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The most ambitious book in that regard must be Guns, Germs, and Steel (http://amzn.to/2jKq9ku http://amzn.to/2jKq9ku) by Jared Diamond. It aims to answer the qu
by matt4077 10y ago
The most ambitious book in that regard must be Guns, Germs, and Steel (http://amzn.to/2jKq9ku http://amzn.to/2jKq9ku) by Jared Diamond. It aims to answer the question: "Why did Europeans end up killing/conquering/... American Indians, and not the other way around?
You'll find lots of people saying Diamond has been "debunked" but by that they mean "here's some criticism someone posted online". It's a remarkable work of analysis tracing the causes of human progress over thousands of years.
- secfirstmd 10y agoCame here just to say that book also. It's amazing. My favourite non-fiction book.
- DrScump 10y agoA differing opinion would be that he identified correlations. Both guns and steel stem from discoveries and inventions (e.g. gunpowder and smelting), not from physical resources unique to Europe.
- matt4077 10y agoIt goes much deeper than that. He'd next ask: where do discovery and invention come from?
- TheTrotters 10y agoFor a different (and, for me, more convincing) perspective read 'Why Nations Fail' by Acemoglu and Robinson.