Jared Diamond

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Jared Diamond
Jared diamond.jpg
Born Jared Mason Diamond
(1937-09-10) September 10, 1937 (age 75)
Boston, Massachusetts
Residence United States
Citizenship American
Fields
Institutions University of California, Los Angeles
Alma mater
Thesis Concentrating activity of the gall-bladder (1961)
Notable awards

Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American scientist and author best known for his popular science books The Third Chimpanzee (1991), Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997), Collapse (2005) and The World Until Yesterday (2012). Originally trained in physiology, Diamond's work is known for drawing from a variety of fields, including anthropology, ecology, geography, and evolutionary biology. He is currently Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles.[1][2] He has been described as "America’s best-known geographer".[3]

Contents

Early life and education [edit]

Diamond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Bessarabian Jewish family.[4] His father, Louis K. Diamond, was a physician, and his mother, Flora Kaplan, a teacher, linguist, and concert pianist. Diamond himself began studying piano at age six; years later he would propose to his wife after playing the Brahms Intermezzo in A minor for her.[5] He attended the Roxbury Latin School and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in 1958 and a PhD on the physiology and biophysics of membranes in the gall bladder from the University of Cambridge in 1961.[1][6]

Career [edit]

After graduating from Cambridge, Diamond returned to Harvard as a Junior Fellow until 1965, and, in 1968, became Professor of Physiology at UCLA Medical School. While in his twenties he developed a second, parallel, career in ornithology and ecology, specialising in New Guinea and nearby islands. Later, in his fifties, Diamond developed a third career in environmental history and became Professor of Geography at UCLA, his current position.[7] He won the National Medal of Science in 1999[8] and Westfield State University granted him an honorary doctorate in 2009.

Diamond originally specialized in salt absorption in the gall bladder.[6][9] He has also published scholarly works in the fields of ecology and ornithology,[10] but is arguably best known for authoring a number of popular-science books combining topics from diverse fields other than those he has formally studied. Because of this diversity Diamond has been described as a polymath.[11][12]

Work [edit]

Diamond's first popular book, The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (1991), examined human evolution and its relevance to the modern world, incorporating evidence from anthropology, evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology, and linguistics. It was well received by critics and won the 1992 Rhône-Poulenc Prize for Science Books[13] and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.[14] In 1997, he followed this up with Why is Sex Fun?, which focused in on the evolution of human sexuality, again drawing from anthropology, ecology, and evolutionary biology.

His third and best known popular science book, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, was published in 1997. In it, Diamond sought to explain the political and economic dominance of Eurasian societies over those from other parts of the world throughout history. Using evidence from archaeological and historical case studies and evidence from genetics and linguistics, he argued that gaps in power and technology between human societies are not primarily caused by cultural or racial differences, but originated in environmental differences amplified by various positive feedback loops. According to Diamond the geography and ecology of the Eurasian landmass gave societies there an advantage over those on other continents, which they were subsequently able to dominate or conquer. Guns, Germs, and Steel was a best-seller and received several awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, an Aventis Prize for Science Books[13] and the 1997 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science. However the work was criticised for factual inaccuracies in some of Diamond's case studies,[15][16][17] and more generally for Eurocentrism and environmental determinism.[18][19][20][21] A television documentary series based on the book was produced by the National Geographic Society in 2005.[22][23]

Diamond's next book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005), examined a range of past civilizations in an attempt to identify why they either collapsed or succeeded, and considers what contemporary societies can learn from these historical examples. As in Guns, Germs, and Steel, he argued against explanations for the failure of past societies based primarily on cultural factors, instead focusing on ecology. Among the societies mentioned in the book are the Norse and Inuit of Greenland, the Maya, the Anasazi, the indigenous people of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Japan, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and modern Montana. Similarly Collapse was again both critically acclaimed and criticised for environmental determinism and specific factual inaccuracies.[24][25] It was nominated for Royal Society Prize for Science Books.[13]

In 2008, Diamond published an article in The New Yorker entitled Vengeance Is Ours,[26] describing the role of revenge in tribal warfare in Papua New Guinea. A year later two indigenous people mentioned in the article filed a lawsuit against Diamond and The New Yorker claiming the article defamed them.[27][28][29] In 2013, The Observer reported that the lawsuit "was withdrawn by mutual consent after the sudden death of their lawyer."[30]

In 2010, Diamond co-edited (with James Robinson) Natural Experiments of History, a collection of essays illustrating the multidisciplinary and comparative approach to the study of history that he advocates.[31]

Diamond's most recent book, The World Until Yesterday (2012), asks what the western world can learn from traditional societies. Indigenous leaders in West Papua[32] and indigenous rights organisation Survival International[33] objected to Diamond's characterisation of tribal societies as violent.

Personal life [edit]

Diamond is married to Marie Diamond (née Marie Nabel Cohen), granddaughter of Polish politician Edward Werner. They have twin sons, born in 1987.[34]

Bibliography [edit]

Main article: Jared Diamond bibliography

Books [edit]

Articles and book chapters [edit]

Boards [edit]

Awards and honors [edit]

 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2013)

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "Jim Al-Khalili talks to Jared Diamond about his journey from the gall bladder to global history via a passion for the birds of Papua New Guinea.". Retrieved 2012-12-19. 
  2. ^ List of publications from Microsoft Academic Search
  3. ^ http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21569005-americas-best-known-geographer-shows-what-there-learn-early-man-no-beating Traditional societies: No beating about the bush
  4. ^ Diamond, Jared (1993 Nov.). "Who are the Jews?". Natural History (USA: (magazine)) 102 (11): 12–19. ISSN 0028-0712.  Unknown parameter |freely-available-link-url= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Jared Diamond in conversation with Michael Berkeley on the BBC Radio 3 program Private Passions (broadcast 3 March 2013)
  6. ^ a b Diamond, Jared (1961). Concentrating activity of the gall-bladder (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=27758.
  7. ^ a b "The Prize Winner, 1998". Expo-Cosmos. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
  8. ^ National Science Foundation – The President's National Medal of Science
  9. ^ Radio interview by NPR
  10. ^ Diamond, J.; Bishop, K. D.; Gilardi, J. D. (2008). "Geophagy in New Guinea birds". Ibis 141 (2): 181. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1999.tb07540.x.  edit
  11. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/animals/human_stars.htm Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  12. ^ "Rapa Nui déjà vu". The Economist. October 8, 2009. 
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Prize for Science Books previous winners and shortlists". Royal Society. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
  14. ^ a b "Los Angeles Times Festival of Books – Book Prizes – Winners by Award (science)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
  15. ^ Tom Tomlinson (May 1998). "Review:Guns, Germs and Steer: The Fates of Human Societies". Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
  16. ^ McNeill, J. R. (2001 Feb). "The World According to Jared Diamond". The History Teacher 34 (2): 165–174. ISSN 0018-2745. JSTOR 3054276. (subscription required)
  17. ^ Jared Diamond; Reply by William H. McNeill (June 26, 1997). "Guns, Germs, and Steel". The New York Review of Books 44 (11). 
  18. ^ Blaut, J.M. (1999). "Environmentalism and Eurocentrism". The Geographical Review (American Geographical Society) 89 (3): 391. doi:10.2307/216157. JSTOR 216157. Retrieved 2008-07-09. 
  19. ^ James M. Blaut (2000). Eight Eurocentric Historians (August 10, 2000 ed.). The Guilford Press. p. 228. ISBN 1-57230-591-6. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 
  20. ^ Denham, Tim (2005 Autumn). "Food for Thought". Nature Australia (Sydney, Austalia: Australian Museum) 28 (4): 50–55. ISSN 1324-2598.  – via EBSCO (subscription required)
  21. ^ Denham, Timothy P.; Iriarte, José; Vrydaghs, Luc, eds. (2007 Oct.). Rethinking Agriculture: Archaeological and Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives. One World Archaeology Series. California, USA: Left Coast Press. p. 7. ISBN 9781598742619. Lay summary – publisher’s page.  Unknown parameter |excerpt-url= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Lovgren, Stefan (6 July 2005). "'Guns, Germs and Steel': Jared Diamond on Geography as Power". National Geographic News. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  23. ^ "Guns, Germs & Steel: The Show". PBS. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  24. ^ Demenocal, Peter B.; Cook, Edward R., eds. (2005 Dec). "Perspectives on Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed". Current Anthropology. CA Forum on Anthropology in Public 46 (supplement): S91–S99. doi:10.2307/3597146. ISSN 0011-3204. JSTOR 3597146. (subscription required)
  25. ^ McAnany, P.A. & Yoffee, N. (Eds) (2010). Questioning Collapse: Human Resilience, Ecological Vulnerability, and the Aftermath of Empire. Cambridge University Press.
  26. ^ Diamond, Jared (2008-04-21). "Vengeance Is Ours". Annals of Anthropology. p. 74. (subscription required)
  27. ^ Balter, M. (2009). "'Vengeance' Bites Back at Jared Diamond". Science 324 (5929): 872–874. doi:10.1126/science.324_872. PMID 19443760.  edit
  28. ^ Maull, Samuel (April 22, 2009). "Author Jared Diamond sued for libel". AP News. Retrieved 2012-02-08. 
  29. ^ Smillie, Dirk (19 October 2009). "Fresh Legal Jab At 'The New Yorker'". Forbes. Retrieved 8 February 2013. 
  30. ^ McKie, Robin (January 5, 2013). "Jared Diamond: what we can learn from tribal life". The Observer. Retrieved January 5, 2013. 
  31. ^ "Natural Experiments of History – Jared Diamond, James A. Robinson". Harvard University Press. Retrieved September 18, 2010. 
  32. ^ "Angry Papuan leaders demand Jared Diamond apologizes". Survival International. Retrieved February 5, 2013. 
  33. ^ Helmore, Edward (3 February 2013). "Jared Diamond in row over claim tribal peoples live in 'state of constant war'". The Observer. Retrieved 5 February 2013. 
  34. ^ Radio interview with Jim Al-Khalili, BBC Radio 4, series The Life Scientific, broadcast 4/12/2012
  35. ^ Shmulovich, Michal (2 January 2013). "Seven scientists and an architect to be awarded Israel’s prestigious Wolf Prize". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 6 February 2013. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jared Diamond
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jared Diamond

Lectures and talks [edit]

Interviews [edit]
 
Biological sciences
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s

Why Survive? Being Old in America by Robert Neil Butler (1976) · Beautiful Swimmers by William W. Warner (1977) · The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan (1978) · On Human Nature by Edward O. Wilson (1979) · Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter (1980) · Fin-de-siècle Vienna by Carl E. Schorske (1981) · The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder (1982) · Is There No Place on Earth for Me? by Susan Sheehan (1983) · The Social Transformation of American Medicine by Paul Starr (1984) · The Good War by Studs Terkel (1985) · Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families by J. Anthony Lukas / Move Your Shadow by Joseph Lelyveld (1986) · Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land by David K. Shipler (1987) · The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (1988) · A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan (1989) · And Their Children After Them by Dale Maharidge and Michael Williamson (1990) · The Ants by Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson (1991) · The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power by Daniel Yergin (1992) · Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America by Garry Wills (1993) · Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire by David Remnick (1994) · The Beak of the Finch: A Story Of Evolution In Our Time by Jonathan Weiner (1995) · The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism by Tina Rosenberg (1996) · Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris by Richard Kluger (1997) · Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (1998) · Annals of the Former World by John McPhee (1999) · Embracing Defeat by John W. Dower (2000)
Authority control
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