Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed
(Jared Diamond)
There is a growing interest today in the way our society deals with the rest of the surrounding world, preferably from a global point of view. Concerns with the world around us constantly bombard our news each day and entire cultures are dependent on natural resources which are or are not being used up in daily quantities. The story is repeating, unfortunately, through history many many times. This is such a topic for a book, and it is Mr. Diamond's forte in dealing with social issues of this kind.
The concern is that society as a whole has in its power the ability to fail or succeed with using its resources wisely. The authordoes this by comparing and contrasting modern society with past ones, and does it in several different ways. Foremost in the narrative, however is the fact that choosing the outcome is what primarily is at the heart ofsocial survival. By looking at first environmental and social practices in remote Montana, then comparing these practices with some ancient societies, we can see the reasons why some succeed in adapting to their changing needs and why some fail. The narrative is not done in a frightening, preaching way; it is done in a very informative, eye-opening way. Through the telling of personal stories it is made apparent what choices societies have made, and can make, and how they can affect the future.
The style of writing of Mr. Diamond is sometimes lengthy and drawn out, but he makes the points well. One thing he does that many authors of similar subjects do not accomplish is that near the end he makes some solutions. The questions are there forthe reading, but solving the problems is crucial. Anyone worried about such matters as global warming, water conservation, and pollution can see great lessons in this writing. Anyone in a position to do something about it will find answers. Sometimes it seems too obvious to solve, as the method of telling the story is quite effective. This is without doubt a valuable source of information for anyone living today concerned with how to save our physical and economic world.
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