Capsule Review: Guns, Germs and Steel

[BurtWorm]

:thumbsup:

[brainshrub]

1. GG&S was a great book!

It changed my whole view of history.

One of the best books ever written, it should be required reading in every high-school.

[achtung_circus]

2. a synthesized look

at domestication, migration, technology transfer and the be-all and end-all of human conflict- greed and population pressure.

[Richardo]

3. That is on my list....

...thanks for the :thumbsup:

[BurtWorm]

4. It's way too complicated to go into.

;)

It's actually a brilliant book that should be read by anyone who has wondered why Europe conquered the Americas and not the other way around. It essentially demolishes any racist explanation.

[brainshrub]

5. Damn, that was the best summery of GG&S I have ever read.

Congratulations!

Here's another: War & Peace.

[crispini]

7. Snerk, here's my summary of War & Peace.

:thumbsup:

</attitude> Sorry, but your post was too funny to pass up. :D

[lazarus]

6. Yup

Read it three times. Great book.

[9119495]

8. You know the book is a big success when a bunch

of stuffy, egg-headed asshole professors start sniping at it for minor things.

GG&S demolishes several arguments. 250 years ago, the explanation of Euro dominance would have been something like "God has willed us to victory." One hundred years ago it would have been something like "their darker skin makes them less evolved than us white folk and thus...."

Diamond argues that factors such as geography, large domesticable mammals, food supply, and plenty and scarcity (which can be both good and bad) have a great effect on human history. That was not new but he put it all together into a persuasive and readable book I now use with my classes.

[BurtWorm]

9. That's funny. "God has willed us to victory" is the Bushist explanation

for everything that has happened on their watch. :puke:

[CitySky]

10. Are you reading it?

I just picked it up last night for myself, but probably won't get into it until late January, earliest. If we end up reading it around the same time let's keep in touch. :hi:

[BurtWorm]

11. I just finished it.

It took me a while, I confess--about half a year, what with several other books I've been reading simultaneously. It's just superb. I would be surprised if it doesn't change the way you think about the world--for the better.

[lazarus]

12. I've read it before

but would love to have an excuse to read it again. we could start our own mini-book club discussion when y'all are ready.

[CitySky]

14. "mini book club"

sounds good. I do want to try to jump in on the "main" book club for January, with Lakoff's "Don't Think of an Elephant." Sometime after that, I'll let y'all know when I tackle GG&S. It's in paperback now, not too $$$$.

BTW, my local Barnes & Noble was out of Lakoff's "Elephant" last night -- guess it's a popular buy in my blue Houston neighborhood! :) Will check back soon, or order online...

[InvisibleBallots]

13. I still have not read this one

But I really need to, considering how much people have talked about it.

[BurtWorm]

15. You, especially should find it fascinating, considering your interest

in the question of whether history is an art or a science. Diamond makes the case for a scientific approach to the subject.

[InvisibleBallots]

16. I've read a few excerpts

a friend of mine loves it, I'll definately pick it up soon. Thanks for the recommendation.

[gold_bug]

17. new Jared Diamond book: "Collapse"

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Read a review on the New Yorker:
In “Collapse,” Jared Diamond shows how societies destroy themselves.
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?050103crbo_books

[lazarus]

18. oooh, that sound good

That's going on my wish list!

[kohodog]

19. He had an op ed in yesterday's NYT. And a new book soon Titled:

"Collapse: How societies Choose or Fail to Succeed"

Likn to the OpEd:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/01/opinion/01diamond.html?pagewanted=1&n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fContributors&oref=login

>snip<

The Ends of the World as We Know Them
By JARED DIAMOND

Published: January 1, 2005

Los Angeles — NEW Year's weekend traditionally is a time for us to reflect, and to make resolutions based on our reflections. In this fresh year, with the United States seemingly at the height of its power and at the start of a new presidential term, Americans are increasingly concerned and divided about where we are going. How long can America remain ascendant? Where will we stand 10 years from now, or even next year?

Such questions seem especially appropriate this year. History warns us that when once-powerful societies collapse, they tend to do so quickly and unexpectedly. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise: peak power usually means peak population, peak needs, and hence peak vulnerability. What can be learned from history that could help us avoid joining the ranks of those who declined swiftly? We must expect the answers to be complex, because historical reality is complex: while some societies did indeed collapse spectacularly, others have managed to thrive for thousands of years without major reversal.

When it comes to historical collapses, five groups of interacting factors have been especially important: the damage that people have inflicted on their environment; climate change; enemies; changes in friendly trading partners; and the society's political, economic and social responses to these shifts. That's not to say that all five causes play a role in every case. Instead, think of this as a useful checklist of factors that should be examined, but whose relative importance varies from case to case.

For instance, in the collapse of the Polynesian society on Easter Island three centuries ago, environmental problems were dominant, and climate change, enemies and trade were insignificant; however, the latter three factors played big roles in the disappearance of the medieval Norse colonies on Greenland. Let's consider two examples of declines stemming from different mixes of causes: the falls of classic Maya civilization and of Polynesian settlements on the Pitcairn Islands.

[BurtWorm]

22. I was given Collapse for the holiday.

It's similar in a lot of ways to Guns, Germs and Steal, being a development of his scientific approach to history, and a continuation of the theme of the fate of societies. This one looks at ones that fail.

[Patiod]

20. Maybe worth purchasing

I've gotten it out of the library twice, and not finished it either time (and I go through books pretty quickly).

Not a light book you can skim through. I've noticed people on the train reading it for weeks.

[BurtWorm]

21. It's very densely packed with information.

Very well written and easily assimilable, but dense! It took me months to read it, as well. It is worth buying.

[PallasAthena]

23. pithy review.......

I would agree.
This book did change the way I view the world; it was brilliant.
But the really strange thing about it (and it was about 5 years ago
that I read it), was that it was boring and fascinating at the same time. Some of the details were truly plodding (probably why it took some of the people here several months to get through it), but when it was all added up, the complete view was more vivid than a 3-D HDTV picture.

[Zuni]

24. an excellent history

I found it to be first rate.