Guns Germs And Steel Chapter Summary

Diamond describes the early parts of human history in a broad scope towards the beginning of the book. He focuses on both the evolution and spread of human beings, arguing that some civilizations had a head start over other ones because of when the period of human evolution took place. He explains how different environments shaped human history through an a example of how populations which inhabited the Polynesian islands developed differently due to the different environments and then by telling the stories about what happened as populations with better geographical advantages encountered more disadvantaged populations in the Americas. Diamond explains the many factors that influenced the historical progression of different societies. Diamond argues how food production was very much a primary factor in the advancement of each society. Societies

The novel “Guns Germs and Steel”, by Jared Diamond, discusses the affects that science and technology have on society and politics. His ideas are reflective of almost all societies we know today and his explanations dive deep into our world history to show the patterns that occur as innovation excels in cultures and societies. The topics of Diamond’s novel ranges from the time of hunter-gatherer societies to modern Eurasia.

Prologue: Yali’s question for word for word was “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” Yali is asking about the inequalities of the world, he is wondering why his people have little to nothing, and the Europeans have so much money and power. He wants to know if there is something “wrong” with people like him.

In the book Guns, Germs and Steel Jared Diamond who is a biophysics scientist and a psychologist, set out on a journey to find out the reason behind great achievements and conquest of the Europeans. What is the secret of success of Europeans? His hypothesis was very original and at first looked very simple, it was guns, germs and steel. The journey of Diamond took over 30 years and helped him answer the main questions of human history and what is it that separates humans today from "rich and poor" and from "haves and have not’s." To do this he had to go back when everyone was equal.

Yali met Jared Diamond on a beach over 30 years ago in New Guinea and Yali’s question was “Why you white man have so much cargo and we New Guineans have so

I believe that the victory of this invasion was based off of the more-advanced ethnic-group, because the Spaniards had the more advanced weapons and technology. This victory is a shock to me, because the Spaniards were un-aware of the terrain and the Incans has the “home field” advantage.

The author tells how Pizarro had only a dozen guns and how he used them more in a psychological way than physically to kill. What strikes me the most is how Pizarro and his men killed 80,000 Indians when there was only 168 of them and not one of his men were harmed. It says how they would fire the guns and it would scare and panic the Indians and that close to all Indians were killed by swords and daggers. I find this strategy really wise and I think it is a part of why Pizarro was so successful in conquering and defeating others.

4. The Maori evolved differently because of population and leadership differences. The Maori conquered the

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond, attempts to explain why history progressed differently for people from various geographical regions. Diamond introduces his book by pointing out that history followed different courses for different people because of differences among peoples’ environments, not because of biological differences among people themselves. Through his convincing explanation for how civilizations were created and evolved throughout the course of history, he argues that environmental factors gave some societies advantages over others, allowing them to conquer the disadvantaged societies. While I agree with Diamond’s argument that the orientation of continental axis, availability of potential

In his work, “Guns, Germs, and Steel” (W. W. Norton, New York, NY, 1997) Jared Diamond attempts to explain why human history has carried out the way it has, he often refers to accounts from history to support his argument. Accounts that will be deemed adequate will discuss specific groups of people, at a specified period of time. Diamond suggests that guns, germs, and steel are three contributing factors for why the world is in its current state. It is not difficult to recognize while reading, that the book spends a large amount of time talking about germs and much less text discussing guns and steel. In “Guns, Germs, and Steel” Diamond does adequately account for the historical development of guns and steel, in the way he accounts for the role of germs in the history of human societies. It is no debate that germs played a massive role in many important events in history, but guns came late, were not very effective at first, and steel production was most important militarily.

At the beginning of the book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond, the question is posed by Yali, as to why people of European decent are rich and why people in New Guinea are poor. Throughout the book, Diamond explains that the geography is what made Europe better because it gave them guns, germs, and steel which enabled them to conquer other nations. Chapter three of this book entitled “Collision at Cajamarca” specifically examines the Spanish conquering of the Incan Empire in 1532. As Diamond tells, Inca emperor Huayna Capac and his heir were killed by a smallpox epidemic brought to the New World by Spanish settlers in Panama and Columbia. This sparked a civil war between half brothers Atahuallpa and Huascar.

From the beginning of the book, Diamond focuses on answering Yali’s question. Yali is a New Guinean, who out of curiosity would ask Diamond questions, one of which was hard for Diamond to answer. That question was, "Why is it that you white people developed so much

Yes, if there is a lot of resources around it can support a large group of people instead of a small group of gatherers

I first read Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel in the Fall 2003 based on a recommendation from a friend. Many chapters of the book are truly fascinating, but I had criticisms of the book back then and hold even more now. Chief among these is the preponderance of analysis devoted to Papua New Guinea, as opposed to, say, an explanation of the greatly disparate levels of wealth and development among Eurasian nations. I will therefore attempt to confine this review on the "meat and potatoes" of his book: the dramatic Spanish conquest of the Incas; the impact of continental geography on food production; and finally, the origins of the Eurasian development of guns, germs, and steel. In terms of structure, I will first summarize the

Guns, germs, and steel. Three of the main components found in changing civilizations, and three essential factors that must be brought into consideration when discussing how our modern day world came to be. In the critically acclaimed documentary, based off of the book by Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel provides valuable insight into these crucial aspects, showing an in-depth history of world and culture. In the first portion of this three part series, Diamond and other commentators explore the impact of agricultural development and how various societies were affected by either geographical advantages or hindrances. The explanations provided help to clarify reasons behind historical turmoils and wars, along with current economic status of states, and are perhaps more relevant than ever.