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A review by thecandlelightlibrary
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
5.0
This was one of the 4 major books I used for my senior capstone course in university, and I absolutely loved it. In hindsight, choosing a book that was this large with 3 other books to use in only one of my classes during my final semester was probably not a brilliant idea, but I’m forever thankful this book crossed my path when it did.
Collapse helped give me a glimpse into a world of science writing I was not very familiar with - most of my work in university dealt with scientific papers, which are world-renowned for their dryness and niche audiences within the scientific community. Collapse is definitely not a scientific paper, and it’s designed to make people care who are outside of niche scientific communities while also presenting facts and suggesting interpretations and conclusions.
I found it extremely interesting and completely engrossing - despite being considerably longer than any of the other nonfiction books I have on my shelves, I had no issues finishing it quickly. One thing is for certain, though, Collapse’s subject is a massive undertaking - and what we have is only what Jared was able to discover and condense into a readable length before publication. This book was published in 2005, which is eons ago in terms of science (in fact, Elizabeth Kolbert describes new details Collapse did not include in her 2014 book The Sixth Extinction). Still, this was a fascinating read.
Part of what worked so well for Jared is how he structured the book, beginning with his personal experiences in Montana, moving on to well known ancient societies (like Easter Island), and finishing with modern societies before giving practical suggestions and takeaways. I also really enjoyed how Jared tried to include as many different factors as possible and how they shaped each civilization in his analyses.
Whether Jared was correct in his conclusions or completely off the mark, I enjoyed this book from both an environmental standpoint and from a fiction writer’s standpoint. I am part of a generation who will need to find solutions for extreme environmental problems, and Collapse helps contribute to the knowledge at our disposal. From a fiction writer’s standpoint, I found Collapse to be extremely helpful in terms of world-building.
So, whether you take Jared’s word as fact or not, Collapse does give you an incredible amount to think about and encourages you to take the time to consider how fragile societies can be.
Collapse helped give me a glimpse into a world of science writing I was not very familiar with - most of my work in university dealt with scientific papers, which are world-renowned for their dryness and niche audiences within the scientific community. Collapse is definitely not a scientific paper, and it’s designed to make people care who are outside of niche scientific communities while also presenting facts and suggesting interpretations and conclusions.
I found it extremely interesting and completely engrossing - despite being considerably longer than any of the other nonfiction books I have on my shelves, I had no issues finishing it quickly. One thing is for certain, though, Collapse’s subject is a massive undertaking - and what we have is only what Jared was able to discover and condense into a readable length before publication. This book was published in 2005, which is eons ago in terms of science (in fact, Elizabeth Kolbert describes new details Collapse did not include in her 2014 book The Sixth Extinction). Still, this was a fascinating read.
Part of what worked so well for Jared is how he structured the book, beginning with his personal experiences in Montana, moving on to well known ancient societies (like Easter Island), and finishing with modern societies before giving practical suggestions and takeaways. I also really enjoyed how Jared tried to include as many different factors as possible and how they shaped each civilization in his analyses.
Whether Jared was correct in his conclusions or completely off the mark, I enjoyed this book from both an environmental standpoint and from a fiction writer’s standpoint. I am part of a generation who will need to find solutions for extreme environmental problems, and Collapse helps contribute to the knowledge at our disposal. From a fiction writer’s standpoint, I found Collapse to be extremely helpful in terms of world-building.
So, whether you take Jared’s word as fact or not, Collapse does give you an incredible amount to think about and encourages you to take the time to consider how fragile societies can be.