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Natural Experiments of History is a short book packed with huge ideas. Its collected essays advocate how controlled experiments can be applied to the messy realities of human history, politics, culture, economics and the environment. It demonstrates productive interdisciplinary collaborations but also reveals gulfs between different cultures of academia...All of the essays in Natural Experiments of History will trigger debate. -- Jon Christensen Nature 20100325 This ambitious, at times challenging, book aspires to contribute new ways of historical thinking and historical research by drawing attention, on the one hand, to the similarities between science (including social sciences) and history, and on the other, by using social sciences methods, especially statistical analysis, to study history. The editors argue that though the difference between studies of nature and human history is obvious, there are clear overlaps. They can be viewed through studying comparative history or by conducting "natural experiments of history" and analyzing the "perturbations" and their causes (exogenous or endogenous) in the involved cases. The book offers a broad array of case studies to illustrate and explain the argument, ranging from nonliterate to contemporary societies and from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to Brazil, India, and tropical Africa. The comparative methods showcased are quite versatile, from two-way to multiple-way comparisons. All the case studies are interesting and help demonstrate how, via comparative study, one society's, region's, or country's situation is better displayed and explained by juxtaposing it with other, similar ones. A useful read in macro, global history. -- Q. E. Wang Choice 20101101 Natural Experiments of History is a thought-provoking collection of essays that covers an impressive array of topics and would make an excellent text for a course on comparative studies of human history." -- Thomas E. Currie Cliodynamics
Review
Natural Experiments of History is a short book packed with huge ideas. Its collected essays advocate how controlled experiments can be applied to the messy realities of human history, politics, culture, economics and the environment. It demonstrates productive interdisciplinary collaborations but also reveals gulfs between different cultures of academia...All of the essays in Natural Experiments of History will trigger debate. -- Jon Christensen Nature 20100325
--This text refers to the
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6 reviews
62 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Dry, but worth the read if you're into the subject matter.
5 Jan 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jared Diamond has written brilliant books (Guns, Germs and Steel; Collapse; The Third Chimpanzee among others) that triangulate data from an array of different fields to reach conclusions about our history on this planet. His belief in that methodology for understanding our species and our history is what is at the heart of this collection of essays, which he edited along with a colleague. Indeed, the book is a defense of those methodologies.
Some of the essays are more interesting than others: notable is the one which quantitatively correlates the extent of the slave trade in various African countries with the state of their modern-day economic development (or rather, the lack thereof.)
It's a bit of a dry read -- in some essays more than in others. But if this methodology for understanding our past interests you, it's worth the read.
Some of the essays are more interesting than others: notable is the one which quantitatively correlates the extent of the slave trade in various African countries with the state of their modern-day economic development (or rather, the lack thereof.)
It's a bit of a dry read -- in some essays more than in others. But if this methodology for understanding our past interests you, it's worth the read.
53 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Interesting, but not a typical Diamond book.
1 Mar 2010
Format:Hardcover
I am a huge fan of Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel, and also enjoyed The Third Chimpanzee. Am eagerly awaiting the follow-up to Collapse.
This book is a collection of 7 essays, most of which are quite dry and academic. Definitely not as readable as the books I mentioned above.
Diamond co-wrote the prologue (which is mostly a summary of the book's contents) and afterword. He also authored (alone) one chapter, which is a comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Specifically, he examines why Haiti and the DR have turned out so differently, despite the fact that they share the same island. Much of this is discussed also in his book Collapse, but the chapter is still very interesting.
Another chapter (by Kirch) compares a few different Polynesian islands, to try and discover which variables led to different political histories. Some areas of the world discussed in other chapters are: West Africa, India, and the western US, among a couple of others. Some of these chapters are more interesting than others. None is probably as readable as Diamond's own.
This is definitely not a light read, and it is not something that most people will read cover to cover. An important book for the academic community perhaps, but not for the average reader (like me). Overall kind of boring.
This book is a collection of 7 essays, most of which are quite dry and academic. Definitely not as readable as the books I mentioned above.
Diamond co-wrote the prologue (which is mostly a summary of the book's contents) and afterword. He also authored (alone) one chapter, which is a comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Specifically, he examines why Haiti and the DR have turned out so differently, despite the fact that they share the same island. Much of this is discussed also in his book Collapse, but the chapter is still very interesting.
Another chapter (by Kirch) compares a few different Polynesian islands, to try and discover which variables led to different political histories. Some areas of the world discussed in other chapters are: West Africa, India, and the western US, among a couple of others. Some of these chapters are more interesting than others. None is probably as readable as Diamond's own.
This is definitely not a light read, and it is not something that most people will read cover to cover. An important book for the academic community perhaps, but not for the average reader (like me). Overall kind of boring.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Natural experiments in history
14 Mar 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Natural experiments in history is a fascinating set of essays looking at seven historical "experiments". Each chapter has a different author who presents the reader with a wealth of information of their subject of expertise. The writing styles vary, as expected, from author to author. Jared Diamond's chapter on the origin of the differences between Haiti and the Dominican republic, and on different Pacific Islands is the highlight of the book and I wondered why the entire book wasn't on these topics. The chapter on Politics and Banking was less stimulating to me. Of course, the real value of these lessons of history is their application today. We seem destined to repeat the mistakes over and over. I fully recommend this to anyone interested in reasons why societies rise and fall.
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