In the book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies the author Jared Diamond covers a vast array of historical and geographic events. Diamond compares and describes many developments that are occurring in different geographic areas around the world. What was his purpose for writing and comparing this vast amount of information? What did he want the reader to get out of it? His purpose for writing this text is to explain why certain cultures developed faster and what circumstances left the others at a disadvantage. The overall goal of the book is to explain how certain cultures became dominate and succeeded and how others didn’t develop as much. Diamonds summarization of the book gives you an insight to the meaning the book has. …show more content…
He relied heavily on many different types of evidence. He used scientific evidence, historical evidence, and even back ground knowledge from many different fields of science. One of the major downsides to this book is that Diamond did not quote his sources in the text and did not let you know where the evidence or facts he is stating is coming from. At the back of the book he does have a further readings section that I assume he read and drew knowledge from. Also there is a credits page at the end of the book that show where he got the photos that were used I the book. Other than that he does not really give you too much information on where he gets all these facts and information from. Diamond did use a variety of charts, graphs, and pictures. Most of the different charts and graphs defiantly help understand the material better and give you a visual to what’s going on in the text. On the contrary some of the graphs and charts seemed out of place and made it feel like he was trying too hard to stuff information in wherever he could. They were defiantly confusing at times as I did not see the connection between the text and charts in a few occasions. Other than the charts and graphs that were poorly placed a lot of the material help reiterate the points Diamond was trying to make. Furthermore, Diamonds writing style is very unique he adds plenty of anecdotes to add to what he is saying. Also I like the fact that he used old and modern examples, this really help people connect to what he is saying. I don’t like how he stuffs too much information in each paragraph. It adds to the confusion and doesn’t give you a clear picture at what he is trying to get at. Diamond is really passionate about this subject, it doesn’t seem at all like he wrote this just because he had too. I think this is a subject he pondered on for a long time and carefully placed in together. Diamond used
Jared Diamond, author of the Pulitzer Prize Winning, National Best Selling book Guns, Germs and Steel, summarizes his book by saying the following: "History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves." Guns, Germs and Steel is historical literature that documents Jared Diamond's views on how the world as we know it developed. However, is his thesis that environmental factors contribute so greatly to the development of society and culture valid? Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History is the textbook used for this class and it poses several different accounts of how society and culture developed that differ from Diamond's claims. However, neither Diamond nor Traditions are incorrect. Each poses varying, yet true, accounts of the same historical events. Each text chose to analyze history in a different manner. Not without flaws, Jared Diamond makes many claims throughout his work, and provides numerous examples and evidence to support his theories. In this essay, I will summarize Jared Diamond's accounts of world history and evolution of culture, and compare and contrast it with what I have learned using the textbook for this class.
"A Loaded Gun," is a piece by Patrick Radden Keefe, which published on February 11 and 18, 2013 on The New Yorker weekly magazine. This piece revolves around Amy Bishop, a neuroscientist working at the University of Alabama, Huntsville city. On the day of February 12, 2012, at the conference room of the Shelby Center for Science and Technology, Bishop used a 9-mm rifle killed three colleagues and wounded three others. The question is how does a person with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D) from prestigious university of Harvard, with a cozy family-a husband and four children, with no criminal record turn into such a cold-blooded killer? Does Bishop's tenure ended is the main reason that leads to the crime, or because of her "gun accidents" that
The prologue of the book clearly lays out Diamond thesis. He explains that past societies have collapsed based on five factors: human induced environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, friendly trade partners, and society’s response to environmental problems. He also explains how is wrote this book in a scientific manner using the “comparative method”, comparing natural situations differing with respect to the variable of interest. There is a slight flaw in this though. Showing these correlations between different societies,...
The reason Jared Diamond wrote this book was to answer the question of his political friend Yali, why did some societies like Eurasia were able to develop Guns, Germs, and Steel that were able to dominate major parts of the world, and why New Guinea was not capable of doing this? This question is certainly not a small picture kind of question because it covers a broad realm. Diamond is a book that has tried his best to cover a whole pattern of history, starting from before the Ice Age to the modern period. But Diamond's all-time famous and award-winning book was really successful in explaining the broad question. Such a type of question is critical to gain a stronger understanding of Diamond’s argument and its effect on the field of history.
I first read Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel in the Fall 2003 based on a recommendation from a friend. Many chapters of the book are truly fascinating, but I had criticisms of the book back then and hold even more now. Chief among these is the preponderance of analysis devoted to Papua New Guinea, as opposed to, say, an explanation of the greatly disparate levels of wealth and development among Eurasian nations. I will therefore attempt to confine this review on the "meat and potatoes" of his book: the dramatic Spanish conquest of the Incas; the impact of continental geography on food production; and finally, the origins of the Eurasian development of guns, germs, and steel. In terms of structure, I will first summarize the book's arguments, then critically assess the book's evidentiary base, and conclude with an analysis of how Guns, Germs, and Steel ultimately helps to address the wealth question.
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
What is the importance of the gun? The gun is one of the most important tools in the defense of our nation. Guns are responsible for a lot of death and injuries, but these things were going on before the existence of the gun. Guns aren't the reason for the death and injuries, they are just a means to it. They are tools and an engineering marvel of our age. The gun has evolved from a simple weapon that caused limited destruction to the modern gun that is so fast and powerful it is capable of mass destruction. Through the evolution of the gun, it has become a political tool.
On October 1st 2017, the United States experienced their deadliest mass shooting in history. Nevertheless, the debate about whether or not the United States should imply gun policies has been a popular topic in the 21st century. This country has made themselves best known for its military and gun policies. In “America Is a Gun” by Brian Bilston, the speaker demonstrates his thoughts that a gun would best represent America as an object. In this poem, the theme that the United State’s default is the lack of regulations of firearms is conveyed by repetition and contrast.
Cole, Joshua, Judith G. Coffin, Carol Symes, and Robert Stacey. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. Brief Third ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print.
...s fit. This is why everything in the book must not be viewed as being true. The narrator can admit to being constrained when it comes to knowing everything and the reason for this is that he will always be constrained by his view about things that he does know and his imagination of reality which he cannot possibly no. It is for this reason he cannot be viewed as being completely trustworthy or reliable but through the use of his evidence chapters and external links, we can consider that he is at least somewhat trustworthy and reliable which helps make the hypothesis’s more plausible.
The notion of manhood and what defines a man has been depicted in numerous works of art. The idea of manhood is defined to be the becoming of an adult for a male as well as masculine qualities needed to provide for one’s family, friends and also himself. The most frequent stance of masculinity is associated with the idea that a man must be mature, tough, possess strength mentally and physically, and also be a provider. In the book “Native Son” by Richard Wright, Wright depicts a gun as a representation of manhood. Wright uses a gun as a symbol to represent the main character Bigger Thomas’ manhood.
Western Civilization: A Brief History, Complete [Paperback] By Marvin Perry, Publisher: Wadsworth-Cengage Publishing; 7th edition 2010 pp 333-347
There is nothing better then realizing that each indigenous people evolved into something better or that they found ways to survive in situations they weren’t use too. There were many changes that happened over time that cause for situations to change for everyone around them. But it also has helped with being able to progress with the way they lived. Jared diamond the author of Guns, Germs and Steel interpret his famous theory oh how we came to be. How the geography luck helped each country developed more rapidly than others as well as being able to expand more. However they also had geography luck when it came to how many advantages they had with the technology nevertheless, germs also was a big part of how the conquered most of the lands because it would kill instantly millions of european and
Griswold, W. (2013). Cultures and societies in a changing world. (4th ed.). United States of America: SAGE publications Inc.