#9 in History
Guns, Germs, and Steel
- 528
- Pages
- about 10 h
- Reading time
- Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
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About the book
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies is a 1997 transdisciplinary nonfiction book by the American author Jared Diamond. The book attempts to explain why Eurasian and North African civilizations have survived and conquered others, while arguing against the idea that Eurasian hegemony is due to any form of Eurasian intellectual, moral, or inherent genetic superiority.
Reading order · Civilizations Rise and Fall
Full order & progress →- Guns, Germs, and SteelThis book
8.08.0 / 10 - Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or SucceedCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed–Not ranked yet
- Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in CrisisUpheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.9 across 874 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 85% of the weight and the score stays at 8.0 — the History average of 8.0 barely moves it. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.3 | 154 | 18% |
| Hardcover | 7.8 | 720 | 82% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“I really want to give this book 2 stars, but for the content I must give it at least 3. This book is very compelling and interesting to read, however it easily could have been half the length, if Mr. Diamond hadn't been so rigorous…”
“The prologue was enough to convince me that despite (and partly because of) his claim to being the ideal person to write a book on this subject, Jared Diamond has not written a good history book. Looking into it a little, I read that historians…”
Frequently asked
How long is Guns, Germs, and Steel?
It has 528 pages — longer than 56% of the ranked books in History.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — History — with scores between 7.8 and 8.3, closest to this book.
