“History, as well as life itself, is complicated; neither life nor history is an enterprise for those who seek simplicity and consistency.”
Jared Diamond is a world-renowned multidisciplinary academic. Originally trained in physiology, he subsequently developed a career in ornithology and ecology, and then in environmental history and geography. Drawing on this transdisciplinary perspective, he has written over 600 articles and has published 8 works of popular non-fiction, including the Pulitzer prize-winning Guns, Germs and Steel and international bestseller Collapse. Honours awarded to him include the National Medal of Science, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. He currently spends his professional time teaching as Professor of Geography at UCLA, conducting field research on birds of the Southwest Pacific islands, writing, and promoting sustainable environmental policies, as a director of the international environmental organizations World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International.
“While his environmental approach to big-picture history is suggestive of cool, white-lab-coated detachment, Diamond also wears the mantle of a modern day prophet.” – The Guardian