Home
/
Non-Fiction
/
Collapse
Collapse
Oct 19, 2024 3:45 PM

Author:Jared Diamond

Collapse

From the author of Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive is a visionary study of the mysterious downfall of past civilizations.

Now in a revised edition with a new afterword, Jared Diamond's Collapse uncovers the secret behind why some societies flourish, while others founder - and what this means for our future.

What happened to the people who made the forlorn long-abandoned statues of Easter Island?

What happened to the architects of the crumbling Maya pyramids?

Will we go the same way, our skyscrapers one day standing derelict and overgrown like the temples at Angkor Wat?

Bringing together new evidence from a startling range of sources and piecing together the myriad influences, from climate to culture, that make societies self-destruct, Jared Diamond's Collapse also shows how - unlike our ancestors - we can benefit from our knowledge of the past and learn to be survivors.

'A grand sweep from a master storyteller of the human race' - Daily Mail

'Riveting, superb, terrifying' - Observer

'Gripping ... the book fulfils its huge ambition, and Diamond is the only man who could have written it' - Economis

'This book shines like all Diamond's work' - Sunday Times

Reviews

This is excellent revisionist history, giving another slant to the interaction of two political icons on the world stage.

—— Publishers Weekly

Vivid, fast-paced and immensely readable, Richard Aldous's new book challenges conventional wisdom and prods us to rethink the 1980s

—— Professor David Reynolds

An important study, based on a wealth of recently-released documents, which puts the Thatcher-Reagan friendship in a wholy new (and more sombre) light. It should be essential reading for anyone who cares about the history, the health and the future of the Anglo-American 'special relationship'

—— Professor David Cannadine

I can't speak for President Reagan, but I've been both praised and pulverized by Margaret Thatcher, and Richard Aldous seems to me to have captured the force of her personality. This is a valuable look behind the looking glass of public-relations politics of the special relationship.

—— Harold Evans

Richard Aldous’s account of the most intriguing Anglo-American double act of them all provides many surprises . . . What Aldous manages to achieve is strong research with a vivid narrative style, bringing the most dramatic moments to life

—— John Kampfner , Observer

A well-research, well-written and revisionist double portrait

—— Andrew Roberts , Wall Street Journal

Intelligent, authoritative and extremely readable

—— Philip Ziegler , Spectator

This gripping account of their difficult relationship reads like a thriller.

—— Sunday Times

Aldous deserves nothing but credit for the masterly way in which he weaves accounts from published memoirs and recently declassified US material into a pacey, almost thriller-like account of the meetings and telephone calls between these two political giants. This is a work of history that can be read at one sitting — a page-turner more than a page-folder.

—— Dominic Lawson , Sunday Times

It wasn't all sweetness and light between Maggie and Ronnie, as this account of their difficult relationship shows

—— Summer reading pick from THe Sunday Times

She is a writer with a quiet genius for local history and empathetic understanding of ordinary people

—— Iain Finlayson , Saga

A deeply rewarding read

—— Sally Morris , Daily Mail

Both warm and poignant and a joy to read

—— Hannah Britt , Daily Express

It’s a worthy project, but in the most fascinating way

—— Lesley McDowell , Glasgow Sunday Herald

Tindall transforms bricks and mortar into fascinating social history

—— Christopher Hirst , Independent

Wonderful, passionate, dangerous, fascinating stuff. I couldn't put it down

—— Julian Fellowes

Leanda de Lisle has the gift of reminding us that history is the story of real people; real men, real women, full of rage and ambitionand lust and hope and love. The Tudors are already our most vivid dynasty, by quite a long chalk, but these pages render them more vivid still. This was an age when the game was worth the candle, when a chance remark could result in a crown or the axe. Wonderful, passionate, dangerous, fascinating stuff. I couldn't put it down

—— Julian Fellowes

This fresh take on the Tudor dynasty is history at its best... an engaging and well-sourced account, sprinkled with provocative anecdotes that will appeal to both scholars and general readers... This compelling tale is driven by three-dimensional people and relationships, and de Lisle does a fantastic job of making them feel lived and dramatic

—— Publishers Weekly

Reveals an entirely new perspective on one of England's most fascinating dynasties

—— Mary Lussiana , Country & Town House

A very lucid, entertaining and excellent read

—— Suzannah Lipscomb , History Today

A thrilling, intelligent and fresh royal history that sweeps from the family’s unlikely beginnings in the 1420s to their apotheosis under Elizabeth

—— Dan Jones , Telegraph

The compelling story of the Tudors is vividly brought to life in de Lisle's narrative

—— Discover Britain

This should now be the go-to book for those looking for a broad understanding of the Tudors

—— Chris Skidmore , BBC History Magazine

De Lisle's energy and stamina in this vast operation are truly impressive. What is more, she tells an often thrilling story with great dexterity... Altogether, this remarkable achievement puts de Lisle firmly in the front rank of popular historians of the period

—— John Jolliffe , Catholic Herald

Unlike many books that claim to tell the story of the Tudors, but focus mainly on four characters (namely Henry VIII and his three children who all ruled England after him), this excellent book includes so many members of the Tudor family who may not always be forgotten, but are often sidelined

—— Good Book Guide
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved