Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Jared Diamond extends the comparative historical framework of his earlier work to investigate why societies fail. Moving from the prehistoric Polynesian culture of Easter Island to the Anasazi, Maya, and medieval Vikings, he traces a recurring pattern of environmental catastrophe. Diamond argues that collapse is rarely caused by a single factor but by a convergence of environmental damage, climate change, population pressure, and political instability. By examining both doomed civilizations and those that successfully navigated similar crises, he offers a diagnostic lens for understanding modern global challenges, emphasizing the critical importance of resource management and long-term environmental stewardship.

Description adapted from Open Library ↗.