Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies is a sweeping, interdisciplinary study that seeks to answer one of history’s most profound questions: Why did certain civilizations rise to global dominance while others did not? Diamond argues that geography, environment, and access to domesticable plants and animals—not racial or cultural superiority—shaped the trajectory of human societies.
 
Through compelling examples and accessible prose, Diamond examines how the development of agriculture, the spread of disease, and technological innovation were unevenly distributed due to environmental factors. His thesis, though occasionally debated for oversimplification, is widely praised for challenging Eurocentric narratives and promoting a scientific approach to history.
 
Guns, Germs, and Steel is an ambitious and thought-provoking work that blends biology, anthropology, and history. It remains a foundational text for readers interested in understanding the roots of global inequality.