Guns, Germs, and Steel

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies is a 1997 book by Jared Diamond, professor of physiology at UCLA. It won the Pulitzer Prize for 1998, as well as the Aventis Prize for best science book in the same year. In July of 2005, PBS broadcast a documentary based on the book, produced by the National Geographic Society.

Related Topics:
1997 - Jared Diamond - Physiology - UCLA - Pulitzer Prize - 1998 - Aventis Prize for best science book - July - 2005 - PBS - Documentary - National Geographic Society

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According to the author, "An alternative title would be: A short history about everyone for the last 13,000 years." But the book is not merely an account of the past; it attempts to explain why Western civilization, as a whole, has survived and conquered others, while refuting the belief that European hegemony is due to any form of European intellectual superiority. Diamond argues that the gaps in power and technology between human societies do not reflect cultural or racial differences, but rather originate in environmental differences powerfully amplified by various positive feedback loops.

Related Topics:
Western civilization - Europe - Positive feedback loops

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