The world we live in is complex and constantly changing. It's battered by weather, shaken by earthquakes, and mined, farmed and polluted by humans. This book helps readers understand these processes, make sense of our relationship with the planet, and find ways to change it for the better. Geography is a HUGE subject area that deals with so much more than map-making, rocks, and town planning. This book unpicks how an awareness of geography helps people think about how important the world around us is, from the landscape we live on to the relationships between entire countries.

Part of the award-winning 'for Beginners' series, which explains big subjects to kids in late primary and early secondary education. Each book outlines what those subjects are about, which big questions experts are grappling with, and what jobs people who study them might go on to do.

Chapters in this book include:
- What is geography?

Journey into the Earth
What the Earth itself is made of, how that all works, and how we find out more about it.

Weather and climate
What goes on in the Earth's atmosphere, the difference between weather and climate, and how they both affect people's lives around the world.

Watery world
All about oceans, rivers and ice - and how people's lives depend on water in all sorts of ways.

Homes, towns, cities
Where people live, why they live there, and how people shape the places around them.

How money and power shape the world
How countries and borders work, and how and why some countries are more powerful than others.

Improving lives
Using the tools of geography to find out how people live in different countries and identify ways to improve lives.

Big issues
What are some of the big questions that geographers ask? What geography mysteries are yet to be solved?

Geography is EVERYWHERE!
Jobs in geography