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jimmacsyr's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent and very readable book. The contrast between cultures is very helpful. I am glad there are people willing to dig through piles of ancient refuse in the hopes of supplying data for books such as this. As a metallurgist (a profession not mentioned, but directly involved in the mining process), I not only appreciate the lack of (physical) dung I have to sift through in my line of work, but also understand some of the concerns expressed in the mining discussion.
annecrisp's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting, but very dry. I decided to check it out on audiobook recently so I could listen while doing other things instead of continuing to struggle through my paperback. That really helped, and I was able to get through the last 250 pages in a couple days. It took me about 9 months to get through the first 300! Overall, I'd rate it about 3.5 stars. There were a lot of interesting tidbits, particularly when he talked about the big picture issues and how things tied together. They were just buried beneath all the excessive details in the many case studies.
ryan_oneil's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting examination of why some societies fail and others don't, including Easter Island, Greenland Vikings, the Mayans, Rwanda, and the Anasazi.
The lesson I pulled from the book: don't cut down your trees at a rate that outpaces their ability to replace themselves.
The lesson I pulled from the book: don't cut down your trees at a rate that outpaces their ability to replace themselves.
tittypete's review against another edition
3.0
Oh windy Jared. This guy likes to talk. And not just talk but set up what he's gonna talk about before he starts talking about it. That aside the book isn't a terrible slog. And it is interesting at it's core. Sort of a yin to Guns, Germs and Steel's yang. Whereas the former book was about why societies thrive, this one is about why they fall apart. The falling apart comes from five factors: "climate change, hostile neighbors, collapse of essential trading partners, environmental problems, and the society's response to the forgoing four factors." Most of the time it's because the society won't stop having kids and land it lives on can't support it. And that's the big mega direction we're all heading so humanity's probably going to collapse sooner than later and the ones left will be sad cavemen type rootin' around for food that's not poisoned yet. It's a picker upper. All hail the oncoming void.
belockwood's review against another edition
4.0
If you liked Guns, Germs and Steel, then you'll probably like Collapse. Who thought that trees were THAT darn important? (Well, probably a lot of people, but this book kind of drives it home).
blairconrad's review against another edition
4.0
Not as much fun as [b:Guns, Germs, and Steel|1842|Guns, Germs, and Steel|Jared Diamond|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1158959888s/1842.jpg|2138852]. Possibly because that was about why certain societies rose to prominence and this one is about why others collapsed – and why the whole world is in danger. The individual sections were educational, but a couple of them (Easter Island and Montana come to mind) tended to drag a little. Overall, though, a very interesting book.
sklation1987's review against another edition
5.0
Jared Diamond versucht anhand eines Rahmenwerks Aufstiege und Untergänge von Gesellschaften zu beschreiben. Dabei bedient er sich Beispielen aus der Vergangenheit (u.a. Osterinsel, Pitcairn und Henderson Insel, Anasazi, Maya, Wikinder), als auch der Gegenwart (China, Australien). Das Rahmenwerk besteht aus folgenden fünf Punkten:
Umwelt, Umweltveränderung, Gesellschaft, Feinde, Handelspartner
So wird bspw. dargelegt, wie Völker sich wortwörtlich ihr eigenes Grab schaffen, indem sie ihre umliegende Umwelt durch Abholzungen abschaffen oder die Tiervielfalt abschlachten und sich infolgedessen jegliche Lebensgrundlage entziehen.
Weiters werden kurz die Verantwortung und Tätigkeit von Unternehmen (Bergbau, Forsterei, Fischerei) beleuchtet, inwiefern Umweltmaßnahmen umgesetzt und Anreize zur Verbesserung geschaffen werden.
Umwelt, Umweltveränderung, Gesellschaft, Feinde, Handelspartner
So wird bspw. dargelegt, wie Völker sich wortwörtlich ihr eigenes Grab schaffen, indem sie ihre umliegende Umwelt durch Abholzungen abschaffen oder die Tiervielfalt abschlachten und sich infolgedessen jegliche Lebensgrundlage entziehen.
Weiters werden kurz die Verantwortung und Tätigkeit von Unternehmen (Bergbau, Forsterei, Fischerei) beleuchtet, inwiefern Umweltmaßnahmen umgesetzt und Anreize zur Verbesserung geschaffen werden.
thejdizzler's review against another edition
5.0
Freaky if True.
Written a while ago, but even more pressing today. Diamond talks about societal collapse from ecological stress in both modern and historical contexts. His thesis reminded me a lot of that of limits to growth, which I read last summer
Written a while ago, but even more pressing today. Diamond talks about societal collapse from ecological stress in both modern and historical contexts. His thesis reminded me a lot of that of limits to growth, which I read last summer
fialba's review against another edition
4.0
Disamina chiara degli aspetti caratteristici di diverse civiltà. È molto interessante come l'autore costruisce il paragone tra diverse "forme di governo" di diverse popolazioni per mettere in risalto quelle che potrebbero essere state le cause della loro rovina o della loro sopravvivenza.
Nel complesso non accusa in toto l'attività umana (come invece vedo fare agli ambientalisti dell'ultima ora) ma si concentra di più su quelle che sono state le strategie applicate, e cerca di teorizzare un metodo per capire quali siano vincenti in una determinata situazione piuttosto che un'altra.
L'ambiente la fa da padrone, e uno dei motivi per cui l'ho apprezzato è stato soprattutto il modo che Diamond ha di dipingere i luoghi di cui parla. È molto limpido e discorsivo, al punto era una gioia leggere delle isole polinesiane circondate dall'oceano Pacifico, così come delle vette innevate del Montana e dei suoi splendidi fiumi. Lo ammetto, era come evadere e fare un viaggetto turistico di un'ora in qualche zona della Groenlandia o della penisola dello Yucatán.
Il libro è vecchiotto, e la situazione a cui fa riferimento è ormai vecchia di dieci anni; ciononostante l'ho trovato un'autentica fonte di riflessioni e spunti nuovi su argomenti che restano (e penso resteranno) attuali.
Nel complesso non accusa in toto l'attività umana (come invece vedo fare agli ambientalisti dell'ultima ora) ma si concentra di più su quelle che sono state le strategie applicate, e cerca di teorizzare un metodo per capire quali siano vincenti in una determinata situazione piuttosto che un'altra.
L'ambiente la fa da padrone, e uno dei motivi per cui l'ho apprezzato è stato soprattutto il modo che Diamond ha di dipingere i luoghi di cui parla. È molto limpido e discorsivo, al punto era una gioia leggere delle isole polinesiane circondate dall'oceano Pacifico, così come delle vette innevate del Montana e dei suoi splendidi fiumi. Lo ammetto, era come evadere e fare un viaggetto turistico di un'ora in qualche zona della Groenlandia o della penisola dello Yucatán.
Il libro è vecchiotto, e la situazione a cui fa riferimento è ormai vecchia di dieci anni; ciononostante l'ho trovato un'autentica fonte di riflessioni e spunti nuovi su argomenti che restano (e penso resteranno) attuali.