Upheaval

In Upheaval, I find eye-opening lessons about the political and psychological forces that lead to crisis and then resilience, how individuals and nations experience trauma in similar ways, and what that suggests about our future and the world's . . . wise and beautiful.

Diane Ackerman, author of 'The Zookeeper's Wife'

Jared Diamond is one of the deepest thinkers and most authoritative writers of our time-arguably of all time-and Upheaval proves his prescience in analyzing historical crises within nations at a time when national crises have erupted around the world . . . No scientist has ever won the Nobel Prize for literature. Jared Diamond should be the first.

Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of 'Heavens on Earth'

Upheaval is a brilliant, gripping, personal account of nations in crisis, informed by how people respond to crisis. It's an especially timely read today, when nations are stressed and have much to learn about how to survive big challenges. I urge you to read it.

Paul Ehrlich, author of 'Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic'

A riveting and illuminating tour of how nations deal with crises-which might hopefully help humanity as a whole deal with our present global crisis.

Yuval Noah Harari, author of 'Sapiens' and '21 Lessons for the 21st Century'

Jared Diamond does it again: another rich, original, and fascinating chapter in the human saga-with vital lessons for our difficult times.

Steven Pinker, author of 'Enlightenment Now'

[Diamond] wears the mantle of a modern-day prophet . . . opens textures of historical possibility. Only the most obtuse reader of his latest book, on national resilience, could miss the signs and portents with which it is studded ... The prophet spares us chiselled commandments, but we have been warned.

Colin Kidd, Book of the Day, The Guardian

Persuasive . . . runs refreshingly counter to conventional wisdom

Bloomberg

Jared Diamond is an undisputed global star of comparative history... Britain could learn from this book about how other nations have dealt with turmoil... He finds intellectually stimulating and unusual examples that provide much food for thought.

Andrew Marr, The Times

Diamond writes so well, and his frame of reference (across disciplines and languages) is so considerable, that almost everything he describes comes across as fresh.

Douglas Murray, The Evening Standard

Fascinating globe-hopping study

The Telegraph

As a meditation about a world on edge, it is well worth reading

The Economist

Upheaval is bold, wide-ranging and original ... probes large and important questions. Unlike most social scientists, Diamond can write invigorating prose that carries the reader along with its sweep ... It deserves to be widely read and pondered.

Vernon Bogdanor, The Sunday Telegraph

Fascinating... I'm a big fan of everything Jared has written, and his latest is no exception. ... I finished the book even more optimistic about our ability to solve problems than I started.

Bill Gates, Summer Reading Recommendations 2019