Guns, Germs, and Steel - An Analysis

As a departure from the tradition of this blog, from now on, once in a while, I will be adding some articles about interesting books I have read that may be relevant to Chinese-American relations. One book I have recently begun reading, Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond, is particularly noteworthy in that its author is very well-known and his book is equally famous. Jared Diamond's other book, The Third Chimpanzee, details the progress of early human evolution and why certain key factors have allowed us to develop into the most dominant species on the planet. GGS follows along that line in describing why certain groups of people in certain areas of the world have risen to prominence over other nations. In that sense, there may or may not be a section on China with which I can tie this book back to the overall theme of the blog.

Chapter one begins the chronology of human history with an account of the spread of humanity throughout the globe. Where humans went and at what time they got there are two subjects addressed in this chapter. What is most interesting is that we can see the progress of human development in their movement around the world. We can see which peoples developed boats and reached the islands soonest as well as at what time technology was introduced that allowed humans of a certain region to overcome geographical obstacles and reach new regions. Chapters 2-4 are more specific examples of international interaction. From the Maori-Moriori conflict to the Spanish conquest of the South Americas, the main idea developed in these passages is that a nation's success is determined by a few, key factors. Farming and writing are top on this list, as farming allows for settlements to grow and writing for information to travel quickly and accurately. As we can see, Jared Diamond is skillful and insightful in pinpointing the exact causes of one country's dominance over another.