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

3.0

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 Though I found nothing erroneous in the chapter, other than speaking about the "national crisis" from an outdated foreign perspective, its only merit is in raising awareness to Indonesia's global presence especially for American audiences.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.