It is this thorny issue or controversy that attempts to answer Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at UCLA, in his book Guns, Germs and Steel appeared in 1997 and which this album is the French translation.
In summary, the author argues that this has nothing to do with any intellectual or genetic superiority of said civilizations, but rather a result of environmental differences combined with virtuous circles.
Advanced theory undermines any ideology based on the premise that there are several races and that among these, some are inherently superior to others.
So a healthy work and should be part of any education.
However, some things can disturb the reader.
On the form first. The book is written with American. The author starts from a statement and describes the logical path that leads to it. This reasoning leads some repetitions (sometimes tedious) to justify the validity of the reasoning by the multiplication of situations leading to the expected result. The reader is also entitled to ask the question of whether even that of a single-instance against invalidating and reasoning.
On the merits, then. All "demonstrations" are based on a determinism hinging on "chance and necessity". If this assumption was a major breakthrough in biology from the pen of Jacques Monod, one is entitled to ask whether, at this scale, taking into account the additional ontological dimension would not be of any contribution.
Note that this work earned its author the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for best general nonfiction book and the Aventis Prize for the best book of science.
A documentary was shot, produced by the National Geographic Society and broadcast by Arte in 2008.
Finally, for a few euros more, Amazon.com offers the original English version, accessible to anyone with a terminal level, which will allow additional refresh his knowledge of the language of Shakespeare. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
