Guns, Germs, and Steel

The Fates of Human Societies

By: Jared Diamond

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize Winner, General Nonfiction, 1998

In this groundbreaking work, evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors actually responsible for history's broadest patterns. It is a story that spans 13,000 years of human history, beginning when Stone Age hunter-gatherers constituted the entire human population. Guns, Germs, and Steel is a world history that really is a history of all the world's peoples, a unified narrative of human life.

©1997 Jared Diamond (P)2001 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"The scope and explanatory power of this book are astounding." (The New Yorker)

"Guns, Germs, and Steel is an artful, informative, and delightful book....There is nothing like a radically new angle of vision for bringing out unsuspected dimensions of a subject." (The New York Review of Books)

The review mentioning New Guinea is wrong.

"Then he proceeds by asserting that the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea are genetically superior to whites. This self-contradiction is not rendered any less stupid by the fact that it's done without reference to any evidence beyond the mere hunch of the author."
This reviewer says it is the "mere hunch" of the author. I disagree strongly. The author states it as a theory and gives several good reasons from his years of study. He does NOT say that they are inherently better than whites, but they are genetically superior because they have be more self-sufficient and the ones who are not self-sufficient die off much more quickly. If I had lived at another time, I may have been an invalid or died at an early age due to an accident with my poor eyesight and allergies. In this age, I am probably healthier than most. Not my favorite book, but certainly not bad.

Wow - it's LONG

This is a LONG book. And because of it's length, and detail, I would recommend you listen to it in parts. It's a lot to absorb all at once. Definitely NOT light reading. The narrator is okay, nothing to write home about, but one buys this book for about the content, not the narration or acting.

Patience is rewarded

This book has many interesting points and observations. However, there are several sections that you just have to endure. Keep with it and it will be worth your while. The narrator is ok, but not very exciting - this makes the slower parts of the book go even slower...

glad it was abridged

It was OK, a lot of it is obvious information. kind of depressing at first how most of the animal species have been forced into extinction. So is the world in which we live sad then, now and to come, except of course for the "haves"

Super Interesting, very informative!

This was a great read that answered questions I have long since wondered about why things are the way they are.

A Good abridgement of a famous book

Well narrated for a good listening experience, this is a six-hour abridgement of a very famous but massive and in-depth look at a very deep question: how did Eurasians, and in particular Western Europeans and East Asians, manage to acquire control over the entire planet technologically, politically, and militarily, while almost all other cultures were crushed or conquered. It is an extremely scientific approach, based on botany, geography, and archeology. An outstanding book, but not "light reading."

Changed the way I understand civilization

Not only is this book enlightening and entertaining, it might just change the way you live. The descriptions of the advancement of civilization take a logical approach to the question "why have certain peoples advanced seemingly faster than others?" and gives very interesting examples on the way to answering this fairly simple question. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the agricultural advancements and domesticable species.

Good, lite on supporting evidence

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would add more supporting evidence. Many assertions are made without referecnes or supporting evidence.

Was Guns, Germs, and Steel worth the listening time?

No

Well paced and to the point

The book is written very clearly, directly addresses counter ideas, is forthright about the things we don’t know or are unsure, and the reader does a remarkable job to give an engaging reading

Good book, but better to read than listen

This book is very good. The subject matter is contested in some circles, but it is very thought provoking. I'd recommend reading the book rather than listening as some passages will have you hitting the reverse button on your player.