[Restorer]

I enjoyed Guns, Germs and Steel. I thought Diamond makes some excellent points, although I got very tired of his one-sided moralizing. He somehow always manages to work in a moral denunciation of any expansionism by white men, while merely reporting the no doubt equally genocidal expansionism of other groups.

Both Diamond and VDH are correct, in their different ways.

Diamond shows that without the tools and resources necessary to built a civilization, it won't get built.

VDH is correct that the mere presence of potential resources doesn't generate advancement. That requires a cultural orientation capable of using them effectively.

[.cnI redruM]

I got about 2/3 of the way through of Guns, Germs and Really Crappy Thinking. It was good in parts, but the chapter entitled Spacious Skies and Titled Axis was enough to end my respect for intellect.

[FastCoyote]

"resources doesn't generate advancement. That requires a cultural orientation capable of using them effectively."

Look at Mexico, the same or better resources as the US, but because of a third world culture, performs as a third world economy.