Collapse

Jared Diamond is quickly becoming my favorite author on geo-sociological issues (you know, because I've read SO many other authors on geo-sociological issues). With Collapse, Diamond has managed to write a pro-environmentalism book without seeming whiney or preachy about it. His conclusions that all societal collapses can be traced to environmental issues seem a little far-reaching, but presented with the evidence, it's hard to disagree. Most importantly, he discusses how the reader is responsible for their own contributions, and solutions, to the environmental problems the world currently faces. I was most intrigued by the stories of how Pacific islanders lived their lives thousands of years ago. I cannot imagine a life more different from mine than that of a fisherman on an island, eking out an existence with stone tools and skin canoes.