$35.00
ISBN: 9780316409131
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Little, Brown and Company - May 7th, 2019
Pulitzer-prize winning author Jared Diamond’s newest release deals with the topic of crises in nations, how and why they come about, and how they respond to those crises. Diamond uses twelve response factors recommended for individuals in crisis therapy, then finds parallel factors for nations. Upheaval is a historical analysis of how seven particular countries dealt with various types of crises. It also concerns crises facing the world as a whole. Those factors are: 1) obtaining a national consensus that a problem exists 2) accepting a national responsibility to act on the problem 3) building a “fence” isolating the problem 4) getting help from other nations 5) using other nations as models to find ways to solve the problem 6) national identity 7) honest self-appraisal 8) experience of previous national crises 9) dealing with national failure 10) situation-specific national flexibility 11) national core values 12) freedom from geopolitical constraints.
A nation in crisis will need to make selective changes in order to escape the crisis, and its success or failure will depend on its responses to those twelve factors, responses that will facilitate or impede a favorable outcome.
The countries which Diamond selected for examination are countries in which he spent many years, and with which he therefore felt a high degree of familiarity. They were Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, Australia, and the U.S. Examples of the crises they faced include Finland’s wars with the Soviet Union; Japan’s westernization and fall after World War Two; Chile’s intense political polarization and the fall of Allende; events surrounding and stemming from the 1965 coup in Indonesia; Germany’s aftermaths of World War One, World War Two, and reunification, and Australia’s ethnic changes and loosening of ties to England.
He believes that, while the U.S. is not currently in a crisis, it does have some very serious problems, the most important of which is the loss of political compromise. For politicians, the causes are the high cost of campaigning, the ease of air travel, and gerrymandering. But people other than politicians are also increasingly uncompromising, and this is due to the prevalence of internet-derived niche information use. The other major problems faced by the U.S. are the failure of eligible voters to vote, socioeconomic inequality, and lack of investment in our future.
For the world as a whole, he sees the possibility of nuclear war, climate change, resource depletion, and inequality of living standards as the greatest risks for crisis.
In great detail, he compares and contrasts the countries examined relative to those factors.
Drawing on psychology, history, and geography, Diamond produces an interdisciplinary study that gives the reader a new approach for analysis of crises.
Recommended for history and psychology buffs who will appreciate a readable yet highly detailed work.
Steve Brehm
32nd Avenue Books, Gifts & Toys
