Guns, Germs, and Steel (Barnes & Noble Reader's Companion)

By SparkNotes

Scholar and professor Jared Diamond made a huge splash with this fascinating but controversial book, which argues that geography and environment have almost singlehandedly determined the course of human history. Dig deeper into his contentions with the information inside this invaluable reader's handbook: * Why did Europe colonize Africa and Asia rather than the other way around? * Why is geography the most important factor in human history? * How has the rest of the scientific community received Diamond's theory?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586638637
• ISBN13: 9781586638634
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Explains a Lot [P]

Written in a verse akin to large lecture-room presentation, this book moves the reader through a plethora of cultures and millennia of civilization to determine why the leaders of today are what they are, and what brought them to the fore. The answer to the core question is boiled down to the book's title. White men's germs hurt the others more than the opposite, the ability to use metal for guns and other tools gave great military advantage - hence conquest. But, it turns out it is not inquisitive or superior minds that deliver the whites to rule the indigenous tribal folk of other continents. It is more a freak chance of being in the right place at the right time - having the ability to create civilization and towns and more because of east-west rivers, as opposed to north-south, or other of Mother Nature's flukes not created nor could be created by human hand. Ultimately, the author believes that other societies, with their almanac knowledge of vegetation and handling selves in the torrid weather in which they survive, may be innately brighter and more impressive as men. But, the playing deck was stacked in favor of European turf dwellers, whose lives were eased by the botanical and other biological advantages provided by the sites within their borders. And, with the uneven playing field recently being to the advantage of the white men, they surpassed their rivals - or at least have for the time being. But, white superiority, as the author notes, is a very new thing. China, Egypt, and so many other nations made civilization the great growing creature of 1300 BC to 400 AD, and only thereafter does western civilization take a foothold, and arguably not until 1400 AD does it begin to surge ahead. Reasons are given for this by the author, and some are complete, and others can be questioned. The book is a great idea trying to answer much in little space. It is chock full of facts, so much that even if the reader grasps only 1%, there is a large lesson to be obtained within its pages.

No educated person should miss this important book!

This is the best explanation I have seen that explains why some people do well financially and others do poorly.