4.0 out of 5 based on 2 reviews. – Customer review on 20/04/2006

Diamond combines history, ecology, political science and more in this deep book about the past present and future of different societies. Why do these societies choose to prosper or fail - Diamond leans slightly left in his thinking but gives a balanced account of what we may be able to learn from past civilizations, and how what they did, or did not do, helped or hindered the way they went about living.

I found the book fascinating - but it could have been about 100 pages shorter. It gets a bit preachy and redundant at the end, and took forever to get through. The book is long. The first half goes a bit quicker and has concise points. Overall it was worth reading and I learned a lot.

5.0 out of 5 based on 2 reviews. – Customer review on 20/07/2009

This is a brilliant book that should be read by anyone interested in the future of our civilisation. Though a trifle wordy in places it is exceptionally well researched and uses facts rather than conjecture to identify the key issues that must be addressed to enable us to live sustainably.