Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, Review

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Years later this book is still blowing my mind. I felt like a genius just reading it! I slowed down near the end because I didn't want it to end. There really isn't a way to explain this book and do it justice. It is phenomenally interesting and utterly astounding. It attempts to answer the question: why did human history turn out the way it did? Why didn't the Aztecs come conquer Europe, or the Incas invade China? The answer will definitely surprise you. The breadth of the view, the depth of Jared Diamond's knowledge and the lucid and engaging examples and stories he uses make you feel smart just reading the book. It is not a difficult read. However, it stretches your usual outlook so much that it makes you feel smarter for absorbing the knowledge. It shifts your paradigm and the way you see the world will be irrevocably altered. This is a totally enjoyable read and very worthy subject matter, too.

Soon after reading GGS I had a chance to see Jared Diamond speak. I was definitely not disappointed! I even stood in line to get a signed book, not a typical John thing to do. Jared is the real deal: a classic "absent minded professor" type. Completely brilliant in his area and completely oblivious to unimportant stuff like clothing style and a mussed up hairdo. It was truly exhilirating to just listen to him speak. I also got a chance to ask him a question during which I told him I felt like a genius while merely reading his book and talking about it at cocktail parties. That elicited a big round of "me too!" laughter from the audience.

One of the main points he talked about, which I found truly amazing once he'd pointed it out, is that environmental degradation and political chaos go hand in hand in the world. If you were to ask a completely non politically-savvy ecologist where the world hot spots of environmental degradation are he'd say Afghanistan, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, Zaire, Iraq and so on. Then, if you were to ask a completely ecologically unaware politician (uh...) where the world's political hotspots are he'd say Afghanistan, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, Zaire, Iraq, and so on.

Coincidence? I think not.

Here is a quote and a link to an article from 1995, which anticipates the book upon which he was then working, about Easter Island and other failed societies, called Collapse.

"In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism. Are we about to follow their lead?"

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/24/042.html Again, tend your garden.

Guns Germs and Steel is one of my recommended Life Matters books. It's someday morning. Here's a round tuit. The sooner you read it the happier you'll be and the richer your perspective on things will be.