"Collapse" by Jared Diamond, A book review

Having read and liked "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond, I went on to pick his book "Collapse". In midst of all this crazy growth happening, sometimes it is critical to see about why certain societies collapsed and could we also go along the same path. This book strives to answer that particular question. And while there can be no simplistic one word answer; the book definitely succeeds in enabling the reader to think the answer for himself. The book is a grand sweep from old societies to new: from Easter island, Anasazi, Maya, Greenland Norse to modern ones such as Japan, China, Rwanda, Netherlands etc. And while not all of them are given equal space, the failures are vastly more analyzed than the successes and, in my opinion, rightly so.

While the author starts with Montana and ends with Australia (the two places the author has personal affinity for), the reader will find certain example more interesting and appealing than the rest. Personally, I liked the Greenland Norse and Rwanda examples better than the other (especially Rwanda since it is contemporary and easy to identify with. My next viewing of the movie "Hotel Rwanda" will be on a much more knowledgeable level).As for the reasons for the decline, the author upfront outlines five reasons ("templates") and proceeds to analyze each example in context of the five reasons. The reader can clearly follow this approach and hence not get too confused especially in light of so much detailing in the book.

The last section is on our current state of the world. Does technology actually help in avoiding collapses or our population growth defeat any technological growth. Also the fact is today environment is not a local issue any more. The globalised world ensures that we fall or rise together as a single entity given sufficient damage anywhere in the world. And given the sheer amount of resources that we consume now and will consume going forward, are we heading towards an environmental disaster? Read the book for more clarity.

Well, there are some aspects of the book that I found a bit dry: The example on Montana (of course since most of the readers will be from US they will not have any complaints on this count) was too long and too detailed for me. Also, I was hoping that there would be some stuff on Mohenjadaro and Harappa civilization especially since there is a brief mention in the beginning. Anyways, that only means some more books on this subject, not a bad outcome at all.

And interestingly, investors will find many parallels to the "environment" markets if I may say so. One of the most repeated example of a societal collapse in the book goes something like this: People come and see that there is lush greenery and plentiful rains for a few years and hence settle there and expand population greatly. The good times seems to continue and just when the good times peak, there comes droughts which last for many years leading to widespread disaster. The thing is the climate did not suddenly change; people forgot to see the longer cycle. Actually drought-ridden areas, people where unlucky to settle there right during periods of exception - rains and greenery". Sounds familiar to investing at the top of a cycle? One can find many such parallels in the book.

All in all, if you're interested in geography, history, society, financial markets, or like me, a dabbler - go ahead and pick it up. You will enjoy it.