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therealmasterprocrastinator's review
5.0
An excellent read.
Jared Diamond gives a broad overview of the history of homo sapiens, its biological and cultural origins..
He focuses on the human history, traces its evolutionary origins and treats topics such as the rise and fall of civilizations, the role of language, domestication of animals and plants, ecology, geography, extinctions of other species and the role humans played in all these domains.
A must-read for members of the species.
Jared Diamond gives a broad overview of the history of homo sapiens, its biological and cultural origins..
He focuses on the human history, traces its evolutionary origins and treats topics such as the rise and fall of civilizations, the role of language, domestication of animals and plants, ecology, geography, extinctions of other species and the role humans played in all these domains.
A must-read for members of the species.
thebooklovingpanda's review
4.0
Very enjoyable and funny book. To the point and makes a good argument and explains everything - it was very clearly written and structured making it very easy to read, like a very long essay. This was very thought-provoking, raised many questions and did his best to answer them. Definitely helped me gain a deeper understanding of biological anthropology and evolutionary biology. Though at one time I was slightly confused by his preoccupation with avoiding sexism to the point where he didn't even acknowledge whether a hypothesis was correct or not but just applauded it for not being sexist...?
martysdalton's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
An incredible book, from one of America's greatest nonfiction writers. The explanation of evidence, the simplification of countless scientific areas of study and the modern perspective applied to all of what we know (knew in 1999) about homo sapiens history. Outstanding in every way.
Especially noteworthy are the sections on genetic similarities between people and chimps, the commentary on Darwin's sexual selection theory for race, and, painfully as we watch the news from Palestine, the history (both man and animal) of genocide. Hearing his thoughts from the past on such a painful topic, it's heartbreaking how prophetic Jared Diamond ending up being, even as it's a testament to his incredible intellect and effort to help us in our understanding humans on earth. 5 stars. Highest recommendation.
Especially noteworthy are the sections on genetic similarities between people and chimps, the commentary on Darwin's sexual selection theory for race, and, painfully as we watch the news from Palestine, the history (both man and animal) of genocide. Hearing his thoughts from the past on such a painful topic, it's heartbreaking how prophetic Jared Diamond ending up being, even as it's a testament to his incredible intellect and effort to help us in our understanding humans on earth. 5 stars. Highest recommendation.
belockwood's review
5.0
If you are fascinated by early human history and evolution, this is a great book for you. Diamond does work in a lot of doomesday calls to action, but it doesn't take away from the overall tone of the book (and many of his points are definitely still relevant).
If you've ever wondered why humans are the way we are, pick up this book!
If you've ever wondered why humans are the way we are, pick up this book!
kstumpf's review against another edition
5.0
Would love for a volume 2 to be written. As a world history teacher this book was fascinating. We are currently discussing the rise of civilization through farming. Had not thought of the negatives in quite this manner. Back to the drawing board.
branch_c's review against another edition
4.0
Just got around to reading this earlier Diamond book, and since it was published in '92, it's understandably a bit dated. Notably the debate about whether modern humans have Neanderthal DNA was still unresolved (we do). It's no less than the entire past and future of humanity that he attempts to address here, and it's not surprising that he felt the need to more deeply explore some aspects of that wide ranging topic in later books, so this book introduces and covers some of the material that is further expanded upon in Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse. In particular, his theory on the biogeographic factors that were the driving force behind the success of some civilizations and the failure of others is well-stated and convincing. As usual, his clear explanations and engaging writing are impressive, and I learned a few things I had not come across in other books along these lines. So I enjoyed this one quite a bit in spite of minor issues, though I'd recommend also reading the above-mentioned follow-ups for a more in depth treatment of this fascinating subject matter.
pjwhyman's review
4.0
Quite an interesting read. A bit preachy in places, but understandably. While not on the same level as Guns, Germs, and Steel (which was phenomenal) it was still an excellent read.
andreashappe's review
5.0
A short history of humankind.. how can we define being human, what's our history and where can we go from here (while hopefully we can prevent a nuclear holocaust or ecological catastrophe).
This book feels like the predecessor to Home Sapiens or Factfulness. Maybe with a bit of The Better Angels of our Human Nature thrown in. Which is high praise in my opinion. And leaning a lot more towards a linguist's point-of-view.
The book is older (written 30ish years ago), some of the science does not hold up. Still a great read, informative too. Two things were the age shines through: 1, Chomsky as a linguist.. been a while; and 2, "everyone remembers where you were when news of Pearl Habor broke through" which would be 9/11 by now.
The appendix is rattling, esp. when he notes that ecologic holocaust will most likely hit his children (which would be of my age) or grandchildren. Verdict is still out.
This book feels like the predecessor to Home Sapiens or Factfulness. Maybe with a bit of The Better Angels of our Human Nature thrown in. Which is high praise in my opinion. And leaning a lot more towards a linguist's point-of-view.
The book is older (written 30ish years ago), some of the science does not hold up. Still a great read, informative too. Two things were the age shines through: 1, Chomsky as a linguist.. been a while; and 2, "everyone remembers where you were when news of Pearl Habor broke through" which would be 9/11 by now.
The appendix is rattling, esp. when he notes that ecologic holocaust will most likely hit his children (which would be of my age) or grandchildren. Verdict is still out.