Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful book, particularly if you skim near the end
Review: This is a wonderful book, on the whole clear, insightful, and a pleasure to read. The major points are well argued, clearly presented (perhaps too clearly), and completely fascinating. If you've ever wondered why our world has come to be the way it is, why some groups prevailed over others in the slow clock of history, this book provides an excellent platform for exploration. Mr. Diamond's analysis of food production and the beginnings of farming, of why some animals can be domesticated and others not, and ultimately of why fifteenth and sixteenth century Europeans "won" and Native Americans "lost" are engrossing. These sections of the book are truly "page turners".For me, the book falters in the last third, repeating again and again material already covered, and perhaps becoming too fascinated with the author's own travels and experiences. In the end, though Mr. Diamond describes and wishes for a "science" of history, his own approach to some of the material is what really cries out for such an orientation. He has clearly done the homework and gathered the data for a rigorous mathematical analysis of why things have come out the way they have. Yet, such work is missing from the book. It is ultimately an interesting, thoughtful, and logical conjecture based on a thorough study of the available data and years of experience. A truly scientific approach could have really changed how we study history.
Rating: 
Summary: Repetative
Review: VERY easy reading. As one reviewer already mentionned, it seemed from the get go that the Mr. Diamond had ulterior motives for writing this book. Motives that had more to do with combatting racism than seriously contemplating the historical nature of the effect of Guns, Germs and Steel on the worlds civilisations. Unscientific is the adjective that came to mind most often whilst reading this book. Several interesting points were raised but they were not properly referenced. This made it seem as if the entire book was a thought experiment on his part. If you have a spare night to kill, go for it.
Rating:
Summary: Good book - but don't read too much
Review: A think this is an excellent book that provides a very thoughtful analysis of what drives development in human history. To 'A Reader' who said that "It proves the Bell Curve to be totally false" - that's not the point of the book. The conclusion is that the differences in development between societies was not driven by differences in intelligence. Societies still MAY or MAY NOT have differences in intelligence. It still MAY have happened that different groups developed differing intelligence levels - maybe Native Australians are more intelligent than Europeans, or maybe they are not. That's best left to the empirical testing of statisticians with all their flaws. All that you can hope to get out of the book, besides a good read and some fascinating history is that you can't say "Aboriginals are stupid because they were still living like savages when whites arrived". DON'T READ TOO MUCH INTO THIS BOOK.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing political propaganda
Review: I sensed from the begining that there was something wrong with this book. The author was making his objective quite clear and it was not to search for the truth. It was to fight racism, which is certainly a worthy goal. Unfortunately, his weapon in this fight is to present some fascinating facts and then in a most unscientific manner reach a conclusion that is merely a possiblity but that is not proven. The key technique of argument is repetition and the demonization of Eurepeans. In a most bigoted way the author lumps all Europeans as one group. No attempt is made to explain why there are significant differences between various European groups. Why Norway is so different than Albania despite the fact that both had domesticated animals and practiced farming.
Rating:
Summary: Encyclopedic
Review: Professor Diamond makes a very convincng argument for the compartively "accelerated" development of the Western world. How others miss his thesis - that ethno-geographical factors rather than cultural or evolutionary factors led to the Western conquest of the world - is a mystery to me. He states his thesis and clarifies it several times. (I guess some people don't read very deeply.) Of particular personal interest was his discussion of disease and its evolution, although I must admit I found his discussion of fodd producing societies versus hunter/gatherer societies facinating. Certainly a must read for anyone interested in World History, and a strongly recommended book for those interested in anthropology and ethn-biology.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Text on World History
Review: This book should be required reading for all serious students of World History. It is a panoramic view of the history of humanity which is told in detailed, meticulous, and often fascinating fashion. Though it is difficult to understand at times, it is well worth the effort. Far more than most books, reading this book requires an open mind and a willingness to look at all aspects of a situation. For this reason, it has been criticized by some who lack the attention span required to understand the themes of this book and by others who subscribe to the "whites superior and dark skinned people inferior" "theory" of human nature. It proves the Bell Curve to be totally false. Guns, Germs, and Steel is must reading.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: The criticisms of Guns, Germs and Steel are well taken: Diamond makes a gratuitous remark suggesting New Guinea tribes people are more intelligent, on average, than Westerners, there's lots of redundancy and it fails to meet the standards of scientific literature. Finally, his "PC" refrains help get the book sold to high school and university programs, but is redundant to a theory that is inherently "PC." Nonetheless, this book is outstanding. Foremost, for me, Diamond provides a rich, highly readable survey of current scientific literature on human development from a range of disciplines. His fundamental theory that agricultural assets led to powerful societies is not original, but presented with greater depth and insight than elsewhere, reflecting access to new tools in microbiology and other fields of research. The underlying theory and supporting evidence give me the sense of greater understanding of human history and society.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging in parts, but quite overrated
Review: Having read several of Diamond's previous books, I was pleasantly surprised by this one -- though largely for avoiding the obvious faults of those other works. Diamond's writings are remarkably repetitive, and he is conspicuously lacking in the 'ear' that makes the work of, for example, James Gleick so extraordinary. This book has been praised to the skies by two types of people: those knowing little of science (so that they think this is it), and those who know that Diamond has his science correct in broad outline and are glad to see even this velveetized version of it achieve popularity. As a substitute for closely-reasoned historical analysis or an impartial rendering of a difficult interdisciplinary scientific enterprise, this falls far short of what might be expected to garner a Pulitzer Prize (something denied the infinitely superior 'Feynman' of Gleick, or Kanigel's book on Ramanujan). As perfect fodder for condensation, one hopes Diamond could write a 16-page version of his thesis, which could be compressed to this extent and lose little in the way of completeness.
Rating:
Summary: Pulitzer?
Review: Fertile Land=Agriculture and Domesticated Animals=Stored Food=Craftsmen and Politicians=Weapons and Technology=Exploration and Conquest. How profound! Wasn't that part of Anthropology 101 when I took it 30 years ago? I should have known better than to slog thorough this tome once the author (scientist?) speculated that the people of New Guinea were more intelligent than Eurasians because they were naturally selected for intelligence while Eurasians were only naturally selected for immunity to disease. That was right after he ridiculed and condemned as a racist anyone who suggests there might be intellectual differences between racial groups. Incredible. Poorly written, repetitive and unoriginal. The Pulitzer committee (and Bill Gates) should be embarrassed. It's the last time a Pulitzer will influence my selection of a book.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious Going
Review: It was brutal getting through it, but I am glad I read it. There were numerous pieces of information on the evolution of civilation that were revelations to me. His discussion on how plant domestication evolved was particularly helpful. How diseases evolve was also good.
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