Review of Guns, Germs, and Steel
Book Review
Katrina Yurkiw
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Jared Diamond
W. W. Norton and Company
April 1st, 1999
480 Pages
ISBN: 0393317552
Guns, Germs, and Steel is a fascinating perspective taken by Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA, Jared Diamond. Diamond's purpose was to explain why Eurasian civilizations have had such immense success conquering people and land other than their own. Diamond's aim is to answer Yali's question: Why is that white people have developed materials and technology and brought it to New Guinea, but the black people have little of their own? (3). Diamond is successful in answering Yali's question, but, his answer is one that I find to be not comprehensive enough for the magnitude of the subject. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond's thesis is that “history followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among people's environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves." (12). What Diamond completely underestimates, is the influences of culture of and biology.Jared Diamond has a global reputation as one of America's most celebrated scholars, who is famous for his impressive work in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. Diamond was awarded a Pulitzer prize for Guns, Germs, and Steel in 2001, and since then this book has sold millions of copies and has been translated into 25 different languages. The message I interpreted from Guns, Germs, and Steel is that learning about the world's past should be prioritized to help all humans, now and in the future to make better decisions. Where I struggle with this message, is that as impressive as it is to say, Diamond is setting a poor example. He has formatted his book in such a way that he is selectively presenting information to strengthen what seems to be a previously drawn conclusion. Diamond does not include footnotes, and makes general references to unknown theorists and scientists. One
Katrina Yurkiw
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Jared Diamond
W. W. Norton and Company
April 1st, 1999
480 Pages
ISBN: 0393317552
Guns, Germs, and Steel is a fascinating perspective taken by Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA, Jared Diamond. Diamond's purpose was to explain why Eurasian civilizations have had such immense success conquering people and land other than their own. Diamond's aim is to answer Yali's question: Why is that white people have developed materials and technology and brought it to New Guinea, but the black people have little of their own? (3). Diamond is successful in answering Yali's question, but, his answer is one that I find to be not comprehensive enough for the magnitude of the subject. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond's thesis is that “history followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among people's environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves." (12). What Diamond completely underestimates, is the influences of culture of and biology.Jared Diamond has a global reputation as one of America's most celebrated scholars, who is famous for his impressive work in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. Diamond was awarded a Pulitzer prize for Guns, Germs, and Steel in 2001, and since then this book has sold millions of copies and has been translated into 25 different languages. The message I interpreted from Guns, Germs, and Steel is that learning about the world's past should be prioritized to help all humans, now and in the future to make better decisions. Where I struggle with this message, is that as impressive as it is to say, Diamond is setting a poor example. He has formatted his book in such a way that he is selectively presenting information to strengthen what seems to be a previously drawn conclusion. Diamond does not include footnotes, and makes general references to unknown theorists and scientists. One