‘Postcards from the Borderlands’ Jan. 13

In his latest book on travel, history and culture, Postcards from the Borderlands, Mould explores the meaning of borders. Are they simply political and geographical, marked by posts, walls and fences, or should we think of them more broadly? Some borders, set by surveys and treaties, take no account of geography, language or culture. There are borders within countries — physical, economic and social. And finally, there are the borders of our minds — the way we may think of unfamiliar places.

Mould’s journey begins with maps and cartoons that poke fun at how we view other parts of the U.S. He moves on to the carve-up of Africa, the artificial (and often straight-line) borders drawn by colonial powers. In South Asia, he explores what The Economist called “the world’s craziest border” between India and Bangladesh. He ends up in Central Asia, in that gerrymandered jumble of former Soviet republics whose names end in -stan.

This will be a Zoom online event. Sign-up at The Dalles Public Library website or call the library at 541-296-2815.