Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond was born on September 10th, 1937 and is currently 88 years old. Jared Diamond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Diamond attended Harvard University where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree and Trinity College, Cambridge where he received a Ph.D.

Jared Diamond is a renowned American author, historian, and scientist best known for his work Guns, Germs, and Steel.

In academia, Diamond initially was a biophysicist and physiologist before he branched into other things. By the time the 1960s rolled around, he had become an associate professor of physiology at the medical school at UCLA.

In addition to his work in medicine, he also studied ecology and ornithology. Later in his career, he got into geography and environmental history. He switched departments and taught courses connecting human societies, culture, and environment at the Department of Geography at UCLA.

Over the years, Jared Diamond has won many awards, including a Wolf Prize in Agriculture, the MacArthur Genius Grant, and the Tyler Prize, among many others. In 2005, he was on the list of the top 10 intellectuals in the world.

Jared has become known for his interdisciplinary approach to study and research as he often bridges history, biology, anthropology, geography, and ecology. By doing this, he has made his work in science easy to understand for many audiences.

Outside of his work in academia, he has been a director for groups such as Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund. He retired from UCLA in 2024.

In Jared Diamond's work Guns, Germs, and Steel, the author explains how Eurasians dominated other people due to their environment and geography rather than racial superiority. He shows how early animal domestication and farming provided a head start to some regions.

It influenced the spread of technology, writing, and food production, making it faster to move away from hunting and gathering, which resulted in the development of superior weapons and powerful governments. By developing these advantages, Eurasians were able to conquer others.

The work offers a scientific perspective on how inequalities in development are influenced by environmental rather than biological factors, thus challenging racist theories on the same.

In his 2004 work Collapse, Jared details the reasons why some societies collapse while others continue to thrive, as he emphasizes poor political choices, environmental damage, overpopulation, and climate change.

He uses case studies from the Vikings in Greenland to the Maya and Easter Island to reveal recurring patterns that destroy civilizations. He also highlights contemporary examples such as Haiti and Rwanda, which he contrasts with success stories such as Australia and China.

All in all, a warning that even powerful and very wealthy societies can be vulnerable if they do not adopt sustainable practices and learn from those that have collapsed.

Jared Diamond's Why Is Sex Fun is a work in which he explains the weird sex lives of humans in comparison to other animals.

The author explains why humans have sex for most of their lives, while most animals only have sex for reproduction. He looks into how hidden evolution helped form long-lasting mating relationships so that we could take care of our children.

Jared Diamond: Awards & Accolades

Diamond's book, The World Until Yesterday was nominated for the Goodreads Awards, Best Nonfiction, in 2013.

Jared Diamond: Lists & Other Mentions

• Guns, Germs, and Steel was an Amazon US: 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime Selection in 2014.

Related Authors

Fans of Jared Diamond also enjoy these authors:

1. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
2. Ray Bradbury, author of: Fahrenheit 451.
3. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter Series.
4. J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings Series.
5. Andy Weir, author of: Project Hail Mary.

Jared Diamond: F.A.Q