Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (20th Anniversary Edition)
In "Guns, Germs, and Steel," Jared Diamond embarks on a captivating exploration of the forces that shaped human civilization. He argues that geographic and environmental factors, rather than inherent differences among peoples, were pivotal in determining the fates of societies. Through a gripping narrative, Diamond unveils how the spread of agriculture, the domestication of animals, and the availability of resources laid the groundwork for conquest and colonialism. Readers are challenged to reconsider history's most significant events through the lens of ecology and evolution. This thought-provoking masterpiece invites you to question what truly drives societal power across civilizations.
By Jared Diamond
Published: 2017
"History followed different paths for different peoples because of differences among their environments, not because of biological differences among the peoples themselves."
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What Readers Say About This Book
"Fascinating.... Lays a foundation for understanding human history."—Bill Gates In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion --as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war --and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize, and the Commonwealth club of California's Gold Medal.
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About the Author
Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond is an acclaimed American ecologist, evolutionary biologist, and author, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Guns, Germs, and Steel. Born on September 10, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts, he has made significant contributions to understanding the interplay between environment and human societies. Diamond's work encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including geography, anthropology, and history, as he explores the factors that have shaped civilizations. In addition to his bestselling works, he has served as a professor of geography at UCLA for several decades. His thought-provoking ideas challenge conventional narratives about human development and the future of our planet.
Book Details
Key information about the book.
- Authors
- Jared Diamond
- Published
- March 2017
- Publisher
- W. W. Norton & Company
- ISBN
- 0393609294
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 528
- Genres
- HistoryCultural History
Purchase Options
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View Collection“History followed different paths for different peoples because of differences among their environments, not because of biological differences among the peoples themselves.”
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (20th Anniversary Edition)
By Jared Diamond
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