Jared Diamond on Upheaval, Trump & Brexit

In his landmark international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilisations rise and fall. Now in the third book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crisis.

Diamond shows us how six countries have survived defining upheavals in the recent past - from the forced opening up of Japan and the Soviet invasion of Finland to the Pinochet regime in Chile - through selective change, a process of painful self-appraisal and adaptation more commonly associated with personal trauma. Looking ahead to the future, he investigates whether the United States, and the world, are squandering their natural advantages and are on a devastating path towards catastrophe. Is this fate inevitable? Or can we still learn from the lessons of the past?

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[bikerslow]

Hero. I met him at a book signing and he couldn't have been nicer. His books are unbelievably interesting and deeply researched. An exceptional guy.

[muylae]

i have read every single book Diamond wrote, and they were eye openers for me. i anticipate his next book that without doubt will me make a more understanding person again about .... us.

[johnnyb]

I agree completely with his methodology. I was wondering myself about some things I recently learned from his book guns, germs and steel about the way political unification in China caused them to dismantle their ocean going technology. I couldn't help to compare it to the way a two party system is inadequate in the US and how it too, can allow one party to make or change rules that are absurd for the greater good of us all. It seems a rule that a monoculture of anything is not good for survival. I would also add, that guns, germs and steel should have religion added to the end . Religion is an extended phenotype and is significant as such and should be regarded under the framework of evolutionary biology.

[clashwithhotsticklegendary]

Absolutely brilliant I have most of his books very informative and important !

[jeremymenning]

I just read through the voting requirements for most of the major European countries. The majority of them require a form of photo or voter ID and proof of address. Weird.

[davidleong]

Many Americans don’t even know where other countries are located outside of the USA and probably UK. Some don’t even know where Australia is. Civilisations are built upon communities. If you go to UK and study the history, societies are built upon communal requirements against attacks by marauders. They naturally congregated in churches and pubs to build communal ties so that they can rely on each other in times of crisis. Look at the way, British army units are formed. Many are built upon recruitment among certain communities.

[eugnius]

the culture of critique is strong in this one

[smalltalks]

I am reading guns germs and steel right now

[patrickklocek]

I loved GCS. I adored The Third Chimpanzee. I even thought Collapse was solid. But he has gone out of his depth here criticizing American Exceptionalism. It means only that the American institutions and culture combined to generate a powerful and prosperous state founded on individual freedom (since 1865) and that such a model is worth maintaining. It does not mean the rest of the world is irrelevant.

[TheCompleteGuitarist]

Not the neutral observer we expect from anthropologists. Look forward to his Biden era studies.

[rogeralsop]

Excellent book - in the circumstances I'll overlook the shirt and tie.

[kelvinkersey]

don't all nations claim a degree of exceptionalism? you can't scold the usa for that

[Knuck_Knucks]

Loved GGS but, Marxist much? Pretty low resolution when it comes to politics...