![]() The part on the origins of various diseases was also fascinating. I particularly liked the section on the development of writing (Chapter 12) and the detail he went into there. Other portions of the book are interesting and eye-opening, however. He also fixates much on the Austronesian islands, such as New Guinea, and I wonder if part of that comes from a bias having spent much time researching there. However, he reiterates this point to the extent that he is beating a dead horse (or, if in South America, a dead llama). I found much of the book repetitive and dull enough that I just wanted to skip ahead until I found a "more interesting" section.įor instance, I realize that the uneven distribution of domesticable animals and plants is a major part of Diamond's thesis. That doesn't mean it needs to be dumbed down either-the tone and coherence of the writing just needs work. The book reads more like lengthy scientific essay than a non-fiction book aimed at the general public. However, in his zeal for such statistics, he often forgets about the coherency of the writing, and it suffers. ![]() Jared Diamond has a compelling thesis and offers good arguments to support it, including numerous figures, charts, maps, and dates. ![]() While the book turned out to be as thought-provoking as I had hoped, the writing left something to be desired. Two people recommended this book to me on two separate occasions, so I was eager to read it. ![]()
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