Guns, Germs and Steel

The Fate of Human Societies

By: Jared Diamond

Narrated by: Doug Ordunio

Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 1998

Guns, Germs and Steel examines the rise of civilization and the issues its development has raised throughout history.

Having done field work in New Guinea for more than 30 years, Jared Diamond presents the geographical and ecological factors that have shaped the modern world. From the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist, he highlights the broadest movements both literal and conceptual on every continent since the Ice Age, and examines societal advances such as writing, religion, government, and technology. Diamond also dissects racial theories of global history, and the resulting work—Guns, Germs and Steel—is a major contribution to our understanding the evolution of human societies.

©1997 Jared Diamond (P)2011 Random House

my book soon to follow

Would you listen to Guns, Germs and Steel again? Why?

yep, cuz i distracted easliy

What was one of the most memorable moments of Guns, Germs and Steel?

genetics based of cultural diffusion.

Which scene was your favorite?

mr plum in the library with the toothpick

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

when I realized that i was talking like reader.

Any additional comments?

send me free stuff

Everybody should know this history

Great book, insightful, should be taught in a schools, and it is the story about all humans.

It's a classic

The book is a classic of macro level history,that gives a philosophy for human development. It's a really nice companion to Sapiens. The performance also really flows.

A sleeping pill

Had to read it twice maybe even a third time. Very informative and dry at times.

Very interesting, but a bit lengthy.

Very interesting and informative, but a bit too lengthy to maintain the exitement over time.
If an abriged version exists, I'd suggest you try that instead.

this book is the cure for insomnia

this audiobook was worth every dollar I paid for it I couldn't tell you much about it and I don't think I've ever made it completely through but whenever I've had trouble sleeping I've put this audiobook on and within 15 minutes I'm out cold it might not be what the author had in mind but I'm so glad I bought it

Very interesting, in depth, and insightful look into social science.

This was a great story giving detailed information about human society and evolution throughout the world. Jared Diamond goes into great depth about geographical locations and food production giving rise to complex and powerful societies. His thesis revolves around why white Europeans came to conquer and control most of the modern world and how it happened. While I do not agree with everything he says, and I feel that some of his research is a bit out of date at this point, he does spend a lot of time and effort rigorously vetting his theories. If you like this empirical approach of analyzing human history and social sciences from antiquity to the modern era I would highly recommend purchasing Before the Dawn by Nicolas Wade. Wade references a lot of Diamond's work in his book while offering new and improved genetic data to help paint a clearer picture of human history.

Similar to Sapiens

having red sapiens first this book was just a duplicate story in a lot of ways. Maybe it would have been better had it in the first time I read it

excellent quick history of humanity

it makes a compelling case for the large impact of a few key variables to the development of societies.

Informative and interesting.

This book could be summarized in a few paragraphs, however it is always interesting to learn about the world from a different perspective. I enjoyed learning why different civilizations reached the status they did and why countries are at different stages of development and/or economy.