Our book club read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, which turned out to be one of the books I have recommended the most often to people. Although I didn’t completely agree with all of Diamond’s points (he has the Pulitzer prize, I don’t), the book is an extremely thought-provoking discussion of the forces that have shaped human history for the past 10,000 years.
Different factors may turn out to be more important in human history than Diamond stressed, while others will turn out not to be so significant. Nevertheless, Diamond drew together information from so many sources and combined and analyzed it with a fresh perspective.
PBS televised a version of the book in 2005. It has an interactive site that allows you to examine and review some of Diamond’s arguments. There’s also an interactive map of the Earth’s continents. When you click on a location, you can learn about its climate, vegetation, wildlife and more. Cathy
Here’s the link: Guns, Germs and Steel interactive website on PBS.
This is a review of Diamond’s book Collapse, which also discusses Guns, Germs and Steel:A Question of Blame When Societies Fall.
Blather, a book club 