In fact, it relates closely to modern politics and practical, contemporary concerns.

Its remarkable new account of human history earned the book a Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction, the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book, and a documentary produced by the National Geographic Society that took inspiration from the book’s analysis.ĭiamond's thesis is not only interesting to academics who already study this field. In other words, it shows how certain physical features of Eurasia conferred important advantages that can explain Eurasia's more rapid development of technology, both the spread of and resistance to infectious diseases, and complex political organizations. Guns, Germs, and Steel interprets mankind's history in terms of geographics. Through a series of specific examples and broad historical patterns, he provides an answer to this important question: Eurasian powers are so influential and technologically-advanced today not because of genetic differences between them and other peoples, but because of differences in environment. Diamond combines a number of different disciplines in his ambitious attempt to answer this wide-ranging question, including history, archeology, biology, linguistics, and ecology, among others. He focuses primarily on the surprisingly advanced development of largely white, Eurasian peoples, as compared to the native peoples of the Americas, Australia, and Africa.

Above all, it focuses on a question posed by a New Guinean politician named Yali: 'Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo … but we black people had little cargo of our own?' Yali's question inspired Diamond to investigate the unequal rates of development across continents. The book chronicles history from the beginning of humankind, attempting to explain why certain societies have survived and thrive, while so many others have perished. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies is a 1997 work of historiography by Jared Diamond.

Guns germs and steel book