A review by andrewhall
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis by Jared Diamond

3.0

Diamond tries to analyze how different nations have dealt with crises by using principals from crisis therapy. After a way-to-long introduction, he produces interesting case studies of Finland, Chile, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia. His discussion of Japan was largely on point, and I enjoyed learning more about the modern history of the other case study countries, although I understand he made several mistakes about the other countries. He has lived in and has friends in all of the countries, and he relies too much on anecdotal information from his friends. Still, very engaging discussion.
The section on coming crises facing Japan, the US, and the World was okay, but got long-winded, and didn't say too much that I didn't already know.
Good for him for making an attempt at a big view of the world. Nothing paradigm changing, and it is too, too long. But it has some good stuff.