Try free for 30 days
-
Guns, Germs and Steel
- The Fate of Human Societies
- Narrated by: Doug Ordunio
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Guns, Germs and Steel
Buy Now for $33.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 1998
Guns, Germs and Steel examines the rise of civilization and the issues its development has raised throughout history.
Having done field work in New Guinea for more than 30 years, Jared Diamond presents the geographical and ecological factors that have shaped the modern world. From the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist, he highlights the broadest movements both literal and conceptual on every continent since the Ice Age, and examines societal advances such as writing, religion, government, and technology. Diamond also dissects racial theories of global history, and the resulting work—Guns, Germs and Steel—is a major contribution to our understanding the evolution of human societies.
Editorial reviews
An epic account of 13,000 years of history and the interactions between people from different countries and cultures, Guns, Germs and Steel offers a fascinating explanation for why some civilisations thrived and conquered while others were exploited or exterminated.
Author Jared Diamond, a distinguished geography professor, rejects the widely accepted 'survival of the fittest' theory as wrong and, worse, racist. Instead, he suggests: 'History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples’ environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves'. In this audiobook, Diamond provides a convincing, research-based argument that geographical and environmental factors dominated throughout history and shaped the modern world.
Doug Ordunio, a professional singer who has performed with the Duke Ellington Band, the New York City Opera and the Greek Theatre Opera, masterfully narrates this sweeping work. Ordunio’s stage presence is evident in his confident, polished delivery that matches the author’s comprehensive command of the topic.
Highly acclaimed by reviewers, Guns, Germs and Steel won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book. The National Geographic Society produced a documentary based on the book.
What listeners say about Guns, Germs and Steel
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tim
- 04-02-2017
Grand Trends of History Explained
This multidisciplinary triumph explains the critical impact of geography on the course of human history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-11-2018
engaging, informative, well read
for someone interested in the broader strokes of ancient human history, and a farmer by trade, this was the perfect article of our past as a species.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joey
- 15-09-2020
compelling content but I often got lost
I often listen to things at 2x and can get the gist. However, I had to listen to this at 0.5x otherwise I got lost. I wonder if it was because of the narrator or just the complexity of the material.
On the material, I found it highly compelling and a great counter to some of the racist hypotheses of why Europe came to dominate a lot of the globe.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Garry Fox
- 20-01-2023
bit tedious
I found this book a bit long winded, thou very informative , and worth the wait
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sweener
- 19-03-2024
Compelling but incomplete
Guns, Germs and Steel presents a compelling theory on how we got to where we are today, and the relative success of peoples. It points to innate preconditions - such as geography, fauna and disease - as the major determinants of human history.
In espousing its thesis, it probably overstates the impact of these natural (and unavoidable) factors, neglecting human agency and ingenuity. Some sections (for example - on writing and the organisation of societies) drift into conjecture, while others present oversimplified or disingenuous accounts of historical events.
Nonetheless, Diamond’s analysis is interesting and at times very intuitive, and the book is consistently informative and engaging.
While anyone interested in ‘big history’ should familiarise themselves with the concepts raised by this book, a more rounded view of the world might be gained by also reading a contrasting theory (for example, that raised in “Why Nations Fail”), as no one theory explains all.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Malcolm
- 03-04-2018
Brilliant explanation of a fascinating topic.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the human history of our planet.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Doug Anderson
- 01-04-2016
Great book!
Diamond delivers a wonderful book. He has a fantastic academic understanding of his subject and delivers it in an effortless style. This is anthropology tied to history, that we all should know.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-07-2017
victory
gopd solid and factual. this is the stuff i really enjoy. i think i will listen again!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Misha
- 11-02-2019
Excellent, life altering narrative.
Ordinary performance. Old recording resulting in inconsistent voice and audible page turns in last part
That said, 3/5 recording, still good enough
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-07-2020
great take on the emergence of western culture
amazing listen, although the narrator could be dry at times.
a fascinating look at the factors that led to certain cultures becoming 'dominant' in todays world
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!