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The World Until Yesterday

What Can We Learn From Traditional Societies?
May 07, 2013Stratified_nomad rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
While this book isn't as exceptional and comprehensive as Diamond's two previous books (Collapse; and Guns, Germs, and Steel), The World Until Yesterday is still a valuable, fair comparison of traditional (hunter/gatherer) and modern (agricultural/industrial) societies. While it doesn't contain many new insights, and some of the personal annecdotes can be somewhat prolix and tedious, it's still an informative distillation of his previous books. Diamond makes a convincing argument that there are significant attributes and liabilities of both traditional and modern societies: By incorporating some traditional practices into our societies, we moderns would greatly improve our mental and physical health.