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(More customer reviews)First, if you taped this documentary off of PBS, keep your tape as the "extras" here are little more than a few facts spiffed up graphically over a world map.
Diamond's thesis in "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is that geography, which governs climate which, in turn, governs indigenous species, is the reason for the unequal distribution of wealth in the world today. In short, Diamond is focused on why the Europeans conquered so much of the world.
There are 3 one-hour episodes in this series. The first is concerned with why agriculture took hold in parts of the world and hints at the benefits it bestowed in developing large, complex societies. The second episode is concerned with how these large complex (European) societies were able to develop weapons (guns and steel) to conquer much of the rest of the world. Germs were an unintended weapon against indigenous people that may have been the most beneficial. The last installment is concerned with another way to test the "guns, germs, and steel" hypothesis using the European march into Africa as test material. Here, climate (created by geography) creates indigenous germs that the Europeans can't handle. Nevertheless, guns and steel (apparently) still win the day.
This documentary is a reasonable, though somewhat superficial, overview of Diamond's thesis. The problem is, however, that it is somewhat glib and fails to get to the "Ken Burns" gold standard. There is much repetition of the "guns, germs, and steel" theme from episode to episode so that, even within the 3 hours, there should have been room to hint at some speculation on simple questions that the thesis itself invites. For example, there is essentially no mention of China (except the standard reference to gunpowder being developed there). If China had a complex civilization, why did they end up in isolation? It is never mentioned, for example, *why* the Chinese, having developed gunpowder never used it in conquest. (The neglect of China is particularly interesting as Diamond does deal with some of these issues in his book.) Another example is the tropic climate theme: the Americas had a tropical climate as well, complete with tropical germs and yet that did not slow the spread of European conquests there. Finally, geography is presented on a primarily 2-dimensional world map scale, not accounting for crucial issues like climate changes at altitude or rapid transportation as a result of internal rivers within a continent.
Lastly, while this is really Diamond's show, it would have been valuable to have a few scholarly, dissenting opinions on why Diamond's theories haven't been universally embraced. As it is, the documentary presents the "guns, germs, and steel" theory so forcefully, one is left to wonder why it took 30 years for someone as smart as Diamond to come up with a set of seemingly simple ideas. The elegance of Diamond's theory is precisely because it shows how simple issues relate to the complexities of human history, but the documentary completely neglects competing ideas in this arena (and there are many).
It's nice that National Geographic is introducing these provocative ideas to the public at large, it's just a shame that such weighty material didn't produce a deeper program.
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Guns, Germs, and Steel (2005)Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book and national best seller, Guns, Germs, and Steel is an epic detective story that offers a gripping expose on why the world is so unequal. Professor Jared Diamond traveled the globe for over 30 years trying to answer the biggest question of world history. Why is the world so unequal? The answers he found were simple yet extraordinary. Our destiny depends on geography and access to: Guns, Germs, and Steel. Weaving together anthropology and science with epic historical reenactments, Guns, Germs, and Steel brings Diamond's fascinating theories to life, and moves beyond the book to bring his ideas into the present day.
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