Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (1997); 480 pages... This author is/was a professor of geography and physiology at UCLA. In 1998 this book won a Pulitzer Prize and the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book. A documentary based on the book was broadcast on PBS in July 2005, produced by the National Geographic Society.MWF says: So the dude definitely is a rock star professor. Reading this book is like the best university class that I never actually attended. As an easier read, I recommend his more recent book: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005); it has more of an environmental emphasis. But Guns offers a complete perspective of 11 million years of history contained in less than 500 pages---so it wins BANG FOR BUCK honors... And its a pretty amazing trip. Does too much of the author's history make sense... or is he just that good of a professor? I felt relieved when I finaly finished reading it; like ready for spring break./mwf