Guns, Germs, & Steel

Guns, Germs, & Steel is a documentary based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Jared Diamond of the same name. Airing on PBS in July 2005, Guns, Germs, & Steel was produced by the National Geographic Society. The documentary presents the argument that Eurasian civilizations gained ascension not through superior intellect and physical strength, but due to environmental determinants such as natural resources and geographic barriers. The title of the books refers to the three main factors that allowed European and Asian nations to conquer populations over the past 13,000 years: guns (military superiority), germs (diseases brought over to less medically advanced and under immunized populations, and steel (centralized governments that promoted industry and military organizations). Tracing early hunter-gatherer societies to its current manifestations within late capitalism, Diamond points to a number of geographic, climatic and environmental circumstances that allowed certain societies to prosper over others since the Ice Age. Through a well-focused presentation, Guns, Germs, & Steel offers a palpable glimpse as to how civilization has developed into the present. MORE