Building walls that separate us from others is as old as humanity.

People have built walls to keep others out for thousands of years, from the Great Wall of China to Hadrian's Wall to security fences along the US-Mexico border. But did you know they've also been built to keep people in, to grow food, to control nature and to collect taxes? Sometimes they've helped people and kept communities safe, but they've also created inequity and done more harm than good. Why do we have walls at all?

Walls: the Long History of Human Barriers and Why We Build Them explores the many reasons humanity has put up walls over the course of our history, and why we continue building them today.

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Key Selling Points

• An in-depth look at walls around the world throughout human history, up to the present day and into the future.
• From the US-Mexico border wall to the Israeli West Bank barrier and the Hungarian border wall, controversial and divisive walls are being built around the world today.
• This book will challenge young readers to think critically about why humans have built walls throughout history, who is affected, and the positive and negative consequences of building walls, for people and places.
• Deals with themes of war and peace (ancient and modern), the climate crisis, human migration, racism, nationalism, protectionism, ecosystems and food insecurity.
• The author is an award-winning journalist with CBC Radio in Victoria, British Columbia, and the author of books for both children and adults.