A three part documentary based on jared diamonds pulitzer prize winning book guns, germs and steel examines the reasons behind the uneven global distribution of wealth and power in a historical. He is currently a professor of geography and of physiology at ucla. It was a great book, full of fascinating historical information. Its like asking whether one should read all three lord of the rings books or watch the battle of helms deep from the two towers. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, guns, germs, and steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Guns, germs and steel and a ploughmans lunch the worlds inequalities began because some people had the means to make a meal of bread and cheese, while others did not. The fates of human societies also titled guns, germs and steel. A pbs documentary concerning jared diamonds theory on why there is such disparity between those who have advanced technology and those who still live primitively. Because it brilliantly describes how chance advantages can lead to early success in a highly competitive environment, it also offers useful lessons for the business world and for people interested in why technologies succeed.
Two decades ago a ucla geography professor named jared diamond published guns, germs, and steel. Diamond hypothesized that the arc of human history was dramatically shifted by geographic, environmental, biological, and other factors, resulting in the worldwide dominance of the leading industrial powers during the past. Guns, germs, and steel 2003 this 3part pbsnational geographic. This lesson is a summary of jared diamonds book, guns, germs and steel. Why didnt the chinese, or the inca, become masters of the globe instead. Episode 2 with jared diamond in this documentary, jared diamond details a specific event in the spanish conquest of south america. 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. He firmly rejects racist notions of natural or cultural superiority or inferiority, instead. Guns, germs, and steel anyone else get really freaked out by the audio or is it just my computer making it sound weird. Guns, germs, and steel is an artful, informative, and delightful book, full of surprises there is nothing like a radically new angle of vision for bringing out unsuspected dimensions of a. Winner of the pulitzer prize, guns, germs and steel examines the rise of civilization and the issues its development has raised throughout history. One of the main themes and arguments in the book is. It is a story that spans,000 years of human history, beginning when stone age huntergatherers constituted the.
Pulitzer prizewinning book of the same name, guns, germs and steel traces. My notes are informal and often contain quotes from the book as well as my own thoughts. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The fates of human societies is a 1997 transdisciplinary. He argues it is due to the acquisition of guns and steel and the changes brought about by germs. In guns, germs, and steel, jared diamond outlines the theory of geographic determinism, the idea that the differences between societies and societal development arise primarily from geographical causes. The fates of human societies previously titled guns, germs and steel. Diamond hypothesized that the arc of human history was dramatically shifted by geographic, environmental, biological, and other factors, resulting in the worldwide dominance of the leading industrial powers during the past 500 years. A documentary based on the book, and produced by the national. Based on jared diamonds bestselling, pulitzer prizewinning book that tries to answer the question. Based on the pulitzer prizewinning book and national best seller, guns, germs, and steel is an epic detective story that offers a gripping expose on why the world is so unequal.
Diamond focsues on the battle of cajamarca on november 15, 1532, in which francisco pizarro leads a band of 168 spanish conquistadors to attack the incan emperor atahualpa and more than. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. The text of this book is composed in sabon with the display set in trajan bold composition and manufacturing by the maplevail book manufacturing group book design by chris welch library of congress cataloginginpublication data diamond, jared m. The fates of human societies is a 1997 transdisciplinary nonfiction book by jared diamond. Based on jared diamonds pulitzer prizewinning book of the same name, guns, germs and steel travel trace humanity over the last,000 years since the dawn of agriculture at the end of the last ice age to the realities of life in the xxi century the first century. The fate of human societies if youre seeing this message, it means were. Looking at the list of animals and locations from question 5, discuss how. This study guide consists of approximately 42 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of guns, germs, and steel. Read and learn for free about the following article. National geographic guns germs and steel 3 of 3 documentary. Professor jared diamond traveled the globe for over 30 years trying to.
Based on jared diamonds pulitzer prizewinning book of the same name, guns, germs and steel traces humanitys journey over the last,000 years. Books the subject is entirely different but it is written with the same silobusting mindset and candidness which i found so great in guns, germs an. Guns, germs and steel 2005 starring peter coyote and jared diamond on dvd and bluray. The documentary really only focuses on a tiny fraction of the book and lacks the background and nuance. Winner of the pulitzer prizein this groundbreaking work, evolutionary biologist jared diamond stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors actually responsible for historys broadest patterns. In the last,000 years or so, human history has proceeded in many different directions. Because the question jared diamond is trying to ask is how have guns, germs, and steel shaped the history of the world. What are some good books for someone who liked guns, germs. It covers the origins of economic stratification by discussing plant and animal domestication, climate, and geographic advantages. Guns, germs and steel lays a foundation for understanding human history, which makes it fascinating in its own right. From jared diamonds pulitzer prize winning book, guns germs and steel. The worlds greatest free documentary library a place where documentaries are regarded as the supreme form of expression. Germs, and steel the fates of human societies 790l by jared diamond, adapted by newsela jared mason diamond 1937 is an american scientist and author whose work draws from a variety of fields.
Guns, germs and steel and a ploughmans lunch science. In 1998, it won the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction and the aventis prize. Inspired by a question asked on the island of papua new guinea more than thirty years, he embarks on a quest for. The book is framed as a response to a question that diamond heard from yali, a charismatic new guinean politician. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads in more than a dozen categories. A documentary based on the book, and produced by the national geographic. Jared diamond, the author of the book, has spent most of his career trying to understand why different human. National geographic guns germs and steel 1 of 3 official youtube. History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences. This is my book summary of guns, germs, and steel by jared diamond. Guns, germs, and steel meet your next favorite book. The main themes in guns, germs, and steel are geographic success, geographic failure, and communication geographic success.
Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the huntergatherer stage, and then developed religion as well as nasty germs and potent. In 1998, guns, germs, and steel won the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction and the aventis prize for best science book. This is a powerpoint presentation to go along with the book guns, germs, and steel by jared diamond. Guns, germs, and steel by jared diamond is a nonfiction book that explores why some societies are more materially successful than others farming and domesticating. This documentary traces human history and asks the question, why did some societies thrive while others stayed in the stone age. I was a big fan of the book and i think the film version does it justice. Should you choose to purchase, i will receive a very. National geographic guns germs and steel 1 of 3 official. In 1998, it was again published by vintage under the title guns, germs, and steel.
Biology versus geography one of diamonds key goals in this book is to refute the claim that different peoples have fared differently throughout history for biological reasons. A short history of everybody for the last, 000 years new ed by diamond, jared isbn. Scholar and professor jared diamond made a huge splash with t. In this lesson, diamonds anthropological theory that history unfolds. In this artful, informative, and delightful william h.
Please confirm that thinktvnetwork is your preferred local station, or choose another station below. Based on jared diamonds pulitzer prizewinning book of the same name, guns, germs and steel traces humanitys journey over the last,000 years from the dawn of farming at the end of the last ice age to the realities of life in the twentyfirst century. Diamond tells us that the impetus for the book came from a native new guinea friend, yali, who asked him, 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. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in guns, germs, and steel, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Should i read jared diamonds guns, germs and steel, or. Winner of the pulitzer prize, the phi beta kappa award in science, the rhonepoulenc prize, and the commonwealth club of californias gold medal.
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