MacKinder was a polymath geographer of the Victorian tradition, yet he extended beyond it. His contribution to the field of education includes his involvement in the Oxford Teaching Movement, his tenure at LSE, at the then University College of Reading, and at the University of Oxford. His contribution to these three universities was crucial in shaping them.

His book "Democratic Ideals and Reality" is a masterful analysis of the enduring strategic factors that govern every effort for global dominance. It was first published in 1919 as a warning to those involved in building peace at Versailles, without making a significant impression in Western countries until World War II. A few months after Pearl Harbor, the book was republished in the USA and immediately took its rightful place as the most authoritative study of global strategy in the English language. Since then, most studies of political geography are based, entirely or in part, on MacKinder's theories.

This edition offers the new generation of scholars a classic analysis of international relations in Greek, along with three essays and the original maps and plans of MacKinder. The three additional essays are milestones in the evolution of MacKinder's thought and demonstrate the breadth of his interests and the depth of his research. They include "The Object and Method of Geography," presented to the Royal Geographical Society in 1887, "The Geographical Pivot of History," presented to the same society in 1904 and introducing the term Heartland to MacKinder's theory, and finally, "The Earth Sphere and the Conquest of Peace," published in Foreign Affairs in 1943.

Accompanying MacKinder's work in this volume is a study by Professor Brian Blouet on the multifaceted personality and parallel professional careers of the British geographer, educator, and politician.