Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. I made myself finally complete this book about a month ago. It was one that I bought about 2 years ago thinking it would make me more enlightnened, but then i got bogged down in all the technical aspects and gave it up. Since I'm teaching World History this next school year (that is coming all too quickly, by the way) I thought I should at least finish it so that I'll sound smarter than my students.
The book's ambitious goal is to explain why the world is the way it is. Why do European nations (including the US) have all the wealth and places like Papua New Guinea are left in the Stone Age? Why did Europe colonize North America and not the other way around? The book drops all notions of racial or cultural superiority and looks more at geography to explain each area's circumstances.
I was going to explain some of the interesting factors that Diamond listed that will decide if a location has enough to offer its inhabitants in the way of advancement, but there are so many, that I would give up this review before I finished. I was convinced of his theories by the end of the book. I would scrap the first chapter or two that explain his hopes of evolution, but the rest of the book is engaging, and you will be able to see the hand of God and how He orders the world.
--Kathy
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