Guns, Germs, and Steel

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond, published in 1997 — a Pulitzer Prize–winning book that explores why some civilizations developed faster and became more dominant than others.

Main Question: Why did Eurasian civilizations conquer and dominate other parts of the world — rather than the other way around?

Core Thesis: Diamond argues that geography, not race or intelligence (inherent human differences), largely explains global inequality. Societies with geographic advantages developed guns, germs, and steel — the tools of conquest.

Key Factors in Civilizational Success

1. Geographic Luck
   Fertile Crescent and Eurasia had more domesticable plants and animals. Geography influenced food production, not human ability.

2. Domestication of Plants and Animals
   Only 14 animal species have ever been truly domesticated. Places with large domesticable mammals (like cows and horses) gained advantages in farming, transport, and warfare.

3. Food Surplus → Division of Labor
   Societies that produced surplus food could support non-farmers: artisans, soldiers, rulers, scientists — enabling rapid development.

4. Spread Along East-West Axis
   Eurasia’s east-west orientation allowed for faster spread of crops, animals, and technology due to similar climates and day lengths. Africa and the Americas had north-south orientations, which made diffusion harder.

5. Germs (Epidemic Diseases)
   Domesticated animals transmitted diseases to humans (e.g., smallpox, flu). Eurasians developed immunity over time, while indigenous populations died in huge numbers upon contact.

6. Steel and Guns
   Societies with more resources developed stronger weapons, tools, and writing systems faster — aiding colonization and domination.

Diamond builds a compelling case: from the seeds of agriculture to microbes, writing, technology, and state systems, geographic and ecological factors created cascading advantages for some regions—advantages that became self-reinforcing through history.