"Collapse" by Jared Diamond

[Yupster]

Anyone read this recently? It's the best book I've read in a while.

The author, most famous for "Guns, Germs and Steel" looked at societies which have collapsed in the past and tried to make generalizations from those specific events.

I found it very informative.

[JDPriestly]

1. Read a great deal of it some time ago. It is wonderful.

[HereSince1628]

2. Read it, but not recently. I liked page 432 a lot.

Diamond introduced me to the language of the "sunk-cost" effect.

That socio-pyschological phenomenon really provides insight into the mind of George W(rongway) Bush.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. reading it now, actually.

I've learned lots! :D

[DuaneBidoux]

4. Guns, Germs, & Steel is also amazing.

As far as educating you in a big way and giving you a grand overview of how it came about in the first place that Europeans were the imperialists it is an extraordinary read.

[pstans]

5. Collapse or Guns, Germs, and Steel

If I could only read one of them, which one do you recommend?

[Yupster]

7. I liked Collapse better

just my opinion.

I think Guns Germs and Steel has an oversold thesis which kind of falls apart at the end of the book with China and India.

[scholarsOrAcademics]

6. Montana, Easter Island, Haiti

I'm re-reading it for a public Library discussion.
Montana is having problems with knapweed.Half the States'income is from out of state.Its income is second from the bottom(?)
Easter Island turned to cannabalism. Its clan structure divided the island in a pie territorial way.
How societies choose to survive or fail, would not seem to be a subject for a geographer.
interesting subject, not in the clash of civilizations mold.

[Kiouni]

8. Great book just started, "Why sex is fun"

by Diamond. Its looking good.