And sometimes, he overreaches himself when attempting to apply his considerable life experience to his arguments. However, it's important that the reader remember that Diamond isn't a geneticist, astronomer, anthropologist, etc. As the aforementioned 'P.S.' author interview says, Diamond's life as a modern scientific polymath stems from a desire not to be confined to 'one tiny slice of life's palette.' He began as a physiological researcher and has since distinguished himself for writing on subjects like ornithology, anthropology, history, and geography, earning him the title of 'biogeographer.' I applaud Diamond for his varied interests and ability to apply those interests and synthesize an argument about human development from multiple disciplines.

My reaction to this book is probably the most mixed reaction I've had to any of Diamond's books thus far. Hence, while I usually find Harper's 'P.S.' sections boring, this one was useful because it allowed Diamond to update us on some of the advances in science and historical discoveries since the book was first published. The shocking answer will soon be revealed!Ĭaveat: parts of this book are now dated, as it was written nearly twenty years ago. Thus, I sought out to determine if the latter books suffered because they were too long an exploration of Diamond's ideas, or if they are superior to his original formulation of arguments concerning those three subjects. So reading The Third Chimpanzee was sort of like getting a summary of those two books, plus the one I haven't read yet. His subsequent three popular science books all have their origins in this one I began with Guns, Germs, and Steel and then read Collapse. As I began reading The Third Chimpanzee, a little voice in my head told me that I should stop reading books by Jared Diamond.

The third chimpanzee by jared diamond