It took me a long time to get through Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel. It not that the material was particularly difficult, but that it was kind of dry. It reminded me of my class on Plato. The subject matter was damn interesting and my professor was informative, but I just couldn’t help but let my mind wander. In fact, sometimes my eyelids would droop. Likewise, I found GGS very interesting, but I still couldn’t help but get bored. And this, all despite the fact that Jared Diamond makes it very accessible for a more popular audience.

It’s a fascinating book, and I learned a lot. The book’s about how the environment determined which societies would end up destroying other societies (like how Eurasia invaded the Americas and not the other way around). It was a good change of pace from a non-fiction book that I read as part of my quest for self-improvement. (This is not to say that learning in and of itself is not self-improvement.) I don’t think I have any lessons I can apply to my life, but I now have new things to say if someone wants to discuss history.

Also, reading this book can spark some wonderful ideas for alternative history. What if some animals in Africa had traits which made them able to be domesticated? Can you imagine rhino cavalry? Or giant mammals from North America? Sweet.

Apparently, the author is a professor at UCLA and I think one of my friends took a class with him. I’d love to meet him some day.