Collapse
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Author: Jared Diamond
Amazon info
I should first disclose that I am big fan of Jared Diamond - having read "The Third Chimpanzee" long ago and then tremendously enjoying "Gun, Germs, Steel". I continue to be very impressed with the breadth of Diamond's work - and "Collapse" is no exception. What impressed me even more in this book was that it was pretty clear that Diamond had a preconceived idea: that societies that wreck their environment - especially through deforestation and associated evils such as soil loss/erosion - begin the road to collapse. But as he did his research he found that the world was not so simple, nor so pre-determined. The resulting framework, although more complex and not as easily remembered (at least not by me), seems a much closer fit.
The book covers ancient societies (Easter Island, Maya, Anasazi native Americans) and present day societies (Australia, Montana). Diamond does a good job of personalizing this text, starting with a detailed description of his second home of Montana, and including some analysis of his home town of Los Angeles - and I think this helps the reader connect with what might otherwise be fairly academic material.
My main complaint about Diamond's writing (and this was brought to mind by the esteemed Mr. Becker) was that he is quite repetitive. I hadn't really noticed that in his earlier writings, but once aware, it is quite noticeable. On occasion, he will repeat he same thought 2-4 times over a few pages. It isn't that annoying, but it does contribute to the heft of his books (592 pages for Collapse). I think that he could also improve the flow by moving much more of the text to endnotes. There is a lot of "support material" that is great if you don't particularly believe him, but if you are willing to accept his arguments, that material would be best located at the end.
Finally, I thought that Diamond strikes a very practical middle ground between extreme environmentalists and short-sighted free market advocates.
Highly recommended for all, but not at the level of "Guns, Germs, Steel" - so read that one first.