Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

Introduction: The emergence of agriculture was a major stepping stone in human history. During this birth of agriculture, also known as the Neolithic revolution, humans began inhabiting permanent settlements, grow their own crops, and domesticate both plants and animals for food (Weisdorf, 2005). Considering humans have been hunter-gatherers for majority of their approximately 7 million years of existence, the emergence of agriculture in the Old World only occurring 10,000-5,000 years ago, marks a significant transformation in food sustenance techniques (Weisdorf, 2005). However, this turning point in history is associated with both positive and negative implications.

Many geographers have attempted creating a unified theory explaining why cultures advance much more readily than others. Very few have actually reached mainstream society and even fewer seem reasonable. However, Jared Diamond shines where most do not. His book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, proposes an idea that has long been established called environmental determinism. Most view environmental determinism as a racist theory attributing a peoples’ intelligence only to their oppressive climates and geographical barriers. Diamond instead has created a theory that applies environmental determinism to only a peoples’ technology—not the people themselves. This has given researchers valuable tools that allow them to explain why some nations have

Yali asks Professor Diamond "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?" Professor Diamond’s possible interpretation of this statement could be broken down as such: Why do Europeans create so many inventions and manufactured goods to bring elsewhere? This applies the concept that people of Eurasian origin tend to dominate the world in wealth and power.

In the historical book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” by Jared Diamond, Diamond attempts to provide an understanding to the inequality in modern times. He attempted to provide this understanding by stepping 13,000 years back and figuring out why each continent had a different history from one another. Diamond first got inspired to discover the reasons for this inequality in New Guinea, where he was studying bird evolution. In the prologue, he explained how it was one simple question from his friend Yali, a local politician of New Guinea, that aroused his curiosity and pushed him to write this book. While on a walk with his friend, Diamond was asked, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black

In Chapter 15, “Yali’s People,” of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, the author explains that although Native Australians showed a head start with some early technology, they were soon conquered by Europe. Diamond goes on to explain why and how Australia and New Guinea became to be seen as “backward” states. Diamond explains that although there was a rise in population due to the development of agriculture, they were unable to progress as much as Europeans due to biological and geographical factors.

In Chapter 15, “Yali’s People,” of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, the author explains that although Native Australians showed a head start with some early technology, they were soon conquered by Europe. Diamond goes on to explain why and how Australia and New Guinea became to be seen as “backward” states. Diamond explains that although there was a rise in population due to the development of agriculture, they were unable to progress as much as Europeans due to biological and geographical factors.

Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond is an outstanding book about how different societies changed developmentally through time. Diamond tells readers about how many societies developed faster than others and how wealth and power spread throughout different regions of the continents. Wealth was spread unevenly because many societies had less technological advances or developed after another society. Diamond uses a question and answer approach to answers questions about society and the changes many of the societies went through during the Neolithic revolution. Diamond provides a realistic explanation of the development of different societies and different

Their conversation started off with New Guinea’s political developments, then turned to how Europeans colonized New Guinea over time. It is said that whites had arrived in New Guinea and brought material goods ranging from weapons to soft drinks. These material goods were called cargo. Yali and Diamond knew that New Guineans are at least as smart as Europeans, so Yali asked, “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?”, and Diamond didn’t have an answer. Now, 25 years later, Jared Diamond wrote the book Guns, Germs, and Steel to answer this

The author, Jared Diamond, is asked a question by a local politician,Yali, while studying birds in New Guinea. His question is, "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?". This question leads Diamond to write a book attempting to answer why some humans in certain environments developed faster than others. Food production, writing and government had already started to develop by 11,000 B.C. in many areas around the world such as the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia. Many Native Americans and Africans were still using wood and stone tools while Europeans had steel by A.D. 1500. Many people and historians believe that Europeans are biologically

Guns, Germs, and Steel starts off with an interesting conversation in the Prologue between the author, Jared Diamond, and a friend he made in New Guinea, a politician named Yali. Yali raises the question that why the rest of the world has so much of what he refers to as “cargo”, or in a broad sense technology, compared to his homeland of New Guinea which becomes the central focus for the entire book. The first chapter begins with the origins of humans and what Diamond calls the “Great Leap Forward” where the first tools, writings and paintings began to appear, as well as watercraft in aboriginal Australia and New Guinea. Then discussing the Ice Ages, leading up to the recent era and extinction of many large animals globally as humans began to spread out. Next Diamond uses the example of The Maoris and the Morioris in the Chatham Islands in 1835 and how one culture and civilization is able to overrun another due to geography, resources, and many other things and how that can lead

Gus germs and steel 1. Yali asks Diamond, “Why is it that you white people developed sp much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own.” 2. Jared Diamond’s thesis seems to be that external factors such as geography can affect the fate of human societies. In other words, what separates the winners from the losers is geography.

During the Neolithic Revolution, as civilizations changed from hunters and gatherers to farmers, a social stability was created. Due to geography and the great natural advantage of the land, the domestication of animals and development of agriculture led to great changes in society. In the geographical area of Eurasia, the land was spread far from east to west which allowed for trading and sharing of crops, animals, and ideas. In the Americas, due to the more north to south layout with climate zones and geographical boundaries, it was hard to trade and to share ideas and such. This led to the Eurasians diverse and dense population to be more immune to the germs that over time, led to the wipeout of the Americas populations. In the beginning of the book, Diamond presents a question from a politician and friend, Yali. The question asked why Europeans had the ability to conquer other societies around the world. Throughout his book, Diamond goes

The book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond allows readers to explore the developmental differences between societies across the globe. The author, Jared Diamond, is a scientist who uses his knowledge in this field to explore different societies in depth while traveling around the world. In 1972, a politician in New Guinea by the name of Yali asked Diamond why Europe and Asia were so advanced in comparison to other areas. For the next two and a half decades, Diamond’s goal was to find what made societies in different geographical locations so developmentally different. Jared Diamond formed his answer to Yali’s question through explaining the history of weapons, disease, and steel tools in different societies, hence the title Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.

Exploring history through different perspectives and different views allows us to better understand history and possibly help solve some of the problems we have as a society today. All in all in all although Jared Diamond’s “Guns, Germs, and Steel” had some debatable evidence to it , the book provides a refreshing new perspective on how we can view global history

In comparison with the north, southern Italy doesn’t fall behind at all in terms of geographic strengths and natural resources. With its boot-like tip, which can be easily identified on the world map, southern Italy is blessed with its closeness to the sea. The two gate-like islands, Sicily and Sardinia, provide myriad ports and harbors for international trades. More specifically, Sicily is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora, with beautiful geographic sites that attract visitors from all parts of the world. Sardinia, on the other hand, is known for being rich in mineral deposits. Materials such as coal, zinc, graphite and other resources important for industrial purposes can be found on this second largest island in the Mediterranean region. Furthermore, Sardinia is highly suitable for agriculture, which allows the island to harvest a variety of fruits and vegetables that adapt to the Mediterranean climate (Peter Sommer Travels n.d.).