Guns, Germs, and Steel

Summary

A wide-angle attempt to explain why some societies developed agriculture, writing, and military technology earlier than others, attributing the gaps to geography, available domesticable species, and disease environments. Diamond argues that Eurasia's east-west axis and biological endowments gave its peoples a long head start, not any innate superiority. The book became a cultural touchstone and a lightning rod for historians who push back on its environmental determinism.