Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

Merits: Jared Diamond is a scientist, historian, and author. He received a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1985, and has received multiple awards including the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction for this book.

Material: This book offers an explanatory theory for how modern day humans societies ended up the way they are today. Pulling from historical and anthropological insights, Diamond argues that environmental factors beyond our control (primarily geography) had everything to do with the success of some civilizations over others.

Grade: White Pharaoh. Although an interesting theory with compelling arguments, it is counterargued that it oversimplifies complex historical factors and overlooks other just as important elements such as cultural dynamics and human agency in general.