* New from the internationally bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography.; * Punchy and engaging insights into global politics - this is an intelligent, accessible approach to a complex topic, through the visually arresting medium of flags.; * Tim is an established and respected media commentator on foreign affairs, and has a large and loyal following.; * He will be on television and radio to promote the book.; * The subject has never been more potent as the symbols of terrorism and counter-terrorism proliferate online.

When you see your nation’s flag fluttering in the breeze, what do you feel?

For thousands of years flags have represented our hopes and dreams. We wave them. Burn them. March under their colours. And still, in the 21st century, we die for them. Flags fly at the UN, on the Arab street, from front porches in Texas. They represent the politics of high power as well as the politics of the mob.

From the renewed sense of nationalism in China, to troubled identities in Europe and the USA, to the terrifying rise of Islamic State, the world is a confusing place right now and we need to understand the symbols, old and new, that people are rallying round.

In nine chapters (covering the USA, UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, international flags and flags of terror), Tim Marshall draws on more than twenty-five years of global reporting experience to reveal the histories, the power and the politics of the symbols that unite us – and divide us.