Take a photo of a barcode or cover
joshwilks111 's review for:
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
by Jared Diamond
One of the better non fiction books I have read In a long time.
Pros:
-wonderfully structured. An introduction that details exactly what you're in for, clear conclusions to each chapter and comparisons to other discussed works throughout. Reads like a long form persuasive essay.
-colloqual in tone without being dumbed down. As opposed to the other diamond book I have rea, guns,germs and steel, this book is written for a more general audience. Given the importance of the topic discussed I think this is a real positive for the book. I would not describe many long form persuasive historical essays as page turners but I finished this book in 5 days because it flowed so seamlessly.
-the countries discussed made me want to read more widely about history, especially the past 100 years eg formation of Soviet union, general histories about the second world war. The chapter on Finland was the best at getting me intrigued on this.
Cons
- since this book is comparative across seven countries and uses a framework to compare them, it does get a little repetitive. I'm unsure whether this could have been done better but I did find myself glossing over the repeated parts
- this is a personal gripe, but some complexity was left out for the sake of readability. I would have liked the book to be longer!
4.5/5
Pros:
-wonderfully structured. An introduction that details exactly what you're in for, clear conclusions to each chapter and comparisons to other discussed works throughout. Reads like a long form persuasive essay.
-colloqual in tone without being dumbed down. As opposed to the other diamond book I have rea, guns,germs and steel, this book is written for a more general audience. Given the importance of the topic discussed I think this is a real positive for the book. I would not describe many long form persuasive historical essays as page turners but I finished this book in 5 days because it flowed so seamlessly.
-the countries discussed made me want to read more widely about history, especially the past 100 years eg formation of Soviet union, general histories about the second world war. The chapter on Finland was the best at getting me intrigued on this.
Cons
- since this book is comparative across seven countries and uses a framework to compare them, it does get a little repetitive. I'm unsure whether this could have been done better but I did find myself glossing over the repeated parts
- this is a personal gripe, but some complexity was left out for the sake of readability. I would have liked the book to be longer!
4.5/5