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Summary: One of the most important books I have read
Review: Ever wonder why the people in Africa are black? Or why most Chinese people look the way they do? Why European and Asian societies were ahead of the native societies with which they clashed? This book provides a scientific analysis of how these things developed. Essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered about the differences -- and similarities -- of people around the world.
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Summary: A great synthesis that does not attempt to hide its agenda
Review: Diamond ignores the general rule of modern scholarship that forbids authors from summarizing difficult material in a serious book. By not dwelling on any one topic for too long, Diamond is able to convey the big picture to the reader - that societies (like everything else known to man) are where and what they are on account of physical causes, not destiny. This is a great book.
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Summary: Nature vs. Nurture: I though we settled this.
Review: Diamond presents interesting hypotheses and evidence for the influence of geography and culture in shaping human societies, but states they are the ONLY causes of societal development. Never forget that societies are made of people. People mediate the effects geography etc. have on society. To say that people (i.e., intelligence) have nothing to do with society is tantamount to saying that nature (heredity) plays to role--that nurture (environment) is the only cause. Absolutely rediculous. I cannot believe anyone let this book get published with such a silly theory.
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Summary: AMBIGUOUS AND UNRELIABLE
Review: IF GUNS AND GUNPOWDER WERE SO IMPORTANT FOR THE SUBJUGATION OF EUROPE, THEN HOW DID THE ROMANS DO IT WITHOUT THESE TOOLS 1000 YEARS EARLIER
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Summary: An Excellent Book, strongly reccomended!
Review: What makes this book so great is not so much the clear, convincing and logical way JD presents his case as the mere fact that he has gone where very very few if any historians have gone before. Jared Diamond seeks to explain the broadest and most important concepts of history, and does so convincingly. Each chapter is a new revelation about history. If you are interested in history, this book is a must read!
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Summary: This book will make you think!
Review: This book grabbed me for a good couple months - I couldn't have a conversation with anyone without bringing it up! It's a fascinating and convincing argument for basic geographic factors determining distribution of wealth in the world. I also liked the pictures he includes showing how people from different parts of the world look different, although I'm not sure how important it is to his arguments! One more note: it was a little depressing to hear how barbaric civilizations have been across the board for thousands of years.
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Summary: Why some nations have made it and why some not.
Review: "Guns,Germs and Steel", is one of those books you just can not stop reading page by page. Those needing to know how some nations have advanced, have withdrawn to the tail and why some have always struggle simply to survive will find this book as a most. One thing I would have added to the title is: Guns, Germs, Steel "and Horses". The impact of this animal in the development of nations has not been properly recognized. The war machinery of conquests that moved culture from one side of earth to another could not have been possible without horses. Above all it is a book of the indomitable spirit of men to keep searching without pause. I would recommend also reading: "History of Knowledge", to reinforce concepts that will help to enjoy, "Guns, Germs and Steel" even more. For us living in the third world, "Guns, Germs and Steel", is a book to read and to reflec upon. No question it is a book of reference. The research done by the author is extraordinary. I recommend it.
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Summary: The Great Integrator
Review: Working from a fantastically diverse array of scholarship, Jared Diamond provides an entirely convincing explanation of How the West Won. Working from essential geographic and biological foundations, he traces the development of a very few essential technologies to explain why Eurasians came to dominate the world. By narrowing the inquiry to these points, he's able to cover remarkable territory at an eminently digestible, lucid 400 pages. (I disagree with those who believe his work overlong -- any less and either you'd miss either important elements of his argument, or evidence of its strength.)Part of what makes his work so valuable is that he avoids most of the self-righteousness endemic in the academy. Yes, he does criticise racist theories for their offensiveness, but in the context of disproving them for their intellectual laziness. Yes, he indeed praises New Guinean intelligence unstintingly, but that's actually pretty sensible: how many American couch potatoes could muster the mental resources to survive constant warfare? In fact, his description of the bloodletting typical in some less-Westernised societies (the Inca and the Aztecs come to mind) refutes any accusations of romanticism. His writing instead conveys the sort of dispassionate engagement so often missing among scholars today.
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Summary: If you read 1 non-fiction book a year, this is the one
Review: Very readable and logically presented. An interesting cross disciplinary approach to answering the question of why Eurasia's civilizations advanced faster those of other regions, technologically and otherwise. The answer he proposes is geography. While this oversimplifies his case somewhat the basic reasoning is as follows: 1) The different regions of the world began with 'endowments' of domesticatable plants and large mammals (large mammals being especially important to the advancement of civilization as they provide labor, clothing, fertilizer, and above all, food) 2) It is significantly easier for plants and animals to spread along areas of similar climate so Eurasia's East-West orientation facilitated the spread of domesticatible plants and large mammals from one area to others whereas, other regions' (e.g., Africa, the Americas) North South orientation hindered this sharing of 'endowments' 3) To a lessor extent, the sharing of information / technological advances (e.g., the wheel, writen language) was also facilitated by Eurasia's East-West orientation There are some weaknesses to the author's thesis to which he (refreshingly enough) openly admits. For instance, he is somewhat at a loss to explain why Eurasia's large mammals are so much more amenable to domestication than are Africa's. Stylistically, everything 'works' except for the last chapter where the author essentially bemoans the fact that his field is not more quantitative and lays out potential areas for futher research. The reader can easily skip the chapter and lose little. But after the pleasure of reading the rest of this book, you're likely to be willing to indulge him by reading the last chapter.
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Summary: Convincing socio-environmental analysis
Review: The subtitle 'A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years' gives an idea of both the scope and power of this work and also its shortcomings. Any attempt to encompass this huge field must necessarily be limited. However Diamond does a great job of outlining the [in his opinion] critical issues and historical determinants. At worst his book is an excellent springboard for more reasearch by the reader, it has certainly inspired me. I think it is one of those things that very few would be sufficiently 'aware' to critique Diamond on any other than a few areas of his analysis. I guess it is like looking up your own country in an encyclopedia to get an idea of how accurate the rest of the material is. In this regard I think Diamond should have [in my opinion] been more open about the assumptions he makes in regard to his analysis of government and religion, he seems to reify current analyses with a very functional analysis of society ie kleptocracy is necessary in order too...and so on. But overall one of those books that should be read by more, and ought to be read by those who won't.
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