Book Review: Collapse
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. (Amazon)
In his previous book, the widely popular Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond convincingly argued a history of human settlement that placed the highest importance on those factors outside of human control: geography, climate, geology, environment, etc. In what can be loosely considered a follow-up, he continues that path of reasoning by looking at past societies with the intention of affecting our futures. Diamond looks at a varied group of societies, from the Greenland Norse and Iceland in the North Atlantic to Easter Island and Tikopia in the South Pacific, from the Anasazi and Maya Indians in the Americas to the Chinese and Japanese in Asia.
Similar to the previous book, the author argues that environmental factors are of the utmost importance, though he's careful to explain that human decisions greatly affect the outcome of societies, as evidenced by the wording of the book's subtitle. Why else could the Icelanders have survived while the Greenland Norse didn't? Or why have islanders on Tikopia outlasted those on Easter Island? Of course, this ultimately raises the question, are we making the right decisions for success, or are we headed for failure? Diamond jumps back and forth from pessimism and optimism across the books pages, ultimately ending on a positive note. I'm less inclined to share his optimism, though to admit failure now is to assure that outcome. Even though Diamond focuses on past failures, he does so to educate people about what not to do, so we don't repeat the failures of past societies as we head towards into the always uncertain future.
In his previous book, the widely popular Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond convincingly argued a history of human settlement that placed the highest importance on those factors outside of human control: geography, climate, geology, environment, etc. In what can be loosely considered a follow-up, he continues that path of reasoning by looking at past societies with the intention of affecting our futures. Diamond looks at a varied group of societies, from the Greenland Norse and Iceland in the North Atlantic to Easter Island and Tikopia in the South Pacific, from the Anasazi and Maya Indians in the Americas to the Chinese and Japanese in Asia.
Similar to the previous book, the author argues that environmental factors are of the utmost importance, though he's careful to explain that human decisions greatly affect the outcome of societies, as evidenced by the wording of the book's subtitle. Why else could the Icelanders have survived while the Greenland Norse didn't? Or why have islanders on Tikopia outlasted those on Easter Island? Of course, this ultimately raises the question, are we making the right decisions for success, or are we headed for failure? Diamond jumps back and forth from pessimism and optimism across the books pages, ultimately ending on a positive note. I'm less inclined to share his optimism, though to admit failure now is to assure that outcome. Even though Diamond focuses on past failures, he does so to educate people about what not to do, so we don't repeat the failures of past societies as we head towards into the always uncertain future.
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