Nick Middleton is a physical geographer whose work focuses on desertification. His extensive travels to over 50 countries have immersed him in diverse and often extreme environments. Through his explorations, Middleton offers readers profound insights into the resilience of human cultures and their adaptation to challenging landscapes.
Focusing on environmental issues, this book explores the interplay between the physical environment and the political, economic, and social contexts that shape these challenges. It provides a comprehensive overview, highlighting the complexities of global environmental dynamics and the interconnectedness of various factors influencing ecological health.
Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton takes us on a magical tour of countries that, lacking diplomatic recognition or UN membership, inhabit a world of shifting borders, visionary leaders and forgotten peoples. Most of us think we know what a country is, but in truth the concept is rather slippery. From Catalonia to the Crimea, and from Africa's last colony to the European republic that enjoyed just a solitary day of independence, the places in this book may lie on the margins of legitimacy, but all can be visited in the real world. Beautifully illustrated by fifty regional maps, each shadowy country is literally cut out of the page of this book. Alongside stories, facts and figures, An Atlas of Countries That Don't Exist brings to life a dreamlike world of nations that exist only in the minds of the people who live there.
In Surviving Extremes, Nick Middleton embarks on a thrilling adventure as he confronts the world's four most extreme environments. Through a blend of personal experience and scientific insight, he explores the challenges posed by these harsh landscapes, showcasing his resilience and adaptability. The narrative delves into the physical and psychological demands of survival, offering readers a gripping account of human endurance in the face of nature's fiercest conditions.
Rivers have played an extraordinarily important role in creating the world in which we live. They create landscapes and provide water to people, plants and animals, nourishing both town and country. The flow of rivers has enthused poets and painters, explorers and pilgrims. Rivers have acted as cradles for civilization and agents of disaster; a river may be a barrier or a highway, it can bear trade and sediment, culture and conflict. A river may inspire or it may terrify. This Very Short Introduction is a celebration of rivers in all their diversity. Nick Middleton covers a wide and eclectic range of river-based themes, from physical geography to mythology, to industrial history and literary criticism. Worshipped and revered, respected and feared, rivers reflect both the natural and social history of our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
This text accompanies a four-part TV series in which Nick Middleton spends a month in the world's coldest, hottest, wettest and driest inhabited places. Nick Middleton considers why people settled in these palces, how they manage to live under such difficult conditions, and why on earth they stay.