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Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Paperback - 1999
by Jared Diamond
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Summary
The book attempts to explain why Eurasian and North African civilizations have survived and conquered others, while arguing against the idea that Eurasian hegemony is due to any form of Eurasian intellectual, moral, or inherent genetic superiority. Diamond argues that the gaps in power and technology between human societies originate primarily in environmental differences, which are amplified by various positive feedback loops. When cultural or genetic differences have favored Eurasians (for example, written language or the development among Eurasians of resistance to endemic diseases), he asserts that these advantages occurred because of the influence of geography on societies and cultures (for example, by facilitating commerce and trade between different cultures) and were not inherent in the Eurasian genomes.
Reader reviews for Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Review summary
Jared Diamond's 'Guns, Germs, and Steel' generated polarized reactions among readers. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book attempts to explain why some civilizations dominated others through geographic and environmental factors rather than racial superiority. Supporters praised its ambitious scope, readable prose, and compelling argument about the role of domesticable plants and animals in civilizational development. Critics attacked the work for oversimplification, environmental determinism, methodological flaws, weak citations, selective use of evidence, and failure to adequately address history after the colonial era. Many reviewers noted the book's value as an introductory framework while questioning its applicability to more recent historical periods and its dismissal of cultural, ideological, and individual agency.
Readers say this book is:
thought-provoking fascinating groundbreaking readable oversimplified repetitive deterministic well-researched ambitious flawedWrite a review for this book
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Details
- Title Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
- Author Jared Diamond
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: repri
- Pages 496
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher W. W. Norton & Company, New York
- Publication date 1999-04
- ISBN 9780393317558 / 0393317552
- Weight 1.31 lbs (0.59 kg)
- Dimensions 9.32 x 6.13 x 1.43 in (23.67 x 15.57 x 3.63 cm)
- Reading level 1440
- Category Archaeology / Anthropology
- Library of Congress subjects Social evolution, Ethnology
- Library of Congress Catalogue Number 96037068
- Dewey Decimal Code 303.4
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