Rating: 
Summary: Poor history
Review: The author is a physiologist by trade. He is an amatuer historian, and fairly average at deductions and his scope of knowledge.His knowledge of biology is very good, but his history knowledge is suspect. He asks all the right questions, but his answers prove to be that of a biology major attempting to answer historical dilemma's.
He claims that the biggest event in world history is Pizzaro's capture of the Inca ruler. If your going to go down that road, ever hear of CORTES?! Most scholars would not rank Pizarro in the top 200.
Overall it is intersting reading, but I am surprised it got some rave reviews from critics. "A history of the world" by Hugh Thomas is much more interesting, more accurate, and by far a better book on this subject.
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Summary: Jared Diamond: Just Another Racist White Man
Review: The premise of "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is flawed, as anyone truly familiar with world history will immediately recognize. Diamond's unquestioned axiom is that white Europeans developed more advanced civilization and technology than the "inferior" peoples of color. But this is a white supremacist assumption...
Don't be fooled, Sons and Daughters of Ethiopia, Mother of Civilization: "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is a work based on the theory of white supremacy...
Rating: 
Summary: Converted Lover of History
Review: I'm reading this book and while its not a "can't put down and go to sleep," it is one of the most informative and interesting books I've read. Diamond explores every aspect of human development. He very clearly and patiently explains how we got to be "the first world" and others didn't and throws in a lot interesting facts and snippets of history. How was the Cyrillic language created? Where did SARS (others preceding it) come from? Why does Europe eat so much bread and South America eat so much rice?
Definitely a must read.
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Summary: A Truly Great Synthesis of Knowledge
Review: After 530 reviews, what else to say except that this book will change forever the way you think about human history. It richly deserves the Pulitzer Prize it received and is, as my review title states, a truly great synthesis of knowledge that is indeed profound in its implications for how we view each other and how we view the process of history itself. Diamond is a masterful writer so you will be entertained as well.
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Summary: An huge undertaking
Review: Jared Diamond attempts to explain why certain societies evolved faster then others and then conquered those civilizations that were less advanced then their own. This in and of itself is enough to make most people gasp, not only at his audacity for tackling such a complex subject but also for taking on one that is so sensitive. Diamond handles both areas of his subject very well. Guns, Germs and Steel is a great read start to finish and one that does not fail to disappoint. Diamond examines all human societies and attempts to remove racial arguements and stereotypes in explaining why some societies grew more "civilized" then others and then conquered others. Diamonds evidence is compelling and he does a good job of presenting some complicated anthropoligical concepts in a very readable fashion. I would recommend this one!
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Summary: fascinating and engaging
Review: i really enjoyed this book. i thought it made an interesting case for the effect of geography/the environment on the development of civilizations. very well reasoned and readable.
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Summary: Big History
Review: Diamond's approach is "big history". That is, he takes the long view, time-wise, and incorporates many other fields, such as biology and geography. This book is fascinating reading and changed my outlook on life.
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Summary: A Slow but Interesting Read
Review: This was a loooong book, and I would not reccomend reading all of it. I never would have chosen to read this, but it was a school assignment. Parts of it ended up being very interesting, however, and I left with lots of new thoughts.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Exciting Books I've Ever Read
Review: I have followed all of Diamond's numerous articles in Discover magazine over the years, and his articles are always my favorites. When I first saw this book, I could hardly wait to get it. It did not disappoint me. I found this book to be the culmination of Diamond's life-long research, leading into many scientific disciplines. Starting out as a young linguist in New Guinea, a man there posed a question which Diamond could not answer, but never forgot--rephrased as, "Why did wealth and power become distributed as they now are, rather than in some other way?" Thirty years of scientific study and experience later, Diamond answers that question in his book. It is more or less his "Concise History of the World Since the Dawn of Modern Humankind." This book is extraordinary. I did not actually start reading it at the beginning. I skipped first to the section on the rise of food production, then returned read the earlier and later sections of the book. While the book can be read cover-to-cover, it can also be read as a series of stand-alone articles, according to the reader's interest. Enough of the book's details are covered by other reviewers. I am a historian, and wish that all universities gave students such a course as is in this book BEFORE moving on to a more traditional study of history.
Rating:
Summary: VERY INTERESTING, WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND
Review: In GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL, Jared Diamond does a masterful job of coming up with a theory of the differences in environmental conditions that ultimately led to the domination of Eurasians in the world. The foundation of the theory is extremely well built, making it for a coherent and well thought out book. The main parts include:
1) Agriculture - the author explains how agriculture evolved first in the Fertile Crescent (today's Middle East) and expanded to the rest of the world. He makes a good case for why it developed only much later in the Americas and Africa, and never in Australia.
2) Herding - another interesting point, as the author demonstrates why animal herding grew in Eurasia but not in the Americas or Africa.
3) Connection to political structure - the author proceeds to make the connection between agriculture and political structure, with plenty of empirical evidence. It is pretty amazing to see how archeologists take the smallest clues to come up with interesting theories.
4) Political structure to germs and technology - that connection is, in my opinion, the most interesting one. The author is not the one to come up with this theory, but he is the one who put it all together for the layman. He shows how smallpox evolved from animals to men, and why it happened in Eurasia rather than anywhere else.
5) Germs and technology to domination - finally, he connects the dots that lead from having germs and technology to dominating other peoples. I am truly impressed by the rationality of the argument. The only flaw I noticed is that the author is clearly biased in thinking that the environment was the sole major cause of everything. Though politically correct to blame the environment, there may be other causes, such as culture, that play a significant role in the fates of societies. For example, Larry Harrison makes this case in "Culture Matters". Overall, very impressive work of scholarship, deserves all the prizes it has gotten, and I will definitely incorporate these theories into my way of thinking. This book is a 10.
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