Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
The first of a set - "Guns, Germs and Steel" and "Collapse" Published by W. W. Norton and Company (April 1, 1999) Most readers of those two books read Guns, Germs and Steel before Collapse in the order in which they were published. I, however, read them in reverse order of publication. Many were critical of Collapse because it was too close to Guns, Germs and Steel in theme and topics covered. I suppose that I am a bit disappointed as well, but not too much. The author Yes, they cover some of the same material, but really they are the twin sides of the same coin - the rise of societies and the fall of societies. With a little bit of editing, Jared Diamond could have merged these two books into one and created one monster-sized tome (800 plus pages) on the rise and fall of societies around the world. Diamond's theses are cogent, coherent and clear. Really, it is a wonderful volume for the student of world history who wishes to take some s