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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
The review by Anand Giridharadas for The New York Times captures many of the feelings I had while listening to this book, particularly in categorizing the book as part of the "genre of 30,000-foot books", on par with Harari's Sapiens. I realized, through this, that these books are designed to be vague enough to capture the interest of international travelers, but lack the substance to actually stay with us. Giridharadas focuses his critique on the inaccuracies in Diamond's research but I can only speak to the chapter on Indonesia. Though I found nothing erroneous in the chapter, other than speaking about the "national crisis" from an outdated foreign perspective, its only merit is in raising awareness to Indonesia's global presence especially for American audiences. It does not dive deep into the issues of national identity and how it fits within the context of national crises - it simply recognizes that they exist. That being said, I agree with Diamond that protectionist measures are more likely to hinder nations, and that rising populism will ultimately bring forth new crises.
A magnificent read! So highly recommended. Very well researched and articulated. Makes one wants to go deeper in each aspect mentioned and dig in the references.
It's been a while since I've read a self-help book. This one tricked me! It came disguised as a contemporary history book. Well done :)
When I hear people quote Winston Churchill's famous call for people to study the past, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." I tend to think about the unique plights and crises of nations, not myself.
In Upheaval, Mr. Diamond starts his comparative analysis of nations in crisis by looking inward, outlining what a 12-step program for nations (and people) in crisis. It's an interesting perspective that feels like a fresh way to talk about our own needs for objective self-reflection. The examples of Finland's war with Russia, Pinochet in Chile, Meiji-era Japan, and Post-War Germany were all quite excellent and read like mini-histories themselves, cross-pollinated with Mr. Diamond's unique experience living in those countries and sharing his friend's perspectives on nation's in crisis.
I've read about Japan other places, but never in the context of how its described in Upheaval. Diamond recognizes one of Japan's unique problems is its inability to apologize as a nation for its war crimes. I studied abroad in former East Germany in 2001 and had a lovely time, something I never would have been permitted to do if Germany hadn't authentically apologized for its actions during the war. Visit Berlin today and there are countless monuments recognizing the victims of German war crimes. We need these kinds of monuments of recognition in the US to show even modest accountability for our crimes against Native American tribes. Japan needs it too. There are other levels of self-reflection that make this book worth reading, but the concerns about recognizing crimes committed by owns own nation felt especially important, without that level of knowledge of one's own past, everyone is always in admiration of another great achievement by our glorious leader.
They should call these rambles. Review is too kind.
When I hear people quote Winston Churchill's famous call for people to study the past, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." I tend to think about the unique plights and crises of nations, not myself.
In Upheaval, Mr. Diamond starts his comparative analysis of nations in crisis by looking inward, outlining what a 12-step program for nations (and people) in crisis. It's an interesting perspective that feels like a fresh way to talk about our own needs for objective self-reflection. The examples of Finland's war with Russia, Pinochet in Chile, Meiji-era Japan, and Post-War Germany were all quite excellent and read like mini-histories themselves, cross-pollinated with Mr. Diamond's unique experience living in those countries and sharing his friend's perspectives on nation's in crisis.
I've read about Japan other places, but never in the context of how its described in Upheaval. Diamond recognizes one of Japan's unique problems is its inability to apologize as a nation for its war crimes. I studied abroad in former East Germany in 2001 and had a lovely time, something I never would have been permitted to do if Germany hadn't authentically apologized for its actions during the war. Visit Berlin today and there are countless monuments recognizing the victims of German war crimes. We need these kinds of monuments of recognition in the US to show even modest accountability for our crimes against Native American tribes. Japan needs it too. There are other levels of self-reflection that make this book worth reading, but the concerns about recognizing crimes committed by owns own nation felt especially important, without that level of knowledge of one's own past, everyone is always in admiration of another great achievement by our glorious leader.
They should call these rambles. Review is too kind.
While (openly) not scientific, Diamond examines several countries that have gone through crises and and the ending results. The book provides a good window into rapidly changing States, but I wish there was more quantitative analysis so we could get some hard stats instead of what amounts to "my father-in-law told me" (is it fair to criticize something for faults it openly admits it has)?
So far, I've enjoyed every book I read by Mr. Diamond, and this one was no exception. I had no other other reason to read it besides suspecting that I'd be given enjoyable insights into historical events. Those expectations were met, but from what I can tell seeing other reviews, some had much higher ones.
It's true that the presentation that's given to this book might seem like it's a great thesis explaining the fall and rise of nations, but at this point in our society you really should be weary of over-expecting based on marketing. Another pet-peeve I had about other comments were people saying this was not as good as Guns, Germs & Steel. Why would that stop you from enjoying this one?
We're given explanations about a handful of crises endured by nations in the past 2 centuries and how they reacted in order to overcome difficulties or failed to do so. That is then wrapped nicely into an overview of the entire planet as a whole and the crises we're about to encounter as a collective of nations. My only caveat about this book is Mr. Diamond's need to insert a "human" perspective on the crises and make an analogy to personal crises that individuals suffer through. I found it convoluted and unnatural.
Mr. Diamond is 83 now and probably doesn't have many books in his writing future, so I'm thankful that he chose to spend his retired life educating readers and sharing his views with us.
It's true that the presentation that's given to this book might seem like it's a great thesis explaining the fall and rise of nations, but at this point in our society you really should be weary of over-expecting based on marketing. Another pet-peeve I had about other comments were people saying this was not as good as Guns, Germs & Steel. Why would that stop you from enjoying this one?
We're given explanations about a handful of crises endured by nations in the past 2 centuries and how they reacted in order to overcome difficulties or failed to do so. That is then wrapped nicely into an overview of the entire planet as a whole and the crises we're about to encounter as a collective of nations. My only caveat about this book is Mr. Diamond's need to insert a "human" perspective on the crises and make an analogy to personal crises that individuals suffer through. I found it convoluted and unnatural.
Mr. Diamond is 83 now and probably doesn't have many books in his writing future, so I'm thankful that he chose to spend his retired life educating readers and sharing his views with us.