Product Description

Explaining what William McNeill called The Rise of the West has become the central problem in the study of global history. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist's answer: geography, demography, and ecological happenstance. Diamond evenhandedly reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age at a rate that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ideas. Yet his survey is binocular: one eye has the rather distant vision of the evolutionary biologist, while the other eye--and his heart--belongs to the people of New Guinea, where he has done field work for more than 30 years.

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Product Details

Publisher	W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN	0393061310
Features	ISBN13: 9780393061314 Condition: New Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Format	Hardcover
Author	Jared Diamond
EAN	9780393061314
Label	W. W. Norton & Company
Edition	1
Dewey Decimal Number	303.4
Studio	W. W. Norton & Company
Number Of Pages	512
Title	Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Publication Date	2005-07-11
Manufacturer	W. W. Norton & Company

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Customer Reviews

Guns, Germa and Steel Audio Version

Review by AHR, 2010-08-27

A great audio adaptation of a great book. I listened to it on my commute to work.
I have the actual book, but had no time to sit down and read it. If you are very busy, audio versions of books really work well.

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Great book

Review by C Mong, 2010-08-26

The narrator possesses a refined and compelling voice, and the author's writing style stimulates the mind. The author uses a tremendous amount of detail to avoid unnecessary/inaccurate generalizations and intentional/unintentional misinterpretations. However, the author executes this feat without allowing the reader to feel lost in mundane facts. I enjoyed the author's use of rhetorical questions to explore the viewpoints of persons who oppose his assertions. Overall, an informative and invigorating read. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever asked, "Why did certain people and cultures end up with so much, while others ended up with so little".

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Absurd

Review by Eager Learner, 2010-08-23

There are so many things wrong with this book,I don't know where to start. First, the author sees himself as a scientist and writes like he is providing an article to Vanity Fair. Ignoring science, disregarding significant works and stating opinion as fact he proceeds to batter us with trivia while ignoring facts. I have no argument with the inability of IQ tests to accurately define human intelligence as it relates to practical capability. That doesn't mean, as one of the other reviewers mentioned, that the Bell Curve is not a significant book. Argue the rationale not simply state an opinion and walk away. This book is so plagued with bad science and silly extrapolations from 11,000 years ago that it ignores many of the realities of history. I'll stop now but I could go on for paragraphs.

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Human History for the Classroom

Review by Wendy Ervin, 2010-08-21

Jared Diamond's incredible world history book should be required reading for high school students. No cheating allowed by just watching the National Geographic video versions--although the program *is* a great way to introduce the book.

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Fascinating Book

Review by Simon from Chicago, 2010-08-13

I'll be the first to admit that this book is dense, somewhat repetitive, and a difficult read. However, I won't be the first to admit that it's also one of the more fascinating reads out there if one is interested in the origin of civilizations, ecological anthropology and why some civilizations became more "advanced" than others. Diamond is at his best synthesizes great quantities of data, which he does here.

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