Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on Country.

MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change by MoveOn.org

Hating America : The New World Sport by John Gibson

Dude, Where's My Country? by Michael Moore

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work : A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert by John M. Gottman

The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook by PAULA H. DEEN

Cry, the Beloved Country (Oprah's Book Club) by Alan Paton

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries by Terri Morrison

Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies by Ian Buruma

Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country--And Its Time to Take It Back by Jim Hightower

High Country by Nevada Barr

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly

Bush Country : How Dubya Became a Great President While Driving Liberals Insane by John Podhoretz

100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask, Second Edition : With Answers from Top Brokers from Around the Country by Ilyce R. Glink

Islam : A Short History by KAREN ARMSTRONG

Country

A country, a land, or a state, is a geographical area and an independent political entity with its own government, administration, laws, often a constitution, police, military, tax rules, and people. Some countries are nation states - for example France or Israel. In these nation states one particular nation is dominant. Other countries, such as People's Republic of China, Spain or United Kingdom contain several nations (or, at least, some parts of the population call themselves a nation), in spite of some of them considering themselves as nation states. Sometimes, parts of states with a distinct history or culture are called "lands" or "countries": England, Scotland and Wales - three nations on the island of Great Britain are sometimes called countries, even though they are administrative components of the State of the United Kingdom. The terms country, nation, state and land are often used as synonyms, but in a more strict usage they are distinguished:

country is the geographical area
nation designates a people, however national and international both confusingly refer as well to matters pertaining to what are strictly states, as in national capital, international law
state is about government, and an entity in international law
land may be used for "a country and its people" but also thought of as country belonging to a nation or a monarch

Countries with exclaves These countries consist of two non-contiguous parts, separated by land of one or more other countries. The smaller part (the exclave) is put in parentheses.

Angola (Cabinda)
Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan)
Brunei (Temburong)
Croatia (southeastern part of Dubrovnik-Neretva county)
East Timor (Ocussi-Ambeno region)
Oman (Musandam peninsula)
Russia (Kaliningrad)
Spain (Llívia)
US (Alaska)

A semi-autonomous area consisting of two parts:

Palestinian territories (Gaza Strip)