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Pav's 'Grown Up Books' reading list, Part 3
3 years ago
To clarify in advance - I've read most of the books on this list due to interest in the topic or the point of view, not cause i agree with the views of the author. While some books are pretty solid when it comes to information and research, the conclusions drawn are sometimes either too mired in authors world view or absolutely useless. As such, i will point out authors political leanings and bias, when applicable, and also write my own thoughts about it after summary, as well how much i recommend said book. With that out of the way, lets roll.
'Guns, Germs and Steel' by Jared Diamond
The book analyzes why some countries failed to develop and why others, like european ones, ended up on top. To this end, the book proposes the geographical theory - europe, middle east and asia, being on a same parallel, could exchange technological achievements and trade much easier than, for example, american societies that were broken apart by impassable terrain. This also meant that the spread of agricultural achievements and domesticated plant species was limited outside the eurasian continent, and the lack of large, domesticate animals was a further downside, since herding societies not only had draft animals, but also immunity to many diseases that spread from animals (small-pox, flu etc.). The book concentrates mostly on Papua New guinea, but also covers every continent, history of human settlement and limitations.
My Thoughts - The geographical theory is quite intuitive, but sadly, the world isnt as simple as that. This theory gets thoroughly deboonked in the next book in the list. Some of the information in this book is outdated as well, since new understanding of human migration has come to light since this book was published, but its still a solid read that gives a rather good overview of human history. Slightlu recommended. Three Stars.
'Why Nations Fail' Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
The theory this book proposes that success of a nation/system of government is tied to a simple formula - of inclusive or oppressive economical and political institutions are. To demonstrate this point, the book describes countries on every continent, concentrating on cases where geographical and cultural similarities still lead to different outcomes (USA and Mexico, South and North Korea etc.).
It still provides a great insight in histories of all continents, painting a rather compact, but informative picture - for example, how spaniards thoroughly fucked south america over for years to come, the trust in political and economic institutions still eroded after all this time. USA on other hand, unable to exploit indigenous societies like spanish could, turned into a much more inclusive culture - something that still didnt stop them from incorporating slavery, something that the book discusses with zero whitewashing. It also describes industrial revolution, that started in england, not as a supremacy of white culture, but just an amalgam of several circumstances that prepared the ground for it (black plague, common law etc.) European colonialism is also not given a break, describing how europeans hijacked exploitative institutions or, in case it wasnt possible, just createf their own (and murdering people if needed). It also ends on a sobering note that, helping out countries that have exploitative institutions rarely causes any good for the people there, the money/material 'vanishing' on the way there in pockets of NGOs and local leaders (As example, how a 10 million dollar help to rebuild a village in afghanistan resulted in two trucks of sub-par, unusable wood.)
My Thoughts - An incredible book and a must read if theres any interest in global politics and why some countries rule and others drool. The book is thick on information, very well researched and, as thus, a rather hard read, but well worth it. What i really liked is that no society or group was treated as better or worse, just objective facts and reasons that lead them to where they are now. Possibly the most objective book ive read. 5 Stars.
'Against the Grain' by James C. Scott
The theory this book proposes is the idea that states were an exception, not the rule, in most of human history, having a huge fail quota and a need to be pushed onto people, one way or another - and not a perfectly normal human behavior as we were lead to believe. For this, the book covers mesopotamian pre-city-state and city-state societies, why the need for states arose and how walls werent only meant to keep the invaders out, but to keep villagers in. The book also jumps to other societies and statea, but the bulk is about mesopotamia.
My Thoughts - This is an academic book at its core - it has one point, and it hammers it in, over and over again. Every example and story just serve to hammer that point home - early states were highly unstable and needed a lot of work to maintain. The short synopsis ive gave is basically the whole book, but its still worth a read if you are interested in the era and bountiful information, but i wouldnt say its a must read. 3 stars.
'Guns, Germs and Steel' by Jared Diamond
The book analyzes why some countries failed to develop and why others, like european ones, ended up on top. To this end, the book proposes the geographical theory - europe, middle east and asia, being on a same parallel, could exchange technological achievements and trade much easier than, for example, american societies that were broken apart by impassable terrain. This also meant that the spread of agricultural achievements and domesticated plant species was limited outside the eurasian continent, and the lack of large, domesticate animals was a further downside, since herding societies not only had draft animals, but also immunity to many diseases that spread from animals (small-pox, flu etc.). The book concentrates mostly on Papua New guinea, but also covers every continent, history of human settlement and limitations.
My Thoughts - The geographical theory is quite intuitive, but sadly, the world isnt as simple as that. This theory gets thoroughly deboonked in the next book in the list. Some of the information in this book is outdated as well, since new understanding of human migration has come to light since this book was published, but its still a solid read that gives a rather good overview of human history. Slightlu recommended. Three Stars.
'Why Nations Fail' Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
The theory this book proposes that success of a nation/system of government is tied to a simple formula - of inclusive or oppressive economical and political institutions are. To demonstrate this point, the book describes countries on every continent, concentrating on cases where geographical and cultural similarities still lead to different outcomes (USA and Mexico, South and North Korea etc.).
It still provides a great insight in histories of all continents, painting a rather compact, but informative picture - for example, how spaniards thoroughly fucked south america over for years to come, the trust in political and economic institutions still eroded after all this time. USA on other hand, unable to exploit indigenous societies like spanish could, turned into a much more inclusive culture - something that still didnt stop them from incorporating slavery, something that the book discusses with zero whitewashing. It also describes industrial revolution, that started in england, not as a supremacy of white culture, but just an amalgam of several circumstances that prepared the ground for it (black plague, common law etc.) European colonialism is also not given a break, describing how europeans hijacked exploitative institutions or, in case it wasnt possible, just createf their own (and murdering people if needed). It also ends on a sobering note that, helping out countries that have exploitative institutions rarely causes any good for the people there, the money/material 'vanishing' on the way there in pockets of NGOs and local leaders (As example, how a 10 million dollar help to rebuild a village in afghanistan resulted in two trucks of sub-par, unusable wood.)
My Thoughts - An incredible book and a must read if theres any interest in global politics and why some countries rule and others drool. The book is thick on information, very well researched and, as thus, a rather hard read, but well worth it. What i really liked is that no society or group was treated as better or worse, just objective facts and reasons that lead them to where they are now. Possibly the most objective book ive read. 5 Stars.
'Against the Grain' by James C. Scott
The theory this book proposes is the idea that states were an exception, not the rule, in most of human history, having a huge fail quota and a need to be pushed onto people, one way or another - and not a perfectly normal human behavior as we were lead to believe. For this, the book covers mesopotamian pre-city-state and city-state societies, why the need for states arose and how walls werent only meant to keep the invaders out, but to keep villagers in. The book also jumps to other societies and statea, but the bulk is about mesopotamia.
My Thoughts - This is an academic book at its core - it has one point, and it hammers it in, over and over again. Every example and story just serve to hammer that point home - early states were highly unstable and needed a lot of work to maintain. The short synopsis ive gave is basically the whole book, but its still worth a read if you are interested in the era and bountiful information, but i wouldnt say its a must read. 3 stars.
