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  • Upheaval

  • Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
  • Written by: Jared Diamond
  • Narrated by: Henry Strozier
  • Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (94 ratings)

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Upheaval cover art

Upheaval

Written by: Jared Diamond
Narrated by: Henry Strozier
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Publisher's Summary

A brilliant new theory of how and why some nations recover from trauma and others don't, by the author of the landmark best sellers Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse.

In his earlier best sellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in the final audiobook in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crisis through selective change - a coping mechanism more commonly associated with personal trauma.

In a dazzling comparative study, Diamond shows us how seven countries have survived defining upheavals in the recent past - from US Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan to the Soviet invasion of Finland to Pinochet's regime in Chile - through a process of painful self-appraisal and adaptation, and he identifies patterns in the way that these distinct nations recovered from calamity. Looking ahead to the future, he investigates whether the US and the world are squandering their natural advantages on a path toward political conflict and decline. Or can we still learn from the lessons of the past?

Adding a psychological dimension to the awe-inspiring grasp of history, geography, economics, and anthropology that marks all Diamond's work, Upheaval reveals how both nations and individuals can become more resilient. The result is an audiobook that is epic, urgent, and groundbreaking.

©2019 Jared Diamond (P)2019 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Upheaval

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Excellent

Like all of his books - a trip into expanding your understanding of the world past, present and future.

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Great book!

Fantastic book by a great author. The narrator took away some of the excitement though.

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Very nice book.

The book is full of history and knowledge, I like the author’s encyclopedic information about other countries, though he didn’t include Nelson Mandela when he is talking about leaders.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Good, but long and a bit contradictory

The book is an interesting look at how different situations/crises (mostly in western culture) have shaped national identity.

The book makes a few circular arguments which can be a bit frustrating and sometimes makes remarks that are contradictory to one nation and not another.

As a Canadian I couldn’t help but notice the overwhelming American Exceptionalism that is prevalent especially in the later chapters. There are few off colour remarks that might come with someone of Diamonds age at the time of writing, but nonetheless are offensive to large populations of people.

Would recommend, but be weary of Western ideology and American bias.

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waste of time

it takes forever to get to the point... does not worth the time you put in.

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