/2018/02/ge...), so I was excited to see he has other books on somewhat similar topics. Considering what’s going on in the US with the national anthem, NFL, and protests against racial injustice, this seemed especially appropriate.
  
  Review:
  Can you make flags interesting? If you’re Tim Marshall, you can, and you do. I inhaled this book, finishing it over the course of two days while on vacation (in Portugal, whose flag includes a coat of arms that dates back to the 1100s). It’s not just an explanation of the symbolism of flags (though it is that); it’s a look at how the flags are viewed by those who fall under them, and by those who are outside them.
  
  The book starts out with chapters on the US flag and the UK flag; I learned some new things about my own nation’s flag, and about the flag of my current home nation. It was interesting to be reminded of how the US flag is often burned abroad, and how the flags of both the US and UK have been co-opted at times by far-right nationalist groups that might make other residents of those nations uncomfortable with displaying them.
  
  From these two deep dives into imperial nations, the book shifts to focusing on themes along different types of flags. Mr. Marshall looks at many flags of the EU member nations (and the EU flag itself), the flags in the Middle East, flags that are meant to invoke fear, flags in Asia, flags in Africa, flags in South America, and a smattering of others (including the Jolly Rodger and the Red Cross).
  
  The book is full of some fun facts that you might find useful at a pub quiz or when playing trivial pursuit (1/6 of the world’s flags have Christian symbolism on them!), but it’s also full of interesting observations about what it means to have a flag, and what a flag can mean for a people, or a movement. June is Pride month in the US, and there is discussion of the rainbow flag in this book. While you might not be clear on what each of the six stripes represents (don’t worry, Mr. Marshall will inform you), you know what it means when you see it. That’s powerful.
• 
  Ross

  Tim Marshall is easily my favourite non-fiction writer, his books are succinct, fascinating and surprisingly witty given their often dry subject matters.
  This book, the third I've read of his, is no exception, and delivers an absolute ton of history on many of the major flags of countries, peoples and ideals in an incredibly engaging and informative manner.
  Once again, he's knocked it out of the park and I'm only more excited to make my way through the rest of his works.
• 
  Luke Hershberg

  Great book if you want to learn about the history of certain flags including American, European, Asian and many more.
• 
  Elisa

  Warning: you will become a flag nerd as you read through this book, and you will want to talk about flags all the time.
• 
  Kitty

  olen enda meelest alati olnud keskmisest parem riigilippude tundja, aga näe, selgub, et ajast, mil ma neid A&O taskuteatmikust uurisin ja ENEKEsest maha joonistasin (mäletate seda isetehtud kaartidega mängu, kus oli riigilipp ja rahvaarv ja pindala jne?), on vett mitmesse merre voolanud ja nii riike kui lippe üksjagu ümber disainitud. nii et täitsa huviga andis lugeda.
  
  Marshall on kenal meeleolukal moel kirja pannud eri riigilippude arenemislugusid, kasutamisreegleid, omavahelisi seoseid ja muud huvitavat, mis nendega seondub - märksõnadeks nt Boliivia merevägi või kõige esimese olümpialipu mõistatuslik kadumine 1920. aastal ja kuidas ta 1997. aastal jälle välja tuli. Stars&Stripes ja Union Jack saavad kumbki oma peatüki, edasi lähenetakse piirkondade kaupa (Euroopa, Lähis-Ida, Aasia, Aafrika, Ladina-Ameerika) ja leitakse pigem mingi ports seotud või sarnaseid lippe pluss mõned huvitavad erandid - nt Euroopast on ette võetud Skandinaavia ristilipud, aga räägitakse ära ka Makedoonia ja Bosnia-Hertsegoviina lood. (Eesti lipust ei räägita, aga leiame äramainimist Taani lipu loos, nii et elevant on meist vähemalt teadlik, kui ka midagi ei arva.)
  
  siis on veel mõned peatükid, mis ei räägi riigilippudest - "Flags of Fear" (lähis-ida terroriorganisatsioonide lipud) tundub ausalt öeldes veidi aegununa, sest aastal 2021 ma pean lausa googeldama, et teada saada, mis sellest IS-st sai, mis raamatu esmailmumisel aastal 2016 tundus maailma kõige tähtsam asi. aga selle peatüki hoolsa läbitöötamise pluss veel mõningase lisauurimistöö järel tean ma nüüd, kuidas teha vahet AK-47 ja M16 siluettidel (need on ühed... püssid. või ei tohi öelda püss, peab ütlema relv?) ja see on ju ka suur asi. inimese kohta, kes enne ei teadnud, et neid... püsse üldse eri sorti olemas on. muide, ainus _riigilipp_ maailmas, kus kujutatakse kaasaegset relva (st mõõgad ja täägid ei loe), on Mosambiigi oma ja seal on Kalašnikov, kui te juba küsisite.
  
  viimases peatükis käiakse läbi kõik ülejäänud inimkonnale mingitel aegadel olulised lipud - Jolly Roger ja Punane Rist (teate, et lisaks ristile ja poolkuule on nüüd ka Punane Teemant olemas? tähendus ikka sama) ja vikerkaarelipp ja olümpialipp jne, kuni ruudulise finišilipuni välja. ühesõnaga, sujuv ja meeleolukas lõpp. Marshall on üldse mõnus humoorikas kirjutaja, tean seda juba ta eelmisest hitist, "Prisoners of Geography".
  
  "To believe that the Council/EU flag is a symbol of an Illuminati/lizards/Catholic/etc. conspiracy, you'd have to be convinced that two of the world's dullest organizations, which crack with boredom, devised a plan so devilishly fiendish that surely only Dr Evil from the Austin Powers films could have hatched it while on a time-travelling mission from his underground lair. This dullness, by the way, is a very good thing, especially when compared to 1939-45. It is supposed to be boring."
  
  värvitahvlid kõigi jutus mainitud lippudega on raamatu keskel, nii et kui lugema hakkate, varuge heaga kaks järjehoidjat, on mugavam!
• 
  Abby

  I was quite excited to read this book - I went around telling people about how I checked out this book from the library and was SO EXCITED TO READ IT!! I studied anthropology and an interested in art, so I was looking forward to reading about the symbolism used in flags and their meaning. However, this book a bit boring - as in lots of dry descriptions of flags and general lists of meanings and history - but I wanted more of a story and development. And it it wasn't, there were weird 'relaxed' moments where the author would try to be funny I think. That being said - this type of writing is not successful to me, but I think if I would have attended a lecture on the topic, word for word, I would have found it quite interesting. I think the book could have been more successful for me if the images of the flags were with the descriptions. Ultimately, I did learn some, and am not mad I read it, I just wanted to be more captivated. I learned a lot of fun facts in this book that I am rattling off to my co-workers, so that is something too.
• 
  Christos Bouras

  Όταν διάβασα τους αιχμαλώτους της γεωγραφίας του Marshall έμεινα άφωνος. Το βιβλίο αυτό για την σημασία της σημαίας έχει λιγότερο ενδιαφέρον, άλλα δεν είναι αδιαφορο. Ο Marshall αναλύει σε βάθος την ιστορία σημαιών κρατών και οργανισμών και παρουσιάζει στοιχεία ιστορικά και γεωπολιτικά που αφορούν την υιοθέτηση των. Ο αναγνώστης μαθαίνει κάποια στοιχεία αλλά το σημαντικότερο είναι ότι το βιβλίο είναι ευκολοδιαβαστο και ευχάριστο. Υπάρχει επίσης και η πολύ καλή απόδοση του Σ. Κατσούλα ο οποίος συνέγραψε ένα σύγχρονο και άκρως ενδιαφέρον άρθρο για την ελληνική σημαία με αναφορές σε γεγονότα σημαίας όπως η αιματοβαμμένη της ΠΑΣΠ, το περιστατικό με τον Τσενάι, το no flags του Clinton για τα Ίμια κλπ.
• 
  Jan Hermanns

  It has some pretty interesting insights into the history of flags and the relationship different nation states have to their states.
  What sets it apart from the great "The Power of Geography", is that flags are just not that interesting and there is always room for interpretation when you start analyzing what the colours in a given flag stand for.
  In its best parts it tells stories of the origin of nations and their flags enriched by little interesting anecdotes. In its worst parts it is a collection of laws and regulations in various countries on how to treat its national flag.
  Reading the book five years removed from its original publication, the first five chapters are a difficult read. This is due to references of "current" news.
  
  Generally interesting if you have an interest for vexillology, otherwise I would not recommend.