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GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL: THE FATES OF HUMAN SOCIETIES BY JARED DIAMOND: This is one of those books that takes you a while to read -- it's pretty heavy non-fiction -- and yet at the end of it, you feel like Hippocrates, a Muslim scientist, or Leonardo Da Vinci must have felt at the realization of a great discovery. The Eureka! moment. This book is kind of like the movie Hotel Rwanda: the movie was life-altering for me, and just made every other movie that came out that year seem tawdry and unimportant; it was one of those movies that everyone should see (especially Americans and Western Europeans) just to understand the world and its history better. Guns, Germs, and Steel is one of those books that everyone should read to better comprehend their existence at this specific moment in time. The premise of the book is revealed in the prologue in a conversation between the author and a New Guinea native who lives his very simple life in Stone Age conditions. The thesis that arises in their conversation is what specific events led to the fact that Europeans were the ones to reach New Guinea and interact with its people, and why it wasn't the New Guinea people to develop the technology and abilities to travel the world and make first contact with the Europeans. With the concept in place, Diamond sets about doing this in his conversational and, quite frankly, mind-blowing and ingenious way. As a professor, with studies in anthropology and biology, he has an astounding way of seeing things and being able to explain ideas in a simple manner that make so much sense and you're left saying to yourself: "Oh, that's how that happened," or "that's why it's like that." At times he can bog you down with details, mainly because he explains them on minutest and seemingly most insignificant level (such as different seeds around the world). And yet you are left with that adage of chaos theory: everything on this planet happens for a reason and has a knock-on effect. Some of Diamond's ideas that I found and still find most astonishing include: The reason the continent of Eurasia was able to develop to a much more advanced level than the rest of the world, with its complex empires, cradles of civilizations, and large amount of farming and domesticated species was due to its latitude on a specific east-west axis. The other continents -- North and South America, Africa, Australasia -- are all on a north-south axis. What does this difference mean? For one, climate is greatly changed the further north or south ones goes, which has an effect on the migration of people, animals, and plants, as well as the spread of information, technology and culture. Because of this, Eurasia was able to develop more crops and have them spread around the continent through trade, as well as the spread of domesticated animals, culture and more importantly, technology. The other continents did not have this ease, which Diamond explains in clear detail with facts and dates. Of course, I am vastly over-simplifying the book and it's really necessary for one to peruse its pages to get the full understanding. Another concept that I was very happy to be made so clear is the explanation of why whites conquered most of the world was not because they were a superior race in any way. And how is this simply explained? To use Jared Diamond's example: The Aboriginal people spent many thousands of years keeping to their simple ways due to the harsh conditions of Australia. When the Europeans arrRead full review
Weapons, viruses and metal equipment managed the leadership of the European-American concept -- up to the year of 2000. However while one still is rubbing his hands, that China was taken off since the 14th century (Arabia since 15th), the tide can oppose nevertheless soon. At present, the technology and trade development of the Asian countries is enormously positive and the oil-possessing dominance of the Arabian states just increases her demand to a global (also ideological) con-design right. The threat factors "weapons, viruses and metal equipment," -- represented always into actor pose nicely by president George W. Bush, impressed with fight bomber pilot jacket, with legs apart and broad grinning on the deck of an US-aircraft-carrier -- this success conception perhaps really could gradually oppose her inventors: State armies get for example increasingly powerless against the guerilla unit tactics of the present global suicidal terrorism. Jared Diamond perhaps looks a little confused for the stability guarantee of the European-American success concept. The geographical situation alone is not a guarantor. As an advantage factor it does not suffice eternally. Jared Diamond looks to make believe for us that the capability to make innovations, the courage to accept competition, the openness for intermixing (causes biologically seen virus resistance, hello, bird flu) -- that these factors will safeguard the further dominance of the European-American concept. He does not like to argue racialistly, religion critically or militaristically, although: The Indians of North- and South-America felt actually quite good without the missionaries and swords, railways and colts of the white ones; in addition, we do not see Diamond's remarks on drunken and lazy workers of non-white skin color (but some Afro-American reviewers do). [The factor "genocide" Jared Diamond does not examine, but in his follow-up book "Collapse" he analyzes how the Hutus murdered the Tutsis in Rwanda - avoiding the own nest soiling examples of how the American Indians lost their lives]. As an environmentalist, doubts come to the professor at the university of California , however, because of ruthless practices (so he worries in "Collapse" about some elks turned ill in Montana, toxins of a mine seeped into the ground there). Jared Diamond is uncertain and broods. We perhaps too.Read full review
Jared Diamond is a genius! I consider this one of the most important books I have ever read. Diamond answers questions most people have never thought to ask. Questions like: the Chinese had the worlds largest seagoing fleet. What happened to it?: Why did civilization beguin in the middle east?: Why did Europeans invade the Americas, and not the other way around?: Why were the native Australians and Tasmanian still living in the stone age when Europeans arrived? I started many chapters disagreeing with him, but I was wrong every time. Before finishing "Guns, Germs and Steel" I bought his "Collapse, How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed". Another excellent book. Diamond ia a brilliant readable author
This book has been continuously recommended by friends. I finally got it recently and has become one of my favorite non-fiction books. It is a wonderful review of how human societies have evolved since 13,000BC. Jared Diamond collects data and evidence from diverse scientific fields to present a coherent theory for the different development of societies around the world. The books looks for a broad pattern that played the leading role in early human history. Basically, the book tries to answer one single question: how is it possible that some societies like in Europe and Asia developed so much technology, complex language and political systems, lethal germs (which play a major role in human history) and deadly weapons when others (like Australian Aboriginals) at the same time remained as Hunter-Gatherers? The book gives us an understanding of the advantages some people have had over others, allowing their societies to evolve while others simply remained "primitive". The book is filled with amazing and brilliant facts of human history. Highly recommended for those interested in World History, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Linguistics, the history of technology and politics, and philosophy.Read full review
I needed this book for my environmental studies class. The book details a wide narrative of human history and the text is pretty easy to understand. Although the content is somewhat repetitive, the author hit on a couple of good points that made me go, "oh so that's what happened!"
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