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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.
karp76's review against another edition
3.0
“[T]he values to which people cling most stubbornly under inappropriate conditions are those values that were previously the source of their greatest triumphs.”
(2.5 out of 5) This is a tale of two books: neither organized (well) unto themselves, though researched meticulously, gathered, and collected haphazardly and then fitted into the same box with a common lid/cover, purported however tenuously about the collapse of past society and the looming danger facing our own modern on. In the past, Diamond's writing and voice could pull the reader into the material, ease them into the subject and if not help them understand, visit with, talk with them and hope that something meaningful is taken away. "Collpase" does not offer that. There is no narrative structure or evident organization, and Diamond's voice, though present and striking, drones, rather than elevates. There is a feeling he is constantly looking down at his notes, making sure the data is there, the numbers are there, so you can believe him and the problems of the past and present least you challenge him, as some did after "Guns, Germs and Steel" (which in many ways, "Collapse feels like an continuation of that work or rather the outtakes from it, assembled here for your reading pleasure). In the end, "Collapse" collapses in on itself, too dense, too many numbers, more lecture than conversation and less than the sum of its parts.
(2.5 out of 5) This is a tale of two books: neither organized (well) unto themselves, though researched meticulously, gathered, and collected haphazardly and then fitted into the same box with a common lid/cover, purported however tenuously about the collapse of past society and the looming danger facing our own modern on. In the past, Diamond's writing and voice could pull the reader into the material, ease them into the subject and if not help them understand, visit with, talk with them and hope that something meaningful is taken away. "Collpase" does not offer that. There is no narrative structure or evident organization, and Diamond's voice, though present and striking, drones, rather than elevates. There is a feeling he is constantly looking down at his notes, making sure the data is there, the numbers are there, so you can believe him and the problems of the past and present least you challenge him, as some did after "Guns, Germs and Steel" (which in many ways, "Collapse feels like an continuation of that work or rather the outtakes from it, assembled here for your reading pleasure). In the end, "Collapse" collapses in on itself, too dense, too many numbers, more lecture than conversation and less than the sum of its parts.
jwsg's review against another edition
4.0
Collapse takes some perseverence to get through but it's well worth the effort. I'd attempted reading the book before but set it down because it's long and somewhat dense and not the easiest of books to read in fits and starts during the commute to work, waiting for friends, etc. Jared Diamond's a bit of a Renaissance man, having developed careers as a professor in physiology, an ornithologist (in New Guinean birds),a professor of geography, etc. His wide range of interests comes through in Collapse, which is a whirlwind tour through time and space, covering modern day Montana and Australia, to the Vikings, Anasazi, Mayans, Tokogawa Japan and Polynesia, to name a few places. He does have a tendency to repeat himself or belabour the point in some sections (his book could have been say, 490 pages instead of 520) but all in all, if you're the sort of person who loves random facts and have a soft spot for anthropology/history, you'll probably love this book.
jsisco's review against another edition
1.0
Diamond spends a lot of time talking about droughts, but this was the driest thing I've read in ages.
sabbirbt1212's review against another edition
3.0
Hello,
I am Jared Diamond,Professor of Geography and winner of a Pulitzer price in the non-fiction for Guns/Germs and Steel.Here in this book i am going to portray/theorise/analyze how people/society destroyed themselves by failing to grasp the enormity of the destruction they brought on their surrounding environment.So you can say this book's premise is a bit 180 degree turn on my famous book's premise-wherer Humans decided their fate by their action.
I went with a 5 point framework :Human impact on environment/climate change/neighbouring trade/war,lack of trade/Political decision of the society.
With this in mind i delve into the ancient collapse of the Easter Island/Mesoamerican Maya/Greenland Norse and also the modern collapse of Rwanda/Haiti and then i discuss how the lessons of these can teach us-the modern residents of Earth.Hope you guys like it.
Reviewer:
Mr. Diamond,
This is a fascinating topic to write a book especially whose insight we can use in the modern world but my god your writing has become so much drier than your first book.At times it felt like a Textbook.Writing aside the first part-Collapse of ancient societies-is enjoyable,seems legit and thought provoking.(Although your theory of how the Easter Islanders carried those humongous statues proved to be False-hint:the statutes literally walked to their site).
The part on Rwanda/Haiti situation/Japan's forest reservation plan though pretty monotonous was insighful.The business practices-Bad/Good of Big business seemed to me a sort of positive PR.but that is on me.
You wrote and wrote but you can't wrote and wrote more on China -that is a travesty.But hey one can't always get what he wants.About Australia i get why you get pretty excited and i also enjoyed that part but can you please tone down some of the technical things.Even for an Engineer like me that seemed to be too raw to digest although as i have said earlier your writing style is way dry.
I have heavy critisim on the last part where you try to preach what should we do.You blabbering on and on about human impact,achieving First world life style and many other things but you didnt utter a single word about the White Elephant in the room.CAPITALISM whose infinite growth dogma is feeding these destruction and to satisyfy our Consumer mindset and when it comes to policy making you shove it down to the throat of ordinary people instead of asking why the law works the way it is and why the state and big business are in cahoots.But hey that is also me.(An advice -Try Reading Katherina Pistor's The Code of the Capital).
So despite choosing a fascinating topic to write on in no way i am satisfied with your proposed solutions and man try to write a little bit more-what can i say-Relaxed.
3/5
I am Jared Diamond,Professor of Geography and winner of a Pulitzer price in the non-fiction for Guns/Germs and Steel.Here in this book i am going to portray/theorise/analyze how people/society destroyed themselves by failing to grasp the enormity of the destruction they brought on their surrounding environment.So you can say this book's premise is a bit 180 degree turn on my famous book's premise-wherer Humans decided their fate by their action.
I went with a 5 point framework :Human impact on environment/climate change/neighbouring trade/war,lack of trade/Political decision of the society.
With this in mind i delve into the ancient collapse of the Easter Island/Mesoamerican Maya/Greenland Norse and also the modern collapse of Rwanda/Haiti and then i discuss how the lessons of these can teach us-the modern residents of Earth.Hope you guys like it.
Reviewer:
Mr. Diamond,
This is a fascinating topic to write a book especially whose insight we can use in the modern world but my god your writing has become so much drier than your first book.At times it felt like a Textbook.Writing aside the first part-Collapse of ancient societies-is enjoyable,seems legit and thought provoking.(Although your theory of how the Easter Islanders carried those humongous statues proved to be False-hint:the statutes literally walked to their site).
The part on Rwanda/Haiti situation/Japan's forest reservation plan though pretty monotonous was insighful.The business practices-Bad/Good of Big business seemed to me a sort of positive PR.but that is on me.
You wrote and wrote but you can't wrote and wrote more on China -that is a travesty.But hey one can't always get what he wants.About Australia i get why you get pretty excited and i also enjoyed that part but can you please tone down some of the technical things.Even for an Engineer like me that seemed to be too raw to digest although as i have said earlier your writing style is way dry.
I have heavy critisim on the last part where you try to preach what should we do.You blabbering on and on about human impact,achieving First world life style and many other things but you didnt utter a single word about the White Elephant in the room.CAPITALISM whose infinite growth dogma is feeding these destruction and to satisyfy our Consumer mindset and when it comes to policy making you shove it down to the throat of ordinary people instead of asking why the law works the way it is and why the state and big business are in cahoots.But hey that is also me.(An advice -Try Reading Katherina Pistor's The Code of the Capital).
So despite choosing a fascinating topic to write on in no way i am satisfied with your proposed solutions and man try to write a little bit more-what can i say-Relaxed.
3/5
aga_acrobat's review against another edition
4.0
"Collapse" made me think. Not only about societies, but also about my resposibilities - over and over again. And that's probably the best thing I can say about any book.
Diamond is first and foremost a story teller, a spinner of tales. He puts dry and boring facts into an entertaining tale about people and their lives. He makes facts matter and gives them a human perspective. He entertains with facts. That's a rare gift.
Reading "Collapse" I travelled into past times and lost worlds. I saw societies emerge, thrive and collapse. I saw peoples make pig-headed decisions that would prove devastating to their future. And with every society I visited on this journey I asked myself:
What kind of society do I want to live in? How do we as a society want to manage our world? How do we preserve and change at the same time?
What about different visions people in a society tend to have? How do we reach an agreement?
What about government regulations? How many of them do I want to have in order to enforce more protection over valuable ressources? How many checks and balances do we need?
What kind of leaders do I want to have in our world to show good stewardship of our ressources?
What is worth preserving in my society for further generations? Which of my ideas, attitudes or values do I have to change to accomplish this?
Most books concerned with environmental issues make me feel overwhelmed. Like the world's gonna end soon, but I can't do anything about it.
"Collapse" made me think: How much am I responsible for the society I live in? Is it my responsibility to protect what I think is valuable? How do I do this?
Diamond is first and foremost a story teller, a spinner of tales. He puts dry and boring facts into an entertaining tale about people and their lives. He makes facts matter and gives them a human perspective. He entertains with facts. That's a rare gift.
Reading "Collapse" I travelled into past times and lost worlds. I saw societies emerge, thrive and collapse. I saw peoples make pig-headed decisions that would prove devastating to their future. And with every society I visited on this journey I asked myself:
What kind of society do I want to live in? How do we as a society want to manage our world? How do we preserve and change at the same time?
What about different visions people in a society tend to have? How do we reach an agreement?
What about government regulations? How many of them do I want to have in order to enforce more protection over valuable ressources? How many checks and balances do we need?
What kind of leaders do I want to have in our world to show good stewardship of our ressources?
What is worth preserving in my society for further generations? Which of my ideas, attitudes or values do I have to change to accomplish this?
Most books concerned with environmental issues make me feel overwhelmed. Like the world's gonna end soon, but I can't do anything about it.
"Collapse" made me think: How much am I responsible for the society I live in? Is it my responsibility to protect what I think is valuable? How do I do this?
zedangeo's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting read, especially seeing how similar our society is to those that collapsed in the past. It wasn't nearly as engrossing for me as Guns, Germs, and Steel though.
ninaw2's review against another edition
5.0
another great read. love him. loved it. it is full of facts and such a heavy to digest book at least for me hence why it took so long BUT he makes it clear with his five factors that he follows throughout. I learned a lot as always.