false 49234 15 Jared Diamond states the theme of his book up-front: "How the human species changed, within a short time, from just another species of big mammal to a world conqueror; and how we acquired the capacity to reverse all that progress overnight." <I>The Third Chimpanzee</I> is, in many ways, a prequel to Diamond's prize-winning <I>Guns, Germs, and Steel</I>. While <I>Guns</I> examines "the fates of human societies," this work surveys the longer sweep of human evolution, from our origin as just another chimpanzee a few million years ago. Diamond writes:<p> <blockquote>It's obvious that humans are unlike all animals. It's also obvious that we're a species of big mammal down to the minutest details of our anatomy and our molecules. That contradiction is the most fascinating feature of the human species.</blockquote><p> The chapters in <I>The Third Chimpanzee</I> on the oddities of human reproductive biology were later expanded in <I>Why Is Sex Fun?</I> Here, they're linked to Diamond's views of human psychology and history.<p> Diamond is officially a physiologist at UCLA medical school, but he's also one of the best birdwatchers in the world. The current scientific consensus that "primitive" humans created ecological catastrophes in the Pacific islands, Australia, and the New World owes a great deal to his fieldwork and insight. In Diamond's view, the current global ecological crisis isn't due to modern technology per se, but to basic weaknesses in human nature. But, he says, "I'm cautiously optimistic. If we will learn from our past that I have traced, our own future may yet prove brighter than that of the other two chimpanzees." <I>--Mary Ellen Curtin</I> 1677648 book 1991 The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal total:1354|5:405|4:601|3:300|2:40|1:8| 1354 5417 2280 160 4 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 28 07:42:16 -0800 2007 Thu May 08 15:31:56 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Thu Jun 28 16:38:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 28 16:39:03 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 true false Mon May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 24 22:58:05 -0800 2007 Sun May 04 10:11:37 -0700 2008 Guns, Germs, and Steel. This book was written before that one and you can tell that Jared Diamond becomes a more polished and focused writer. The Third Chimpanzee focuses on how many of the characteristics the we consider uniquely "human" (language, art...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 12 05:15:08 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 05:16:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed May 20 06:47:53 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 06:48:45 -0700 2009 The Third Chimpanzee – Jarod Diamond cc1992

A highly evolutionist book, after skipping the first section (60pages) the book got more interesting with Diamond’s take on why humans are attracted to each other, why we engage in acts such as adultery and drug abuse (and eve...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 16:05:53 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 18 10:14:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 23 06:58:16 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 17 19:43:41 -0700 2007 I liked the way he starts each chapter with an interesting question and during the chapter he presents ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Oct 02 04:44:13 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 21 04:25:42 -0800 2008 Jared Diamond gives a broad overview of the history of homo sapiens, its biological and cultural origins..
He focuses on the human history, traces its evolutionary origins and treats topics such as the rise and fall of civilizations, the role of language, domestication ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 25 09:52:33 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 09:59:08 -0800 2009 Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, so reading this book was kind of a trip back in time to read Diamond's original thesis. It was interesting to see all of the ideas from these other books presented together. I think that Diamond did a good job of ex...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 09:09:32 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 04:22:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 04:48:12 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 20:04:18 -0700 2009 Jared Diamond's more famous Guns Germs and Steel, I can't help but reflect on this book in comparison. I gave that book five stars and this book three, but that may say more about the order in which I read them than the books themselves, for in truth they're remarkably simil...more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 14:53:18 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 15:35:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 true false Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 09:05:49 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 12:29:46 -0700 2009 The Third Chimpanzee, a little voice in my head told me that I should stop reading books by Jared Diamond. His subsequent three popular science books all have their origins in this one; I began with Guns, Germs, and Steel and then read Collapse. So reading The Third Chimpanzee w...more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 18:57:48 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 15:29:43 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Nov 22 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Oct 23 06:56:51 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 24 17:04:26 -0800 2008 Collapse; Guns, Germs and Steel; and Why is Sex Fun? The sections in The Third Chimpanzee that broach ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 04:02:47 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 04:02:47 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 23 12:38:59 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 09 10:03:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Mar 13 17:36:37 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 17:36:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 19 11:28:46 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 05:50:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Sep 04 13:49:27 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 12 22:23:42 -0700 2008 more...]]>