Guns, Germs, and Steel examines the advancement of different societies throughout the world and examines why some societies advanced at greater rates than others. Based on most accepted scientific research, all of humanity originated in what is now Africa. Why then, with an apparent head start, is this not the location of one of the more advanced societies throughout history? This book provides an explanation.
The title is derived from the advantages that generally make one society dominant over another. Guns gave an enormous fighting advantage for a society that had them over one that did not. Germs were also responsible for conquering societies that lacked an immune response to them. Societies that had livestock were the initiators of many of the world’s plagues. Viruses that morphed from livestock to human hosts created diseases capable of nearly wiping out entire civilizations. Civilizations that survived this early on had an acquired immunity that gave them a supreme advantage over hunter-gatherer tribes that had not. Steel in the form of tools and weapons are far superior to like stone and wood forms and give a society that wields them a great advantage over one that does not.
Europeans, arriving by boat, regularly defeated the civilizations of the Americas. Despite being much smaller forces, the Europeans’ more developed immune response to the diseases they often carried with them traveled far in advance of their initial battles. The Europeans’ soldiers on horseback with swords and guns made conquest quite easy and got even easier as the diseases they brought with them wiped out thousands without so much a skirmish.
Based on what I have just described, it might imply that the Europeans gained their advantage by being more inventive and intelligent. The author, however describes the geographic and political structure that actually led to the advantages. One has to live in an environment that has animals that are domesticable to be able to benefit from livestock farming. The Americas only had dogs, turkeys, llamas, and guinea pigs available to them. Domestic crops were also quite limited and the orientation of the Americas is largely North-South, so crops that can be grown in what is now Washington state, are unlikely to survive in Mexico. Europe and Asia had vast areas of land over the same latitude with a greater diversity of domesticable plants and animals. The Americas also have geographic barriers that prevent knowledge from carrying over from region to region. North and South America are divided by the Panama strait. This is an area that narrows to just 50 miles across. Vast deserts also prevented dispersal of information over large areas.
The author asserts that a society’s early advantages were due largely to geography and he provides pretty sound explanations for these assertions. Having livestock and farming provides a surplus that allows people to specialize in something other than just gathering food. It allows for more complex political structures, development of technology, and for the creation of armies with professional soldiers.
The author also discusses the role politics played in the advancement of some societies. China, for example was at one point, the most advanced civilization in the world and responsible for much of the technology of early civilization, but then, due to the way China governed, it stagnated for a period. China is a huge country, that for much of history has had a central authority. If China had a ruler that made a decision, for better or for worse, the entirety of that civilization followed that decision. For example, during the 1400’s China decreased its exploration of the world. At that time Christopher Columbus, an Italian by birth, wished to lead expeditions and asked the European kings of his time for sponsorship to do so. If Columbus had been Chinese, the emperor of China would have declined and that would have been the end of the story. Columbus, however was able to petition the Kings of many of the European nations, and despite getting turned down by most, was able to gain sponsorship for his expeditions through the Spanish King Ferdinand II. This gave Spain and Europe an advantage in sailing, navigation, plundered wealth, and allowed them to conquer civilizations far from Europe.
This book caught the attention of Bill Gates and many other business leaders. Even though this book shows how civilizations advanced, or declined, in the past, many felt the the lessons learned could be applied to getting maximum productivity out of business organizations. If this book can explain why nations fail or succeed, why can’t the principles be applied to businesses as well? Even though this book is largely academic in nature, it is a fairly easy read. As is evidenced by its cover, it also won a Pulitzer prize for its author.