Jared Diamond, a noted polymath, is Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. Among his many awards are the U.S. National Medal of Science, Japan's Cosmos Prize, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, and election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He is the author of the international best-selling books Guns, Germs, and Steel, Collapse, Why Is Sex Fun?, The World until Yesterday, and The Third Chimpanzee, and is the presenter of TV documentary series based on three of those books.
"A new book by Jared Diamond is always a rare and welcome gift. I
read them all as part of a single mosaic that, could it ever be
fully completed, would finally reveal us to ourselves with haunting
insight and clarity, as well as the planet we have the privilege to
inhabit. Each book adds more interlocking pieces to that
fascinating mosaic. In Upheaval, I find eye-opening lessons about
the political and psychological forces that lead to crisis and then
resilience, how individuals and nations experience trauma in
similar ways, and what that suggests about our future and the
world's. Fortunately for us, Diamond's remarkable gift for learning
languages has allowed him to live under the surface of various
cultures throughout his life, traveling extensively, both mentally
and physically, while witnessing many dramatic personal and
national upheavals firsthand. His ability to weigh them all with a
compassionate heart, a keen eye and an eloquent pen have made him
the masterful observer of the human pageant and the important man
of conscience that he is. I'm deeply grateful for this wise and
beautiful book."--Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper's
Wife
"A riveting and illuminating tour of how nations deal with crises
-- which might hopefully help humanity as a whole deal with our
present global crisis."--Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens and
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
"I read Upheaval with appreciation for its historical sweep... If
the world is going to hell in a handbasket, Diamond has not given
up hope that we can change course."--Richard Rhodes, Nature
"I'm a big fan of everything Jared Diamond has written, and his
latest is no exception. He shows that there's a path through
crisis, and that we can choose to take it."--Bill Gates
"Jared Diamond does it again: another rich, original, and
fascinating chapter in the human saga, this one on how societies
have extricated themselves from wicked crises-with vital lessons
for our difficult times."--Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of
Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of
Our Nature and Enlightenment Now
"Jared Diamond is one of the deepest thinkers and most
authoritative writers of our time -- arguably of all time -- and
Upheaval proves his prescience in analyzing historical crises
within nations at a time when national crises have erupted around
the world. It is also his most personal work, sharing with readers
his own crises, along with his intimate familiarity with many
countries that have experienced upheavals, and then drawing out
lessons of crisis management for nations today and in the future.
No scientist has ever won the Nobel Prize for literature. Jared
Diamond should be the first."
--Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of
Heavens on Earth
"The virtues of Diamond's storytelling shine through....let this
experienced observer with an uncanny eye for the small details that
reveal larger truths take you on an expedition around the world and
through fascinating pivotal moments in seven countries."--Moisés
Naím, The Washington Post
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