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on Jared Diamond's tome... I have a lot of jumbled thoughts and reactions to this work. I've decided therefore just to list them, instead of forming a coherent narrative review. (Not like my posts are ever particularly coherent.)

Overall: thumbs up. His case histories are interesting, and his last chapter ties past and present together quite well. Despite the differences among each earlier society and between them and our own, it's clear that we have plenty to learn in order to avoid the same fate. Also, man he has a LOT of friends in places and companies all over the world. Similar to my graduate advisor. But onto the thoughts:

*What is it about Easter Island that people find so fascinating? I think it's haunting somehow, but I wonder if "ghosts" of other civilizations are ever jealous.

*I started to think about life cycles of cities, societies, and civilizations. We like to think of history as having "sped up" but I wonder if that's really accurate.

*How big is my footprint? I thought of this quiz while reading. When I think of how much of the world we are unsustainably mining... I sort of think we must be insane. On a happier note, sort of, the quiz says that we'd only need two planets if everyone lived like me (three times fewer than the average American). But then we don't have two planets, that I know of, which brings me to my next point...

*How do societies learn to think sustainably? Although everyone's favorite, Easter Island, has gotten a lot of attention in reviews (mainly I believe b/c it's at the beginning of the book and was all that some readers got to) Diamond provides examples of societies that did learn to think sustainably, by enacting religious laws to save land, or reconceptualizing their identities to line up with environmental realities. I guess one would have to find the "tipping point" for such a shift.

*As far as specific societies, I found the suggestion that the pressures from overpopulation helped precipitate the Rwandan genocide provocative and intriguing. And he has a few pages to devote to his hometown and mine, Los Angeles (pp 499-503). Surprisingly for those who love to bash the Southland, despite our bad environmental rep, Diamond says that our myriad problems still actually have us in pretty good shape comparatively. (So there.)

In closing, this is a big book. I think there is much to be gained from reading the whole thing, digesting all the different societies, applying them to the present. However, he can get a little long-winded, especially about industry stuff. So I would say it's okay to pick and choose chapters, or to skim over the boring stuff. Diamond's pretty good at putting flashing signs around his main points, so you won't miss much.