
Guns, Germs and Steel
The Fate of Human Societies
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Narrated by:
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Doug Ordunio
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Written by:
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Jared Diamond
About this listen
Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 1998
Guns, Germs and Steel examines the rise of civilization and the issues its development has raised throughout history.
Having done field work in New Guinea for more than 30 years, Jared Diamond presents the geographical and ecological factors that have shaped the modern world. From the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist, he highlights the broadest movements both literal and conceptual on every continent since the Ice Age, and examines societal advances such as writing, religion, government, and technology. Diamond also dissects racial theories of global history, and the resulting work—Guns, Germs and Steel—is a major contribution to our understanding the evolution of human societies.
©1997 Jared Diamond (P)2011 Random HouseYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about Guns, Germs and Steel
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chuck W.
- 2021-12-16
Wonderful
Overall, great. If you're interested in a history of humans, this is your book. It was a little dry at some points but overall, I'm very happy I chose to listen.
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- Halimeh
- 2022-10-23
boring with a few memorable facts
very boring book, has a few good facts. best listened to at 1.5x speed unless you are taking notes
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-07-31
Fascinating anthropology read
Fascinating history of humanity and anthropology. The author touched multiple important aspects about the different branches in anthropology. I plan on listening a second time to really capture all the wealth of knowledge that this book offers.
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- Patricia G.
- 2019-04-15
This book did not live up to its reputation.
It was recommended by a number of friends and I thought that my love of history would make it a perfect match. If I had been reading it instead of listening, I would never have finished it. Boring is too subtle a word to describe this book. At least the narrator tried to make it more interesting, kudos for him for not yawning.(probably were cut out!)
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3 people found this helpful
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- DOMINIC PRIMEAU
- 2022-10-12
A truly deep understanding of the world.
A truly in depth understanding of the world what it is today. How we got to where we are today. This is my Bible to understanding Humanity and our planet.
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- Witzy
- 2020-07-13
Starts and ends well, tedious middle.
Obviously an important book and topics that are given careful, if at times tedious treatment. If you just read/listen to first and last chapters, you get a pretty good synthesis. The narration is fine and clear, but all the extensive details become a bit boring, and the narrator is unable to make these details particularly interesting to the typical listener.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Eric
- 2020-06-08
Best book on why Racism in nonsense
want a review of what we know of the history of humanity with scientific rigor? Curious why black people ended up slaves instead of caucasians and not vice versus or why Europeans conquered North America and not vice versus?
This book goes through 11,000+ years of human history to prove that climate, geography, and availability of plants and animals dictated who ended up with superior guns, germs, and steel.
Would recommend.
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Overall
- Stav
- 2019-01-29
a worthwhile read/listen tho a bit dated now
loved it but have a few qualms: Palestine, cavemen & no mention of Goblike Tepe
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- Corbin Smith
- 2019-10-29
Great at what it does but read critiques as well
It is a good book written with good narrative and great narration. This book is heavily criticized in academic circles and while I think the book is still worth reading, one should understand that it is too simplistic and too narrowly focused on this specific element of history to be taken entirely at face value.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Michael Brooker
- 2018-12-27
Discover previously unknown truths about humanity
With a detailed and surgical approach, Diamond debunks notions of inherent racial/cultural superiority. Give yourself the gift of this book.
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