Mental grist

Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel - first impressions. He does not claim to have the answers - but he is willing to ask the questions. A scientist applying scientific inquiry to history. No, it makes sense.

The conquering, Western (racist) theory holds that primitive people are just genetically inferior -maybe not even human - case closed. This giving the conquerors perfect right to take whatever they want. Diamond sets out a whole different perspective. He posits that the development of civilizations is influenced most strongly by the environment.