Just Finished Reading: The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee (How our Animal heritage affects the way we live) by Jared Diamond

Though a little ‘old’ for a science book (even a pop science one) with a publication date of 1991 this was still both an interesting and informative introduction to Anthropology. Jared Diamond has a very easy writing style which enables him to get across the kind of information he needs to make his points.

We humans are the Third Chimpanzee of the books title and Diamond goes to great pains to show that we are, in many respects, just another animal, just another ape. But, as he rightly points out, we have many arguably unique features which separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Things like language, art, agriculture and genocide. Diamond certainly doesn’t shy aware from the less savoury aspects of being human, indeed he devotes the final part of his book discussing and trying to understand just why we are such a destructive species. I most certainly agree with him that we are largely our own worst enemy but also agree that we can, if we so choose, rise above our animal heritage and stop the damage we do to our planet and ourselves on a daily basis.

Anyone who has an interest in human nature and wants to know more about why we are how we are could do a lot worse than starting with this book. Though a bit dated it still provides lots of food for thought and opens avenues to be explored further in more modern texts. The conclusion should be viewed as more sobering than depressing. Knowing our darker side and our less than glowing history as a species well enough is the first step towards doing something about it. I look forward to reading his other works.