Orbital

“They come to see the politics of want. The politics of growing and getting, a billion extrapolation of the urge for more, that’s what they begin to see when they look down.

The planet is shaped by the sheer amazing force of human want, which has changed everything, the forests, the poles, the reservoirs, the glaciers, the rivers, the seas, the mountains, the coastlines, the skies, a planet contoured and landscaped by want.” (p.75)

January 2025
Overall Verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
To buy this book, click here.

Why this book?
I had seen a lot shared about this book and picked it up whilst browsing a book shop in the same week that I’d heard Tim Marshall give the Monday night lecture at the Royal Geographical Society (an excellent lecture!). I’ve reviewed the Future of Geography here and use some of the information from that book to deliver the last of the Superpowers topic to A-Level geographers.

Being a fictional account of 6 astronauts orbiting earth over a 24-hour period, this book is very different and although direct applications to the classroom are limited, there are some excellent quotes that could be used. As Alan Parkinson writes here, ‘Tim Marshal’s book looks up, Orbital looks down’.

Upon finishing the book, I naturally wanted to know more about the realities of life in space so watched the Tim Peake documentary about the Secrets of our Universe. It feels like the geography of space is very much on the radar currently; could we see it making a more significant appearance on future curriculums?

For teachers:
This is a book to be enjoyed in a couple of (long, interrupted) sittings where you can pause, switch off and enjoy the incredible descriptive reading of Samantha Harvey. I read it during the holidays and suspect that, had I read it during term-time where life is much faster paced, I would have failed to appreciate it in quite the same way.

As a geography teacher, it is pages 71-75 that particularly inspired me. In this section Harvey richly describes what the astronauts are drawn to when they look outside of their space station. There are several powerful, thought-provoking, and inspiring, quotes that could be used in lessons, as an extract or in assemblies. A few of my favourites are shown below.

I hadn’t really considered the idea that humanities’ impact on earth is, from space, most visible at night. It is in the darkness that you can see the impact of millions of people inhabiting every mile of Europe’s coastline and see the man-made borders between countries that, in places, result in horrific wars and suffering.

I spent a while reflecting on this quote below and the reality that, from space, our planet is ‘just’ a rolling indivisible globe. I’d love to use these extracts in an assembly…

And finally, the two quotes below are about the ‘politics of want’- the politics of consumption and the degradation resultant from this consumption. Again, they are powerful and thought-provoking. The rich descriptive writing caused me to pause and reflect on this reality: that humanity and our politics have shaped every corner of planet earth.

To buy this book, click here.