Comments on: Guns, Germs & Steel on PBS

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 02:13:14 +0000

I wouldn’t judge the book on Hanson’s review alone. Hanson is about as opposite Diamond as one can get; many of his arguments are based on characteristics of western culture dating back to the Greeks as the reasons why the west is dominant today.

I read one of Hanson’s books awhile back (Carnage and Culture) and read Guns, Germs, and Steel shortly thereafter, and I have to say that Diamond’s argument strikes me as a far more compelling explanation for prosperity.

By: heirabbit

heirabbit — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 12:15:54 +0000

After reading the review, I get the feeling that the book is completely irrelevant to the question of prosperity.

By: Chief Wiggum

Chief Wiggum — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 15:25:15 +0000

The book Guns, Germs and Steel is a good read, with many interesting ideas. Diamond is a determinist and I am generally put off by determinism, but he makes a good argument for his point of view.

Diamond attributes the success of the West to the luck of the draw- a favorable geography. This is another resurrection of the old Nature/Nurture argument. He generally disregards the social and political developments in the ancient Western world as no more than blips on the screen, something of no serious consequence.

Anyway, about the PBS three hour special- I’ve seen the first two installments and am not impressed. I’m going to skip the third. It is impossible to compress the really interesting ideas and proofs that Diamond offers into such a short timeframe. Episode two reminded me of the old Prince Valiant classic comic books.

Victor Davis Hanson wrote an interesting review of Diamond’s book. http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson042305.html