This is a new examination of Halford Mackinder's seminal global geostrategic work, from the perspective of geography, diplomatic history, political science, international relations, imperial history, and the space age.

Mackinder was a man ahead of his time. He foresaw many of the key strategic issues that came to dominate the twentieth century. Until the disintegration of the Soviet Union, western defence strategists feared that one power, or alliance, might come to dominate Eurasia. Admiral Mahan discussed this issue in The Problem of Asia (1900) but Mackinder made the most...