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I can't comment on the others, but I'm a trained historian, and hating Guns, Germs, and Steel is probably the single thing that unites our field. It's vastly o
by lthornberry 6y ago
I can't comment on the others, but I'm a trained historian, and hating Guns, Germs, and Steel is probably the single thing that unites our field. It's vastly oversimplified, and gives anyone who reads it the idea that they understand the major forces shaping world history while ignoring most of the things that historians agree are more important than environmental determinism in that process.
- ihodes 6y agoDo you have an alternative book (or list of) which you'd recommend instead?
- jcranmer 6y agoI always recommend Charles Mann's 1491 as the antidote to Guns, Germs, and Steel. (Although note that this focuses entirely on pre-Columbian America.)
- PaulDavisThe1st 6y agoInteresting choice, since I did not feel as if 1491 contained any information that contradicted the basic theses of GG&S, and if anything reinforced it.
- wombatmobile 6y agoWhat does 1491 teach us?
- tildedave 6y agoNot a historian, but _Why the West Rules - For Now_ by Ian Morris was a good read. Covers the sweep of world history with the audacious goal of quantifying human development at all moments in history. It mainly focuses on the west (starting in the Mesopotamian region) and the east (starting in the area surrounding the Yellow river) and addresses questions like "why didn't China discover America" (basically - too far away). You might also find it interesting!
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- sriacha 6y agoWhat would you say are "most of the things that historians agree are more important than environmental determinism" that Diamond ignores?