Marginal Revolution Book Rankings

Tyler and Alex's favorites from Marginal Revolution

How it works: I scraped every post categorized under 'books'. Then extracted book titles and relevant review context from each post. I then submitted a couple million pairs of reviews to an LLM to compare and determine which book review had more positive sentiment. I used these comparisons to fit a Bradley-Terry model which produces these rankings. I racked up a gemini bill so stopped shy of exhaustive 16 million comparisons, so it's not perfect, but roughly accurate.

Genre: Geopolitics ×
Showing 64 books in Geopolitics
The Conflict Shoreline: Colonization as Climate Change in the Negev Desert
1. The Conflict Shoreline: Colonization as Climate Change in the Negev Desert
BT: 13.15 160 comparisons
anthropology architectural studies climate change conflict studies +12
MR Post
Empire: The Russian Empire and its Rivals
2. Empire: The Russian Empire and its Rivals
BT: 7.52 101 comparisons
european history geopolitics history international relations +2
MR Post
T
3. The Dawn of Eurasia: On the Trail of the New World Order
BT: 6.51 245 comparisons
eurasian studies european politics geopolitics international relations +5
MR Post MR Post
T
4. The Dawn of Eurasia
BT: 4.98 449 comparisons
eurasian studies geopolitics international relations non-fiction +1
MR Post MR Post +1 more
E
5. Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East
BT: 3.81 193 comparisons
geopolitics history international relations middle eastern history +2
MR Post
T
6. The Big Ditch: How American Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal
BT: 3.73 189 comparisons
american history economic history geopolitics history +2
MR Post
T
7. The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World
BT: 3.39 201 comparisons
economics energy geopolitics history +3
MR Post
S
8. Superpower: Three Choices for America’s Role in the World
BT: 3.21 225 comparisons
geopolitics international relations politics us foreign policy
MR Post
F
9. Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
BT: 3.14 227 comparisons
artificial intelligence geopolitics military studies politics +1
MR Post
F
10. Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity
BT: 2.96 238 comparisons
agriculture economics environmental studies food security +2
MR Post
T
11. The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine — A Tale of Two Narratives
BT: 2.94 232 comparisons
economics geopolitics international relations middle east studies +1
MR Post
A
12. Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan, and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century
BT: 2.92 251 comparisons
asian history asian studies china geopolitics +5
MR Post
T
13. The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Northern Future
BT: 2.83 213 comparisons
arctic studies climate change economics environmental studies +3
MR Post
W
14. Wheel of Fortune: The Battle for Oil and Power in Russia
BT: 2.62 249 comparisons
economics energy geopolitics history +3
MR Post
T
15. The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia
BT: 2.60 239 comparisons
geopolitics international relations politics southeast asian politics
MR Post
N
16. Nuclear War: A Scenario
BT: 2.59 475 comparisons
geopolitics international relations military studies military technology +2
MR Post MR Post
W
17. Weaponized Interdependence
BT: 2.40 248 comparisons
economics geopolitics international relations political science +1
MR Post
R
18. Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750
BT: 2.23 390 comparisons
asian history chinese history foreign policy geopolitics +2
MR Post MR Post
T
19. The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate
BT: 1.90 272 comparisons
asia geopolitics international relations military strategy +2
MR Post
T
20. The Post-American World
BT: 1.62 288 comparisons
current events economics geopolitics globalization +4
MR Post
T
21. The Future History of the Arctic
BT: 1.57 398 comparisons
arctic studies economics geopolitics history +3
MR Post MR Post
H
22. Heligoland: Britain, Germany, and the Struggle for the North Sea
BT: 1.51 278 comparisons
european history geopolitics history military history +1
MR Post
A
23. Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific
BT: 1.45 345 comparisons
asian studies china current affairs geopolitics +3
MR Post
S
24. Seapower States: Maritime Culture, Continental Empires and the Conflict that Made the Modern World
BT: 1.38 287 comparisons
cultural studies geopolitics history international relations +3
MR Post
O
25. Of Privacy and Power: The Transatlantic Struggle over Freedom and Security
BT: 1.10 314 comparisons
geopolitics international relations political science security studies +1
MR Post
T
26. The New North: The World in 2050
BT: 1.07 313 comparisons
economics environmental studies futurism geopolitics +1
MR Post
T
27. The Revenge of Geography
BT: 0.86 301 comparisons
geography geopolitics history international relations +1
MR Post
C
28. China’s Asian Dream: Empire Building Along the New Silk Road
BT: 0.84 326 comparisons
asian studies china current events economics +3
MR Post
D
29. Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan
BT: 0.79 600 comparisons
central asian studies geopolitics history kazakhstan history +2
MR Post MR Post
I
30. In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China’s Ascent in the Next Decade
BT: 0.59 374 comparisons
asian studies china economics future studies +2
MR Post
S
31. Schism: China, America and the Fracturing of the Global Trading System
BT: 0.28 381 comparisons
china economics geopolitics international economics +4
MR Post
W
32. Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia
BT: 0.16 349 comparisons
asian history asian studies colonial history economic history +4
MR Post
B
33. Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future
BT: 0.14 968 comparisons
china chinese studies economics future studies +3
MR Post MR Post +1 more
U
34. Ukraine: What Went Wrong With It and How to Fix It
BT: 0.11 331 comparisons
economics geopolitics politics post-soviet studies +2
MR Post
D
35. Disunited Nations: The Scramble for Power in a Disunited World
BT: 0.01 353 comparisons
economics future studies geography geopolitics +2
MR Post
W
36. Winter is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must be Stopped
BT: -0.01 352 comparisons
authoritarianism comparative politics geopolitics international relations +4
MR Post
E
37. Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity
BT: -0.02 348 comparisons
chinese history comparative history economic history european history +3
MR Post
C
38. Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology
BT: -0.08 396 comparisons
economics geopolitics history international relations +1
MR Post
E
39. Eurasian Mission: Introduction to Neo-Eurasianism
BT: -0.09 327 comparisons
cultural criticism eurasian studies geopolitics history +6
MR Post
T
40. The First World War in the Middle East
BT: -0.12 358 comparisons
geopolitics history middle eastern history military history +1
MR Post
E
41. Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power
BT: -0.23 375 comparisons
asian studies chinese history economic history geopolitics +3
MR Post
T
42. The Bridge: Natural Gas in a Redivided Europe
BT: -0.37 471 comparisons
economics energy european history geopolitics +2
MR Post MR Post
T
43. The Return of Marco Polo’s World
BT: -0.43 321 comparisons
cultural history geopolitics global history history +3
MR Post
D
44. Divided: Why We’re Living in an Age of Walls
BT: -0.50 350 comparisons
current events demography geopolitics international relations +1
MR Post
U
45. Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil
BT: -0.50 346 comparisons
african history african studies current affairs economics +3
MR Post
T
46. The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth
BT: -0.66 374 comparisons
african history central african studies conflict minerals contemporary history +8
MR Post
S
47. Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror
BT: -0.89 377 comparisons
african history conflict studies geopolitics history +2
MR Post
W
48. War and Punishment: Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
BT: -0.97 445 comparisons
contemporary history geopolitics history intellectual history +5
MR Post MR Post
T
49. The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam
BT: -0.98 616 comparisons
african studies conflict studies geopolitics international relations +5
MR Post MR Post
T
50. The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between
BT: -0.99 380 comparisons
american history chinese history geopolitics history +3
MR Post
R
51. Red Flags: Why Xi’s China Is In Jeopardy
BT: -1.06 359 comparisons
asian studies china chinese economics chinese politics +4
MR Post
T
52. Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century
BT: -1.31 361 comparisons
geopolitics international relations national security politics +1
MR Post
R
53. Russia Against Napoleon
BT: -1.75 391 comparisons
economic history european history geopolitics history +3
MR Post
I
54. Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood
BT: -1.88 371 comparisons
geography geopolitics international relations non-fiction +2
MR Post
C
55. Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis
BT: -2.24 360 comparisons
crisis analysis economics finance future studies +3
MR Post
R
56. Risk: A User’s Guide
BT: -2.38 363 comparisons
decision-making geopolitics leadership military studies +2
MR Post
A
57. A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia
BT: -3.01 336 comparisons
american politics asian studies china geopolitics +2
MR Post
B
58. Blue Age: How the US Navy Created Global Prosperity — And Why We’re in Danger of Losing It
BT: -3.34 363 comparisons
american history current affairs economics geopolitics +3
MR Post
U
59. Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy
BT: -3.40 340 comparisons
american politics economics foreign policy geopolitics +2
MR Post
K
60. King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World’s Dominant Currency
BT: -3.78 323 comparisons
economic history economics finance geopolitics +1
MR Post
T
61. Technology and the Rise of Great Powers: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Competition
BT: -3.85 291 comparisons
economics geopolitics international relations political science +1
MR Post
M
62. Monsoon
BT: -4.15 260 comparisons
geopolitics middle eastern studies non-fiction travel
MR Post
C
63. Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civiliation
BT: -4.43 189 comparisons
future studies geopolitics global affairs urban studies
MR Post
T
64. The Coming Collapse of China
BT: -5.94 100 comparisons
china economics geopolitics international relations +1
MR Post