Goliath’s Curse: The history and future of societal collapse
Viking, $36.99 pb, 592 pp
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Our David?
To explain the great arc of human experience is daunting. In Guns, Germs and Steel: The fates of human societies (1997), Jared Diamond argued that environment and geography shape culture and technology, allowing some societies to prosper while others fail. In Sapiens: A brief history of humankind (2011), Yuval Noah Harari described successive revolutions that saw one variety of humans transform the planet. Harari lamented the decision to leave the hunter-gatherer life for agriculture; populations grew in number but became victims of regular famine, war, and disease.
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Goliath’s Curse: The history and future of societal collapse
by Luke Kemp
Viking, $36.99 pb, 592 pp
ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.
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