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Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

(Civilizations Rise and Fall #3)

Jared Diamond

3.89 · Rating details · 6,210 ratings · 834 reviews

In his international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in his third book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crises while adopting selective changes -- a coping mechanism more commonly associated with individuals recovering from p ...more

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Hardcover, 512 pages

Published May 7th 2019 by Little, Brown and Company

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May 20, 2019 Bill Gates rated it really liked it

I feel very lucky to work with my wife, and not just because I get to spend extra time with her. Melinda’s way of looking at the world makes me better at my job.

Jared Diamond says he owes the idea for his new book Upheaval to his wife, Marie Cohen, who’s a psychologist. Jared is already a polymath. Although he was trained in physiology, his books usually blend anthropology and history, and he’s a professor of geography. Add in Marie’s perspective, and you have the recipe for this discipline-bend ...more

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Mar 03, 2019 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, anthropology, germans, science, the-japanese, australia, finland, indonesia

”An example of presumed lack of models is provided by the U.S. today, for which belief in American exceptionalism translates into the widespread belief that the U.S. has nothing to learn from Canada and Western European democracies: not even from their solutions to issues that arise for every country, such as health care, education, immigration, prisons, and security in old age--issues about which most Americans are dissatisfied with our American solutions but still refuse to learn from Canadian ...more

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Jun 04, 2019 Will Byrnes rated it really liked it

Shelves: american-history, world-history-non-fiction, history, nonfiction

There is a large body of research and anecdotal information, built up by therapists, about the resolution of personal crises. Could the resulting conclusions help us understand the resolution of national crises?

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Successful coping with either external or internal pressures requires selective change. That’s as true of nations as of individuals. The key word here is “selective.” It’s neither possible nor desirable for individuals or nations to change co

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May 18, 2019 Randall Wallace rated it it was ok

This book explains how six countries historically dealt with their own deep crisis and upheaval. Jared believes these six stories will help us solve any present or future U.S crisis or upheaval. He begins in Finland discussing the huge mobilization of Finns (1/6 of the population) and their fierce resistance against the Soviets which won them their freedom while other nearby nations weren’t so lucky. When the Soviets fought the Finns, eight Russians died for one Finn. Finland, Jared says, also w This book explains how six countries historically dealt with their own deep crisis and upheaval. Jared believes these six stories will help us solve any present or future U.S crisis or upheaval. He begins in Finland discussing the huge mobilization of Finns (1/6 of the population) and their fierce resistance against the Soviets which won them their freedom while other nearby nations weren’t so lucky. When the Soviets fought the Finns, eight Russians died for one Finn. Finland, Jared says, also won because as a nation they accepted responsibility for themselves. Then Jared moves on to Japan which has evidently has few billionaires. Cool Jeopardy Fact: Britain is only 22 miles from the mainland while Japan is 110 miles from the mainland. Then Jared goes off on a Cold War warrior rant stating how “the Soviet Union embarked on a policy of world domination”. He says there was a “real” risk of the Russians starting a war against the world. LOL – with whose petrol? With whose boots? He talks about the “burden” of the West protecting Western Europe after WWII - never mentioning the 27 million Russians that died during the WWII, the documented exhaustion of its people for military adventures immediately after that, or the overwhelming superiority of American military (as Gore Vidal said, at the time the US was supplying the Russian army their boots, and the Russians didn’t even have the gas to bring home their artillery and so horses had to drag it back). Nor will Jared mention the need of Russia (which unlike the U.S. had been twice recently invaded and millions killed) to need allied buffer nations if only to prevent more future invasions, or the obvious fact that at the same time under Truman, the US embarked on its own same distasteful policy of world domination – i.e. no mention by Jared of the 70 extremely serious interventions by the US Military in other sovereign nations between 1945-2000 (William Blum) – no, instead, only Cuba, Russia, Allende, Sukarno, and Marxism are threats in this book. The CIA would love Jared if he’s not already on company payroll.

Then Jared makes a few snipes at Castro, enough to distract you from the remarkable job of Cuban doctors around the world, or that Cubans seem pretty happy. Selective memory makes Jared rant on about the crimes of Castro while ignoring the crimes of Batista that clearly led to Castro as well as the crime of the continued US embargo, or stealing Cuba’s only other deep-water port (Guantanamo) at gunpoint and not giving it back to force the Cuban government to fail (see Chomsky). Then it’s off to Chile, where Jared wants to muddy the name of Allende so you’ll think his overthrow wasn’t that bad. Jared says Allende ruined the economy and says with a straight face that no one (not even the CIA) knew that Pinochet would be so sadistic. The crimes of Allende, Jared says, are that he “rejected moderation, caution, and compromise”. That the United States itself since its birth has also “rejected moderation, caution, and compromise” hasn’t occurred to Jared. Jared laughably uses intentionally charged words, like how Allende “horrified” the armed forces – picture trained professionals in the art of fighting and resisting all pain “horrified” by a single 5’7” man with grey hair and glasses. Jared says an “acute crisis” in Chile was avoided that was “provoked by Allende’s declared intention to turn Chile into a Marxist state.” That sounds scary. Jared says Allende’s (violent & illegal) overthrow exhibited “flexibility”. Jared says inflation was 600% per year under Allende but plummets down to 9% per year after his removal. Sounds horrible enough, but then of course Jared intentionally won’t tell you most progressives already know: that Nixon famously ordered “Make the economy scream” meaning Chile, which might explain some of that 600% inflation. As Noam Chomsky wrote: “Our ambassador to Chile, Edward Korry, who was a Kennedy liberal type, was given the job of implementing the ‘soft line.’ Here’s how he described his task: ‘to do all within our power to condemn Chile and the Chileans to utmost deprivation and poverty.’ That was the soft line. Later, when the military coup finally came [in September, 1973] and the government was overthrown-and thousands of people were being imprisoned, tortured and slaughtered- the economic aid which had been canceled immediately began to flow again.” Foolishly, Jared laces this entire book with comments that would endear him to Kissinger but would make any educated progressive’s eyes roll.

Then Jared is off to Indonesia to rewrite its bloody history with a take that is, once again, the OPPOSITE of Noam Chomsky. You get page after page of Sukarno’s “crimes” to make the following massacre of half a million by Suharto supporters come out somehow as a wash. JD’s take: Suharto who replaced Sukarno was somehow better in the long run because Indonesian elite locals told him so (just like Chilean elites told him about preferring Pinochet). Jared laughably goes extreme again calling Sukarno’s dropping paratroopers in the woods at night “an incredible act of cruelty”, while the U.S. embassy “standing by” during the entire mass murder of the 500,000 innocent people in Indonesia (New York Times) gets no such designation. To Jared, the massacre happens partly because he says Sukarno “deluded himself” and partly because the Communist Party had called “for the arming of workers and peasants”. No details are given but we are left only to suppose all communists were imminently about to reenact the John Carpenter movie “The Fog” on all regular Indonesians while they were inside eating ramen. According to Jared, Suharto won because he was an “outstanding realist” who knew how to “proceed cautiously”. But in terms of learning from Indonesia, fighting the climate crisis is about acting FAST, not valuing a slow-ass cautious approach which strangely also requires innocent people to be killed en masse. On page 661, he says the American people are flexible because they move, on average, once every five years. I think Jared needs to take a logic class. From that alone, you cannot deduce they must be a flexible people; why is institutional racism and patriarchy (Ohio, Alabama, Georgia, etc.) still so terrible in the U.S. after 200 years? Because of American flexibility?

Then it’s off to Germany where Jared mentions the post-war crimes of the Russians against the Germans and shills for the Cold War by conveniently ignoring the just as bad post-war Allied crimes against the Germans (books on Allied post-war crimes: Crimes and Mercies, by James Bacque, After the Reich: the Brutal History of the Allied Occupation, by Giles MacDonogh, Savage Continent by Keith Lowe, Gruesome Harvest, by Ralph Franklin Keeling, and Other Losses, by James Bacque). Then quick as a flash, Jared is in Australia, mostly to bore us with how crisis and upheaval were somehow dealt with there. Then he tells us he is a director of Conservation International – but isn’t that the NGO that took $10,000,000 from ExxonMobil? (wrongkindofgreen.org). That keeps indigenous off conservation-protected lands in Guyana? (culturalsurvival.org) Sadly, there’s no corporate polluter too dirty for CI. Are we learning about Jared’s values yet? Then Jared says the problem in the US is our “accelerating deterioration of political compromise.” If Jared, had read (Noam recommended) Ornstein and Mann’s work, he would know that the Republican Party is now technically a “radical insurgency” that by definition obstructs compromise. If Jared read Noam as well, he’d know that both parties have drifted so far to the right that Bernie Sanders now occupies the same spot as an Eisenhower Republican did. So when Jared accuses EACH party of becoming more “extreme in its ideology” he doesn’t mean both are moving to the right. He means (without evidence) Democrats are somehow moving left. What? It’s easy to prove both parties have moved far right after the New Deal (read Chomsky). Clinton shoving NAFTA down our throats, and Obama’s targeted assassination campaign and drone terror are not examples of Democrats moving Left – they are examples of Democrats shamelessly courting Republican votes through acts of “compromise”.

Take this single bit: Jared attributes the historical success of the U.S. to “a combination of many advantages: demographic, geographic, political, historical, economic, and social.” That’s it. To Jared, none of America’s great wealth and power comes from theft, slavery, or violence. And after millions of acres of blatant land theft through violence why not also mention slavery which was our other biggest money maker, and maybe what about forcing Mexicans at gunpoint to give up the entire Southwest, and while you are there don’t forget how the California Genocide to get more “free” land made us truly “great”. To inoculate yourself against Jared, also read Gerald Horne, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, Chris Hedges, or even John Perkins). Our economic greatness only came at steep price in human misery for non-whites and was only made possible by a “wetiko” culture (read Derrick Jensen) based on “redemptive violence” (read Richard Slotkin). Then he calls out Islamic Fundamentalism (fomented by the CIA during the Russia/Afghan War) while ignoring U.S. Christian Fundamentalism.

What I liked in this book was that in it Jared says what few on the Left will mention: that a huge part of solving the climate crisis will involve massive energy reduction in the West. Excellent. Then Jared gives us a cool number to know – 32. In the U.S., we use 32x more energy to do everything and consume 32x more stuff than the world’s poor. It was deeply reassuring that Jared is so realistic of the critical importance of deeply decreasing consumption in our U.S. future. And it was great that Jared brings up another thing few on the Left discuss: that the world’s poor would rightfully will have to move up in energy consumption as we in the west finally move down (taught to me by Walden Bello and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz at many International Forum for Globalization Meetings). And happily, on page 367, Jared says that American ‘rags to riches’ is a myth.

Jared only mentions Israel as a victim of a rocket attack, so Zionists can rest easy with this book. Then Jared casts doubt on the power of the UN w/o offering the backstory on the US’s lead role in screwing up the UN from its inception and beyond. Then Jared says one solution for all countries in crisis is to accept responsibility, avoid victimization, self-pity, and blaming others. Last time I checked, America was built on blaming blacks for being lazy, and not accepting responsibility for destroying the land (southern monoculture forcing the move west) or other countries (Laos, Vietnam, Guatemala, etc) and playing the victim to justify forcing a nation westward by preemptively slaughtering “savages” for their land after first blaming them. Today, self-pity and blaming others are the distinguishing marks of millions of US white supremacists who fear one day they will be second class to non-whites. Jared’s next solution is honest self-appraisal: imagine Americans honestly appraising hundreds of years of what was unjustly done to natives and blacks to make money for whites.

Jared is America’s favorite polymath willing to give unchecked US militarism and capitalism a free pass. Jared sees no upcoming risk of economic collapse larger than the Great Depression, or potential extinction. Nor will Jared discuss the elephant in the room: how do you overcome the massive resistance to climate crisis mobilization in the U.S.? To his credit, Jared rightfully worries about Nuclear War and gets kudos for discussing William Perry. But the United States Military carried out 70 interventions in other countries between 1945-2000 (William Blum) yet Jared won’t admit the US military as being ANY part of the problem facing us. Of course, the military, the corporate press, and the business community love Jared because he’ll never threaten their livelihoods. I think this book was written to do two things: to cloud Americans view on the violent removal of Allende in Chile and Sukarno (with the massacre of 500,000) in Indonesia. Instead we are to look at how great Chile and Indonesia are today as economic forces, boldly propping up capitalism for the elites. Jared says this is a book “of comparative studies of national crises”. Too bad he never discusses instead that elephant in the room – generating sufficient U.S. political will against entrenched capitalist resistance - if the U.S. can’t manage basic gun control, or shutting down the latest war on women, then how can it dream of addressing something as big as the climate crisis?
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May 19, 2019 Mehrsa rated it it was ok

There is just nothing new or noteworthy in this book. There is not a coherent theory of crisis, just a few bullet point lists of things these countries have in common, which is really a stretch. Some of the history was interesting, but if you want history, best go elsewhere. A lot of his nuggets of wisdom come with sources such as "my friend who is Japanese" or "a friend who is Chilean." I read the entire book and have no idea what the thesis is even supposed to be. ...more

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Jan 02, 2020 fourtriplezed rated it did not like it

Shelves: my-non-fiction

Jarod Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel was a worthy read. His next book Collapse had some things of interest but seemed to be a book written for the sake of writing a book. This one does not seem to be a written for the sake of writing a book, it is a book written for the sake of writing a book. One word describes this book for me, poor.

Presented in three parts and with part one I knew this was going to be a struggle. It contained the Prologue and first chapter. The author proceeding to give th Jarod Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel was a worthy read. His next book Collapse had some things of interest but seemed to be a book written for the sake of writing a book. This one does not seem to be a written for the sake of writing a book, it is a book written for the sake of writing a book. One word describes this book for me, poor.

Presented in three parts and with part one I knew this was going to be a struggle. It contained the Prologue and first chapter. The author proceeding to give the reader rather mushy and long rambling reasons for writing this book on Upheaval How Nations Cope With Crisis And Change. Diamond had lived through his own personal crisis. He also had a relationship with the 7 countries discussed in the book. He thought that it would be useful to compare these countries crisis/upheavals to his own personal crisis/upheaval with some psychoanalytical process that individuals may go through when they are in crisis, write some history on each nation, add his local knowledge and hey presto! write an idiosyncratic book about upheavals. In my opinion the personal reasons for his career upheaval (that could have ended in failure but did not) are hardly worth comparing to a national event such as the death of perhaps millions in Indonesia in the mid 60’s. Being discouraged over a scientific experiment or dying over a political upheaval? Hmmm! Go the scientific experiment any day of the week. This is just one of the many poor analogies through the text.

Part two contained the history chapters. It is very populist in the telling. When discussing Chile, the author based his assessment of Allende “…on the recollections of a Chilean friend of mine who knew him..” What? Did I read that correctly? He based all his writings in an entire chapter of a countries leader based on the recollections of a friend? Am I supposed to take this seriously?

I will add that the national upheaval of the 7 nations covered is hardly new territory. Finland from the demise of imperial Russia through to its relationship with the USSR, Japan from the Meiji Restoration, Indonesia in the mid 60’s, the rebuilding of Germany after WW2 and Australia’s so called upheaval of knowing who we are. The history telling itself lacked depth in terms of being historical accounts. I suppose that could be forgiven as this is a very long book but it was interspersed with personal anecdotal interludes that were nice in a way but just that, nice.
At the end of the chapters each nation was matched against 12 “Factors related to the outcomes of personal crisis” that matched 12 “Factors related to the outcomes of national crisis”. So for example factor 6 in the personal crisis is ‘Ego Strength’ and the national will be matched with ‘National Identity’. Each nation was rated against the factor number in a meaningless discussion on how they reacted against the factor itself. I had no idea the connection between the factors for each individual nation when compared to the next nor understood the differences between each of the nation. It just seems to be, to put it bluntly, psychoanalytical BS.

Part three included a “what lies ahead” discussion on Japan, the US and the world in general and was far too long and rambled all over the place. Conclusions were the obvious or non-existent. Strangely the author kind of admitted just that by saying that his suggestions were “….absurdly obvious!” and retorts, with the obvious, that the requirements he has suggested for utopia are being ignored. Well yes and I too will ignore them if I ever have to read the Happy Doll analogy that made me laugh out loud when he discussed climate change.

For the discussions on the historical events pertaining to each country the author has relied on a further reading section. Fair enough but for the other areas of the book when stating statistics we get no footnotes and this is justified by another friend (Jared Diamonds many friends influence on his writings and opinions are very big in this book) complained that his books hurt their neck while reading them “….in bed at night.” So no footnotes as even though the last book had them online no one read them. That I am afraid may say a lot about his readers. If anyone reading this is offended don’t take this personally but if you are not prepared to at least check consult footnoted sources in a book than how do you know the source of the information?

The lack of coherence in the narrative, presentation and the analysis is striking. Is this really by from the author of the very good Guns Germs and Steel? Populist writing at its worst. One star. ...more

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Mar 25, 2020 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: political, 2020-shelf, non-fiction

Oddly enough, after the introduction, I had a strange, trepidatious feeling that I was going to be reading a psychologically-based analysis of a handful of different countries and how they handled multiple historical crises.

In one way, this might be fine if all we just wanted lite anecdotes, but this particular book is simultaneously more and less than that. Less psychological, more analogical. And more in that it is surprisingly broad-based, detailed, and historically accurate.

Diamond chose sev Oddly enough, after the introduction, I had a strange, trepidatious feeling that I was going to be reading a psychologically-based analysis of a handful of different countries and how they handled multiple historical crises.

In one way, this might be fine if all we just wanted lite anecdotes, but this particular book is simultaneously more and less than that. Less psychological, more analogical. And more in that it is surprisingly broad-based, detailed, and historically accurate.

Diamond chose seven countries to highlight mostly because he lived in each and spoke most of their languages, which I can't fault him for, because it gives some great immediacy.

I loved the one about Finland nearly as much as I loved the one about Chile. Finland's struggle and clear-eyed resolution with both Russias's invasion and the full involvement were all kinds of heroic, scary, and tragic. Chile's challenges (tragedies) with Allende and Pinochet's history is fairly better known in some circles. Diamond focused on both the good and the obviously evil. Less emphasis is put on the Chicago Boys' influence. More on the torture and the willingness to keep Pinochet around despite his more nasty habits, while taking into account some of the obviously positive accounts of the country's growth during that time.

I also loved the one about Indonesia even if I was horrified to learn so much about the mass-killings. On both occasions. The corruption was not as bad as the .5 million to 2 million dead, of course, but hell, both are bad in their ways.

The others about Germany post-war and Austrailia post-British Empire were good and interesting as well, but I think I was a bit more interested in the early Japanese post-Shogunate and post-WWII historical periods.

The final analysis? Diamond goes into some pretty realistic breakdowns of how each country faced its challenges, how resilient each is in the face of tragedy or danger, and how it responds when it is in the wrong. In other words, like spoiled children, embarrassed, or whether they take full responsibility for their actions.

This book is not a full-service political discussion and it ignores quite a few factors but far less than I would have assumed. All in all, I was very happy with the results... even after having read a ton of other history books. :) ...more

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Aug 13, 2019 Andrew rated it it was ok

Shelves: japan, germany, global-history, indonesia, finland, australia, chile

Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis, by Jared Diamond, is an narrative history looking at crisis in nation states within the 20th century (or so). The book charts these crisis in terms of twelve "personal crisis" points that Diamond lists off. The countries in the book are chosen because the author is familiar with them, and has lived in many of them for many years, experiencing some of these modern crisis first hand. The book is an anecdotal, narrative history, with little quantitati Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis, by Jared Diamond, is an narrative history looking at crisis in nation states within the 20th century (or so). The book charts these crisis in terms of twelve "personal crisis" points that Diamond lists off. The countries in the book are chosen because the author is familiar with them, and has lived in many of them for many years, experiencing some of these modern crisis first hand. The book is an anecdotal, narrative history, with little quantitative analysis involved. The author even states that a quantitative analysis to try and prove his personal crisis/national crisis thesis would be too time consuming.

The analysis of nations done is interesting; Finland during its post WWII diplomatic crisis, where it began to covet friendly relations with the USSR to ensure Moscow did not need to press its geopolitical ambitions. Japan during the Meiji Restoration and its crisis of identity, as well as its post WWII revival, Australia during its early 2000's political crisis', Indonesia in the era of Suharto and the anti-communist coups, Germany in the era of reunification and so on. The history here is sometimes interesting - little tidbits and facts standout and further reading on subjects has arisen in my mind - Indonesian history, Finlandization, further reading on Meiji Japan (always of interest to me) and so on. Even so, the narrative aspect of this book is weak, and the thesis is almost pointless. Ascribing national crisis to a similar process of analysis to personal crisis is weak; national crisis have completely different characteristics than personal crisis, and often do not come to satisfactory conclusions as they involve multiple parties. Personal crisis can affect others, but often the conclusion is a change in mindset - at the national level, mindsets of politicians can be changed (ie. Finland's diplomatic revolution), but often time civil conflict and violence, or complete political deadlock can become the norm, and changes could be more radical, or often less radical, then needed. Issues can also linger; Indonesia's political crisis could unfold again, as varying ethnic groups clash for power. Finland may not always be safe from its coveted geopolitical position in the eyes of Russian policy makers if the international system changes; Australia may continue its political deadlock into the future; the US may again divide along lines that closely resemble its Civil War period.

I found this book to be relatively weak and pointless. In the era of Trump, many Americans are searching their souls and racking the bookshelf for ideas on crisis, national decline, nationalism, democracy and so on. This is a wonderful time for Western political ideas. However, as Diamond alludes but seems to miss, crisis has and will continue to affect nation states across the globe, regardless of whether the international system survives as is, or changes or even collapses. World peace and stability do not necessarily rest on Western Liberal Democracy or Interventionism, as history clearly has shown. Diamond adds his own political inflections and bias to the book, sympathizing with the ideas that put Pinochet and Suharto in power. There is no room for any Socialism, Communism or even the thought of experimenting with more socialist political ideals in Diamonds eyes. Instead, Western market orientation is key, as is liberal democracy, and a class of wealthy, educated politicians and business men to rule over the masses in benevolent form.

Clearly, I found a lot to criticize in this book. While the narrative history is interesting, if shallow, the clear bias of the author - not even attempting to write with an unbiased voice, or utilizing facts and statistics or sound principles of historical analysis, is a glaring concern. The thesis of this book is muddled and needs work - although breaking down national crisis into a list of twelve items based on tried principles of personal crisis in the psychiatric field is interesting, it reeks of pseudo-science and possess' very little value due to a lack of testing. This is where quantitative analysis would have added weight to the authors arguments, and made the thesis shine. Instead, this book of musings attempts an heir of authoritative scholarship, while falling far short of the mark. Worth a read? Maybe. Its quick and easy to read, and definitely a good starter point for layman interested in gaining more knowledge of national crisis in history. Other than that, it could be passed over for more intricate, analytical, and well though out books on the subject of nationalism, democratic decline, and political crisis that have been written in the hundreds over history. For those hungry for a deeper read, this one can be skipped or at least downgraded in priority. ...more

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Apr 04, 2019 David Wineberg rated it really liked it

Diamond in the Rough

Albert Einstein spent the last half of his life trying to fit the universe into one elegant formula. He did not succeed. Jared Diamond is trying to do the same with national political crises in Upheaval. He has developed a list of 12 factors that show up in times of crisis at the nation level. The degree to which the nation deals with those factors (if at all) determines how successful it will likely be in dealing with it.

The book exists at three levels: the individual, the n ...more

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May 26, 2019 Chris Leuchtenburg rated it did not like it

Shelves: world

I guess when you are smart enough to master six languages in your youth and publish two, thought-provoking and popular books, you can get anything published. Diamond skims along the surfaces of complex histories, never demonstrating the research and deep thinking that would justify his sweeping generalizations. I actually read the first few chapters carefully, refusing to believe that the author of Gun, Germs and Steel and Collapse could base this book on such shallow thinking. Skipping to the W ...more

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Jun 20, 2019 Faith rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, netgalley

“Successful coping with either external or internal pressure requires selective change. That’s as true of nations as of individuals.” The author describes and compares crises and selective changes, over the course of several decades, in Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, Australia and the United States. He has a theory (12 factors associated with the resolution of national crises) and he bends each of his samples to fit into that theory. He selected those countries because in most cases ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Stephen Yoder rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-read

Jared Diamond's framework for this book (Mapping the factors for individuals to successfully surmount personal crises to the greater context of nations successfully navigating crises) strikes me as a simple, brilliant move. For all the talk of needing more STEM education in our nation we need a few more million social workers to guide us all through the honest appraisal of our shortcomings & strengths so our nation can move past so many simultaneous crises.
Reading about how Japan, Finland, Germa Jared Diamond's framework for this book (Mapping the factors for individuals to successfully surmount personal crises to the greater context of nations successfully navigating crises) strikes me as a simple, brilliant move. For all the talk of needing more STEM education in our nation we need a few more million social workers to guide us all through the honest appraisal of our shortcomings & strengths so our nation can move past so many simultaneous crises.
Reading about how Japan, Finland, Germany, Chile, Indonesia, and Australia dealt with their modern upheavals made me worry more about the United States of America, which Diamond addresses toward the end of his book. Do we still have what it takes to resolve incredible challenges? Can we leave behind so many damaging cultural myths that hold us back & divide us unnecessarily? Will the wealthy come to their senses soon enough to allow other groups in our nation to actually receive the benefits of our government & somewhat-strong economy?
Diamond mentions that heads of state have read his previous books and discussed them with him. I can see that Bill Gates has this book on his To Read list (Hey, Bill! I'm using a Windows OS now and it doesn't stink.). I can only hope that more elites will take the time to read Upheaval. My own children's future may depend upon it.
A few more thoughts.
Jared Diamond's travels, interconnections, and abilities with languages (he's way above average in terms of language mastery compared to other Americans) really serve him well.
I've read for years about World War II and heard about how Finland defended itself well against hordes of Russians, but I had never focused upon what they had to do to survive WWII plus stay independent of Russia. I have so much more respect for Finland at this point. I need to read further about this nation & their wacky language.
I wish Diamond had included an African nation in this book.
I never knew about the dramatic changes that swept through Australia in just a few months in 1972 as a result of the UK treating them like a foreign nation (which Australia itself didn't even consider itself to be for many years). I can only hope that the USA can have some dramatic changes in so many important arenas.

Such an important book. I'm grateful I rec'd an ARC.
My apologies that this is a disjointed review.
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Jul 24, 2019 Laura Noggle rated it liked it

Shelves: history, 2019, nonfiction

“Those who study just one country end up understanding no country.”

While I appreciate what Diamond is attempting in Upheaval, I can't say he sticks the landing.

Overall, I felt this book was extremely underwhelming especially when compared to the Pulitzer Prize winning Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies and even Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Not to be ageist, but as an octogenarian it felt as though Diamond is letting end of life sentimentalism and nostalgi ...more

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Jul 31, 2019 Stevenglubbers rated it did not like it

Vanity publication. Ramblings of a marque name with a massive ego ["Instead, this is a book expected to remain in print for many decades." p.17]. Desperately in need of an editor to sharpen the prose and the arguments. The Third Chimpanzee was one of the most rewarding reads I've ever had as it exposed me to new ideas and areas of study. Picking this one up based on the known name left me severely, severely disappointed at the laziness involved in this whole project.

p.147 "My understanding of Al Vanity publication. Ramblings of a marque name with a massive ego ["Instead, this is a book expected to remain in print for many decades." p.17]. Desperately in need of an editor to sharpen the prose and the arguments. The Third Chimpanzee was one of the most rewarding reads I've ever had as it exposed me to new ideas and areas of study. Picking this one up based on the known name left me severely, severely disappointed at the laziness involved in this whole project.

p.147 "My understanding of Allende is based on the recollections of a Chilean friend of mine who knew him..." Ugh

Flip the page for him to assume his audience is a group of idiots and "his younger readers" won't understand why the 1960s saw people opposed to Marxists. Not to fear, he explains it to them in a few quick sentences: "The explanation begins with the fact that, after WWII, the Soviet Union embarked on a policy of world domination and developed its own atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, and intercontinental missiles...After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union responded by accelerating its programs to develop more powerful nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles". History is so easy to explain! See kids? The Soviet Union had bombs and missiles [and then better bombs and missiles] so people were afraid of leftist governments in Chile!

Hachette saw a chance to earn $$ by slapping a marque name onto the sweeping generalizations, simplifications and personal musings of an old ego. (And sadly, they were right. The same publishing concept that brought us Pioneers by David McCullough)

Cool dude - so you speak 6 languages, know people, and have Japanese cousins in the family you recently married into. You should go have coffee with Thomas Friedman and check if you've both had the same taxi driver at some point.

The project can best be summarized in his own words on p. 14. "I had initially hoped to incorporate modern quantitative methods into this book. I devoted months to that effort, only to reach the conclusion that it would have to remain a task for a separate future project." Translation: I had initially hoped to make this a serious work, but a few months in I gave up and just sent my publisher this slapdash, lazy effort.

Pass on this one. ...more

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Jan 28, 2019 Megan Bell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019

In this follow-up to Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond shows how nations have overcome crises through methods individuals often practice in overcoming personal trauma. Through his historical study of Finland, Meiji Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, and Australia and his examination of current crises facing Japan, the US, and the world, Diamond reveals how certain factors like honest self-appraisal and dealing with national failure can help predict resilience. This is a fascinati ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Gumble's Yard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021

The latest book by the author of the brilliantly thought provoking “Guns, Germs and Steel” – one of the few non-religious non-fiction books to change my way of viewing the world

The book starts with what the author says are 12 principles that crisis therapists have developed as making it more or less likely that an individual will succeed in resolving/coming through a personal crisis (acknowledgement of the crisis, acceptance of personal responsibility, building a fence to delineate the problem t ...more

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Jul 10, 2019 Tanja Berg rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, non-fiction

The title sums up the book very well. It gives an in-depth analysis of how six different nations - Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany and Australia have coped with sudden and/or gradual changes. There is also an in depth look at the United States, a country in crisis now because of polarized politics, gerrymandering and inequality.

The author starts with looking back at his own personal crises and also setting up a framework for national crises in a personal crises setting.

"Factors relat The title sums up the book very well. It gives an in-depth analysis of how six different nations - Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany and Australia have coped with sudden and/or gradual changes. There is also an in depth look at the United States, a country in crisis now because of polarized politics, gerrymandering and inequality.

The author starts with looking back at his own personal crises and also setting up a framework for national crises in a personal crises setting.

"Factors related to the outcomes of personal crises:
1. Acknowledgment that one is in crisis.
2. Acceptance of one's personal responsibility to do something.
3. Building a fence, to delineate one's individual problems needing to be solved.
4. Getting material and emotional help from other individuals and groups.
5. Using other individuals as models of how to solve problems.
6. Ego strength
7. Honest self-appraisal
8. Experience of previous personal crises
9. Patience
10. Flexible personality
11. Individual core values
12. Freedom from personal constraints"

I found this a useful framework, both in terms of nations - and in terms of my own experience. The differences in how Germany and Japan have handled their World War II crimes is astonishing. All German school children are taught this. German state leaders after WW II have begged for forgiveness on their knees. Japanese school children have no insight into what their forebears were responsible for. China and Korea are still hostile toward Japan because of the inability of the latter to properly apologize.

After the national crises have been dealt with, Jared Diamond takes a look at the crisis facing all of us today: depletion of natural resources and climate change. If we do not take a common cause, we are headed for trouble really fast. Particularly since political non-compromise is on the rise. It started in the United States, but what is happening there is likely to spread. The world is becoming a more hostile and unfriendlier place, at the same time that the need to gather around a common cause to save our planet from destruction is becoming all the more acute. Much can be learned from history, should we only care to look. ...more

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Jun 13, 2019 Louise rated it really liked it

Shelves: japan, world, german-history, scandinavian-countries, chile

Jared Diamond begins with how he has dealt with upheavals in his life and applies his strategies and those of others to nations. With this background, this he defines 12 principles that informed the successful responses of Norway, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany and Australia in times of national crisis. The book concludes with the application of these principles to the issues now facing Japan, the US and the world.

Diamond selected the countries because he had lived in them and had some familia ...more

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Dec 04, 2019 Eric rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

Care about where this world is headed? Read “Upheaval”! Noted Polymath, Pulitzer Prize winner and respected academic, Diamond’s books are imminently readable and seize your attention right off the bat. As a student of history, I was drawn to his approach to nations challenged by seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Diamond’s revelations of Finland’s, Chile’s, and Japan’s trials and tribulations, ultimately dealt with and solved, are a powerful lesson for the rest of us.

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Aug 17, 2019 Nyamka Ganni rated it really liked it

Shelves: war, history, non-fiction

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I'm glad i took my time with it.

It made me realize how very limited my knowledge about modern history is. It's almost painful to admit. 😥
Luckily it just fueled my growing interest in global history and world Wars.

Liked quotes.

“It’s neither possible nor desirable for individuals or nations to change completely, and to discard everything of their former identities. The challenge, for nations as for individuals in crisis, is to figure out which parts of their identit ...more

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May 14, 2019 Dan Graser rated it it was amazing

This third work in Jared Diamond's monumental trilogy that began with, "Guns, Germs, and Steel," and, "Collapse," is both an historical analysis of nations' responses before, during, and after going through periods of crises/upheavals, as well as a very impassioned cri de coeur centering on the most fundamental concept of history writing: that being we should learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others to forestall similar and worse outcomes in our own futures. Though opinion has been mix This third work in Jared Diamond's monumental trilogy that began with, "Guns, Germs, and Steel," and, "Collapse," is both an historical analysis of nations' responses before, during, and after going through periods of crises/upheavals, as well as a very impassioned cri de coeur centering on the most fundamental concept of history writing: that being we should learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others to forestall similar and worse outcomes in our own futures. Though opinion has been mixed as to the explanatory power of the previous two volumes, I have found that most critique is based on a complete ignorance of his writing and represents a grossly stultifying simplification that seems to have been made in advance of these critics actual (if ever) reading of his work.

About which he is very frank, the selection process for the representative nations and their upheavals in this book mainly involved the countries with which he has the most experience and where he has lived and spoken the language. These are Chile, Japan, Indonesia, Finland, Germany, Australia, and the United States. The latter, our own country, is discussed as being in a current crisis. He frames the discussion around these nations' periods of crisis with 12 main bullet points:
1. Acknowledgement that one is in a crisis
2. Accept responsibility; avoid victimization, self-pity, and blaming others
3. Building fence/selective change
4. Help from other nations
5. Using other nations as models
6. National identity
7. Honest self-appraisal
8. Historical experience of previous national crises
9. Patience with national failure
10. Situation-specific national flexibility
11. National core values
12. Freedom from geopolitical constraints

Though in a work of this scope and dealing with a representative sample so small, you would expect some of the connections to be tenuous, this is NOT the case with this book. Though it is true that Diamond's analyses of some situations and political upheavals will seem overly terse, the connections he draws throughout the narrative are quite potent and his epilogue wraps up this discussion in cogent fashion. His recommendations for further study are prescient and his tone throughout is personal and erudite, as we have come to expect, but maintains a humility for the scope of analysis he is trying to achieve. ...more

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Jul 21, 2019 Sean Chick rated it really liked it

Jared Diamond's latest book is a comparative history of nations in crisis written in simple and direct language. As with his previous books, he makes his share of arguments but is not hidebound to any particular argument. In an era of communist apologetics, he might sound to some like a Cold Warrior with his antipathy for Marxism. In other words, if you are an ideologue, this is not the book for you, and I like that part of it.

All in all, the book is perceptive if not particularly deep. For inst ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 Jaydosaure rated it did not like it

This book was one of the worst I have ever read and I am horrified that it is so popular. How can people who have an interest in learning about the world be fooled so easily?

At first I thought it was just lazy researching and lazy writing, but some of the wordchoices used to describes very complex world history events cannot be just "bad knowledge" of history. It made me question the intentions of diamond behind this book and the partiality of what he presents (and to what ends??). There is not ...more

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Jun 13, 2019 Jen rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved "Guns, Germs and Steel" by this author and had started "Collapse", but was unable to finish it before giving it as a gift for Father's Day a few years back. What I had read of it I liked and did end up getting another copy for me. Just haven't had the time to pick it up again. When I saw that Diamond had a new book out, I was all over it.

This book, didn't disappoint, but it didn't Wow me either. There was a LOT of repetition and the beginning seemed to drag on before he actually reached ...more

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May 25, 2019 Nancy rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley

I have read Diamond's earlier book Guns, Germs, and Steel and most of Collapse. I was curious about the theme of Upheaval.

I enjoyed reading Diamond's narrative histories of the countries he concentrates on: Finland, Japan, Chile, Germany, Indonesia, and Australia. Especially, I was interested in Finland because my family hosted a Finnish exchange student in 1969-70 when I was in high school and later my husband and I hosted her daughter. The same year I had a Finnish sister I was friends with th ...more

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Jul 01, 2019 Leif rated it did not like it

Jared Diamond publishes drivel.

I was tempted - highly motivated - to write much more. From the ludicrous premise that makes the classic mistake of reducing nations to individuals to the scattergun firing of Diamond's not inconsiderable ego there's a lot of questionable methods and tactics going on here. Worse, to me, were the facile, simplistic, and patently idealized potted histories that Diamond produces in lieu of an actual researched study. He writes that it took him six years to produce thi ...more

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Aug 12, 2019 Paul rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, history, politics

Well, Jared Diamond has done it again – putting together a remarkable, informative, fascinating look at history, geography and culture that also illuminates how and why are world exists the way it does today. Guns, Germs and Steel was of course a tour de force that won all the awards; I don't know if Upheaval will do the same, but I loved it.

I loved the exploration of world events that were cataclysmic for the nations involved but on the periphery of American textbooks, such as the Finnish-Sovi ...more

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Aug 18, 2019 Robert Coleman rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2019-reads

Things this book does well:
1) Cool cover art
2) Dramatic, important-sounding title

Things this book doesn't do well:
1) Scholarship
2) Originality and creativity
3) Brevity

I don't know how the publishing industry works, but this book seemed like a total cash-grab. Diamond lays out a lame framework, throws together a quick bit of pop-history for a handful of countries, and repeatedly rams that pop-history into the framework. Later, he wheezes ad nauseam about how the US needs to be more like Sweden, h ...more

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Jan 18, 2021 Will Ansbacher rated it it was ok

Shelves: history

Guns, Germs and Steel was ground-breaking, Collapse was more repetitious though still an interesting read, but Upheaval is stuck in a formulaic straitjacket.

Let’s begin with Diamond’s notion to analyse national upheavals using the framework of personal crises. He describes twelve factors that indicate whether a client in short-term crisis therapy can expect to resolve their issue. These include elements like acceptance of responsibility, honest self-appraisal, ability to learn from others and so ...more

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Jul 21, 2019 Nam Le rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

Upheaval, the latest book effort of famed historian and scientist Jared Diamond, is the book discuss about the approaches the several nations had tried to overcome the national crisises. The book is very strange and unconventional in comparison with other works of Dr. Diamond as it is deal with the modern nations (or near-modern nation in the case of Japan), but not something related to his expertises such as physiology, geography of isolated communities, of histories of distant civilisations. Upheaval, the latest book effort of famed historian and scientist Jared Diamond, is the book discuss about the approaches the several nations had tried to overcome the national crisises. The book is very strange and unconventional in comparison with other works of Dr. Diamond as it is deal with the modern nations (or near-modern nation in the case of Japan), but not something related to his expertises such as physiology, geography of isolated communities, of histories of distant civilisations. In addition, it heavily based on the stories, secondary reference sources, and even the narratives of “friends,” not drawing evidences from extensive academic studies like his previous well-known works such as "Guns, Germs, and Steel" or "Collapse."

The book open with the two individual crises the author experienced in the past, the burning of Coconut Groves that killed hundreds of people in 1942 and the disatrous PhD tenure of the author at the Cambridge University. From the ways his relatives, friends and even himself had overcome these difficulties, he build the the 12-factors approach to deal with crisis and applied these factors to the different nations in several continents; including Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, and Australia. One thing that can be easily recognised is that this model is extremely faulty and insufficient as the nation/country is much more complex than individuals or small communities and it is nearly impossible to draw the evidences at the national levels as history is never repeated twice and conduct the comparative study between nations in the way they dealed with crises is a close-to-impossible task.

Nevertheless, this book is very interesting and fun to read. The author provide a great deal of fascinating information and persuasive explanations for some of the nations such as Japan, Finland, Australia. However, the chapter about Chile and Indonesia are quite brief and insufficient. Unfortunately, some of the crisis cases of the nations have shaped the history of modern word such as China, UK, Iraq, Yugoslavia is missing. The final chapter is the best chapter of the books as the author discuss the crises the contemporary world currently facing of may face in the near future and offer some thoughtful approaches that we may implement to overcome these disasters.

By the way, this is a very good book to read for this year. Policymakers and politicians may not need to read this book as thay might know all of these information beforehand. However, if you are a layperson does not know much about history like me, you may enjoy this book a lot.
...more

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About Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond

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Jared Diamond is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel. He is Professor of Geography at UCLA and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He has dedicated this book to his sons and future generations.

Other books in the series

Civilizations Rise and Fall (3 books)

Books by Jared Diamond

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal

The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?

Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Science Masters)

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“It’s neither possible nor desirable for individuals or nations to change completely, and to discard everything of their former identities. The challenge, for nations as for individuals in crisis, is to figure out which parts of their identities are already functioning well and don’t need changing, and which parts are no longer working and do need changing.” — 7 likes

“Finland’s crisis (Chapter 2) exploded with the Soviet Union’s massive attack upon Finland on November 30, 1939. In the resulting Winter War, Finland was virtually abandoned by all of its potential allies and sustained heavy losses, but nevertheless succeeded in preserving its independence against the Soviet Union, whose population outnumbered Finland’s by 40 to 1. I spent a summer in Finland 20 years later, hosted by veterans and widows and orphans of the Winter War. The war’s legacy was conspicuous selective change that made Finland an unprecedented mosaic, a mixture of contrasting elements: an affluent small liberal democracy, pursuing a foreign policy of doing everything possible to earn the trust of the impoverished giant reactionary Soviet dictatorship. That policy was considered shameful and denounced as “Finlandization” by many non-Finns who failed to understand the historical reasons for its adoption. One of the most intense moments of my summer in Finland unfolded when I ignorantly expressed similar views to a Winter War veteran, who replied by politely explaining to me the bitter lessons that Finns had learned from being denied help by other nations.” — 5 likes

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