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Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond, Grover Gardner ISBN: 1-56511-514-7 Publisher: Highbridge Audio Pub. Date: 23 August, 2001 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 5 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.93 (620 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The Origins of Civilization
Comment: Jared Diamond attempts to explain the entire development of humanity in the last 13,000 years in this volume, an overly ambitious project, no doubt. While the answer he provides contains a tremendous amount of truth and represents a major step forward in understanding human history, there are many variables that he leaves out. Diamond explains development in terms of biogeography, with cultivable grains, domesticable animals, and an East-West geographic axis. This combination leads to an agricultural surplus, larger populations, specialized occupations, and better technology. This powerful combination leads to farmer societies developing more quickly than hunter-gatherers.
While his thesis is valuable and the new information he brings is astonishing, Diamond's theory is also deterministic and reductionist. There are too many other factors we also have to examine as well. One major factor is a culture's ability to harness its resources into a logical economic system. This has been discussed in detail by David Landes, whose work does not conflict with Diamond's but complements it. And ultimately, we cannot treat human beings as machines that are the same everywhere in the world, but that vary due to climate and geography, just like all other species. To explain human development, we also need to include humans in the discussion. This is a seemingly obvious point, but one that Diamond does not address since his goal is discount racism. But to say the races are different is not to say that one is better. If we refuse to look at race, we can't understand humanity.
To begin with, Diamond states technological change is due to the "inventor-genius," a lone individual whose innovation changes society. The larger the population, the more such individuals will be found. However, the populations in East Asia were always greater than in Europe. Despite that fact, most inventions came from Europe, particularly after 1500 AD. I suggest the answer may be that Europeans for some reason have a higher percentage of geniuses in their populations than Asians do, even though as a whole, Europeans might be slightly less intelligent than Asians. In general, Diamond cannot really explain why Europe developed before East Asia although his theory does explain why Eurasia developed before the rest of the world. At some point, however, we need to look at people if we are to understand history. At this point in our research on human biodiversity there are still many unanswered questions. But we should not shy away from asking more as Diamond does. For we may yet discover more reasons why Europeans developed before others. Ultimately, the major usefullness of this book is in explaining why civilizations developed where they did, first in Mesopotamia, and then east and west of that location. But it does not explain much after the origins of these civilizations: Why some areas developed quicker than others even after both had the requisite guns, germs, and steel remains unanswered by this theory. And it certainly can't explain the disparity in among modern societies.
Rating: 3
Summary: biased
Comment: Those of us not expert in history or the sciences are at the mercy of the writer of books of this sort. Much of it sounds very convincing, but when I read on page 19 that assumptions of racial superiority (when held by westerners) are loathsome and then the author goes on at some length to explain why he feels New Guineans are more intelligent than westerners, even providing a genetic explaination, I have to wonder if some politically-correct assumptions aren't at work. He winds up this section on page 22 with "Why did New Guineans wind up technologically primitive, despite what I believe to be their superior intelligence?"
Though there is undoubtably much truth in this book, the less-than-objective admission and puzzling double standard at the beginning don't lead me to fully trust the author.
Rating: 4
Summary: Thought provoking from 90 miles up
Comment: The book itself is presented as a broad overview of history, as it would be impossible to paint an accurate portrayal of civilization in a book this size. I'm not well enough versed in history, or biology to make an authoritative judgement as to the validity of the material presented. However if you are looking for something to make you think about the rise of western civilization, this may be it. I read this a couple of years ago now and find that the ideas presented in the book still influence my thoughts. Definitely a worthwhile read. I'm only rating it 4 stars because I feel that some of the arguments aren't sufficiently fleshed out.
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Title: The Third Chimpanzee : The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal by Jared M. Diamond ISBN: 0060984031 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 02 December, 1992 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor by David S. Landes ISBN: 0393318885 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Science Masters) by Jared M. Diamond ISBN: 0465031269 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.50 |
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Title: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson ISBN: 0767908171 Publisher: Broadway Books Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Plagues and Peoples by William H. McNeill ISBN: 0385121229 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: February, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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