Jared Diamond is a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He began his scientific career in physiology and expanded into evolutionary biology and biogeography. Among his many awards are the National Medal of Science, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Japan's Cosmos Prize, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the Lewis Thomas Prize honoring the Scientist as Poet, presented by The Rockefeller University. His previous books include Why Is Sex Fun?, The Third Chimpanzee, Collapse, The World Until Yesterday, and Guns, Germs, and Steel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Praise for Collapse
A New York Times bestseller "A magisterial effort packed with
insight and written with clarity and enthusiasm. It's also the deal
of the year--the equivalent of a year's college course by an
engaging, brilliant professor, all for the price of a book. --
BusinessWeek
"Extraordinary in erudition and originality, compelling in [its]
ability to relate the digitized pandemonium of the present to the
hushed agrarian sunrises of the past." -- The New York Times Book
Review
"Diamond's most influential gift may be his ability to write about
geopolitical and environmental systems in ways that don't just
educate and provoke, but entertain." -- The Seattle Times
"Extremely persuasive...replete with fascinating stories, a
treasure trove of historical anecdotes [and] haunting statistics."
-- The Boston Globe
"Essential reading...Collapse [shows] that resilient societies are
nimble ones, capable of a long-term planning and of abandoning
deeply entrenched but ultimately destructive core values and
beliefs." -- Nature
"There are hopeful messages in Collapse. With Diamond's help, maybe
we'll learn to see our problems a little more clearly before we
chop down that last palm tree." -- Time
"Extraordinarily panoramic...Diamond's complex historical web of
how human communities either master their environment or become
victims of them...takes a lifetime of research and, in normal
English, leads the reader painstakingly where the media and
intellectual journals have often refused to go." -- The Washington
Post
"Rendering complex history and science into entertaining prose,
Diamond reminds us that those who ignore history are bound to
repeat it." -- People (four stars)
"Taken together, Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse represent one
of the most significant projects embarked upon by any intellectual
in our generation. They are magnificent books...I read both
thinking what literature might be like if every author knew so
much, wrote so clearly and formed arguments with such care." -- The
New York Times
"Read this book. It will challenge you and make you think." --
Scientific American
Praise for "Collapse"
A "New York Times" bestseller
"A magisterial effort packed with insight and written with clarity
and enthusiasm. It's also the deal of the year--the equivalent of a
year's college course by an engaging, brilliant professor, all for
the price of a book. BusinessWeek
"Extraordinary in erudition and originality, compelling in [its]
ability to relate the digitized pandemonium of the present to the
hushed agrarian sunrises of the past." The New York Times Book
Review
"Diamond's most influential gift may be his ability to write about
geopolitical and environmental systems in ways that don't just
educate and provoke, but entertain." The Seattle Times
"Extremely persuasive...replete with fascinating stories, a
treasure trove of historical anecdotes [and] haunting statistics."
The Boston Globe
"Essential reading..."Collapse" [shows] that resilient societies
are nimble ones, capable of a long-term planning and of abandoning
deeply entrenched but ultimately destructive core values and
beliefs." Nature
"There are hopeful messages in "Collapse." With Diamond's help,
maybe we'll learn to see our problems a little more clearly before
we chop down that last palm tree." Time
"Extraordinarily panoramic...Diamond's complex historical web of
how human communities either master their environment or become
victims of them...takes a lifetime of research and, in normal
English, leads the reader painstakingly where the media and
intellectual journals have often refused to go." The Washington
Post
"Rendering complex history and science into entertaining prose,
Diamond reminds us that those who ignore history are bound to
repeat it." People (four stars)
"Taken together, "Guns, Germs and Steel" and "Collapse" represent
one of the most significant projects embarked upon by any
intellectual in our generation. They are magnificent books...I read
both thinking what literature might be like if every author knew so
much, wrote so clearly and formed arguments with such care." The
New York Times
"Read this book. It will challenge you and make you think."
Scientific American"
Bestselling author Diamond (geography, Univ. of California, Los Angeles; Guns, Germs, and Steel) delves deeply into the world of humanity's ancient roots by exploring modern traditional societies still practicing hunting and gathering and subsistence agriculture. He skillfully examines the important lessons that technologically advanced societies can learn from traditional ways of life while taking an objective rather than a romanticized look at traditional cultural practices. His extensive examples come from many areas of the globe, with some of the most interesting coming from his own field research in the highlands of New Guinea. Diamond provides broad coverage of attitudes toward war and conflict resolution, child rearing, treatment of the aged, religion, multilingualism, and diet in both traditional and Western societies. He challenges modern Western societies to creatively explore and incorporate worthwhile aspects of traditional lifestyles and attitudes, providing a perceptive analysis of how they can be advantageous to Western societies today. He conveys a sense of urgency concerning the need to address modern social problems and find useful solutions. VERDICT This detailed, insightful, and accessible cultural study is bound to be popular with readers of Diamond's previous books as well as with general readers interested in anthropology, sociology, and other related fields.[See Prepub Alert, 8/1/12.]-Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Univ. Lib., Westerville, OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Praise for Collapse
A New York Times bestseller
"A magisterial effort packed with insight and written with
clarity and enthusiasm. It's also the deal of the year--the
equivalent of a year's college course by an engaging, brilliant
professor, all for the price of a book. -- BusinessWeek
"Extraordinary in erudition and originality, compelling in [its]
ability to relate the digitized pandemonium of the present to the
hushed agrarian sunrises of the past." -- The New York Times
Book Review
"Diamond's most influential gift may be his ability to write about
geopolitical and environmental systems in ways that don't just
educate and provoke, but entertain." -- The Seattle
Times
"Extremely persuasive...replete with fascinating stories, a
treasure trove of historical anecdotes [and] haunting statistics."
-- The Boston Globe
"Essential reading...Collapse [shows] that resilient
societies are nimble ones, capable of a long-term planning and of
abandoning deeply entrenched but ultimately destructive core values
and beliefs." -- Nature
"There are hopeful messages in Collapse. With Diamond's
help, maybe we'll learn to see our problems a little more clearly
before we chop down that last palm tree." -- Time
"Extraordinarily panoramic...Diamond's complex historical web of
how human communities either master their environment or become
victims of them...takes a lifetime of research and, in normal
English, leads the reader painstakingly where the media and
intellectual journals have often refused to go." -- The
Washington Post
"Rendering complex history and science into entertaining prose,
Diamond reminds us that those who ignore history are bound to
repeat it." -- People (four stars)
"Taken together, Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse
represent one of the most significant projects embarked upon by any
intellectual in our generation. They are magnificent books...I read
both thinking what literature might be like if every author knew so
much, wrote so clearly and formed arguments with such care." --
The New York Times
"Read this book. It will challenge you and make you think." --
Scientific American
Praise for "Collapse"
A "New York Times" bestseller
"A magisterial effort packed with insight and written with clarity
and enthusiasm. It's also the deal of the year--the equivalent of a
year's college course by an engaging, brilliant professor, all for
the price of a book. BusinessWeek
"Extraordinary in erudition and originality, compelling in [its]
ability to relate the digitized pandemonium of the present to the
hushed agrarian sunrises of the past." The New York Times Book
Review
"Diamond's most influential gift may be his ability to write about
geopolitical and environmental systems in ways that don't just
educate and provoke, but entertain." The Seattle Times
"Extremely persuasive...replete with fascinating stories, a
treasure trove of historical anecdotes [and] haunting statistics."
The Boston Globe
"Essential reading..."Collapse" [shows] that resilient societies
are nimble ones, capable of a long-term planning and of abandoning
deeply entrenched but ultimately destructive core values and
beliefs." Nature
"There are hopeful messages in "Collapse." With Diamond's help,
maybe we'll learn to see our problems a little more clearly before
we chop down that last palm tree." Time
"Extraordinarily panoramic...Diamond's complex historical web of
how human communities either master their environment or become
victims of them...takes a lifetime of research and, in normal
English, leads the reader painstakingly where the media and
intellectual journals have often refused to go." The Washington
Post
"Rendering complex history and science into entertaining prose,
Diamond reminds us that those who ignore history are bound to
repeat it." People (four stars)
"Taken together, "Guns, Germs and Steel" and "Collapse" represent
one of the most significant projects embarked upon by any
intellectual in our generation. They are magnificent books...I read
both thinking what literature might be like if every author knew so
much, wrote so clearly and formed arguments with such care." The
New York Times
"Read this book. It will challenge you and make you think."
Scientific American"
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