Upheaval

Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

By: Jared Diamond

Narrated by: Henry Strozier

A brilliant new theory of how and why some nations recover from trauma and others don't, by the author of the landmark best sellers Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse.

In his earlier best sellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in the final audiobook in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crisis through selective change - a coping mechanism more commonly associated with personal trauma.

In a dazzling comparative study, Diamond shows us how seven countries have survived defining upheavals in the recent past - from US Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan to the Soviet invasion of Finland to Pinochet's regime in Chile - through a process of painful self-appraisal and adaptation, and he identifies patterns in the way that these distinct nations recovered from calamity. Looking ahead to the future, he investigates whether the US and the world are squandering their natural advantages on a path toward political conflict and decline. Or can we still learn from the lessons of the past?

Adding a psychological dimension to the awe-inspiring grasp of history, geography, economics, and anthropology that marks all Diamond's work, Upheaval reveals how both nations and individuals can become more resilient. The result is an audiobook that is epic, urgent, and groundbreaking.

©2019 Jared Diamond (P)2019 Recorded Books

Where are the charts and figures for Audible?

There are frequent references to two tables and other figures. Are these accessible to Audible listeners?

THE WISDOM OF AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE

Jared Diamond wrote this book at the ripe old age of 82. You can quibble with his names and dates here and there—forgetfulness sets in sooner or later, alas—but his erudition shines through regardless on every page. Diamond speaks more than ten languages and has lived an extraordinary life. He’s smarter than you. So quit the nitpicking, shut up, and listen to the man. I think you’ll find that he’s remarkably wise.

Long and tedious

Probably only appealing to war history buffs. Definitely look for a book summary of this one. Fell asleep several times so a useful, non addictive sleep aid.

Very informative and helps form good perspective

The book gives a good perspective on crisis and how to deal with it. Great perspective on other countries and helps the reader form a better understanding of other cultures.

Not Guns, Germs and Steel

Because I so enjoyed and learned so much from reading Jared Diamond’s book, Guns Germs and Steel, I was very much looking forward to this book. Indeed there were some interesting historical vignettes with which I was relatively unfamiliar and a useful perspective on events in Indonesia and Chile very different from my left of center news filters which influenced me as a US observer of these events as they happened in the 1960’s and 1970’s. But overall the book was ponderous in its approach and, in the end, neither helpful to my understanding in the significant ways that GG&S had been nor enjoyable to read/listen to as was GG&S.