Guns, Germs, and Steel The Fates of Human Societies. (Jared Diamond)
Humans have been evolving for millions of years longer in Africa than in Europe, and even anatomically modern Homo sapiens may have reached Europe from Africa only within the last 50,000 years. If time were a critical factor in the development of human societies, Africa should have enjoyed an enormous head start and advantage over Europe. (Jared Diamond)
Lest those islands still seem to you too remote in space and time to be relevant to our modern societies, just think about the risks... of our increasing globalization and increasing worldwide economic interdependence. (Jared Diamond)
No government is here forever. And there are other forces - the most potent force in our society, in fact, big business - doing good for the environment. (Jared Diamond)