Book Review: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fates of Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Sub-Saharan Africa all turned out differently for some there is the question of why? Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond looks to answer that question while also challenging the colonialist rationale that has dominated 19th and 20th Century discussion.

Diamond’s argument comes down to environmental differences in which human groups had to work from the end of the Ice Age, circa 11,000 B.C. There were three factors that Diamond highlighted the domesticable plants to create large agricultural societies, domesticable animals that helped in agriculture as well as transferring diseases from animals to humans, and finally the continental axis that allowed for easier spreading of innovations in Eurasia compared to the Americas or sub-Saharan Africa. Using a multiple of scientific disciplines, Diamond builds his case as to why overarching historical patterns played out like they did while not completely taking out the impact of individual decisions but also saying that those individuals that had a big impact on history had advantages that others living on the planet didn’t. Overall, the book is an overview of large historical factors that resulted in the world we’re living in, the case Diamond makes can either be accepted in whole, in part, or completely rejected and while I some merit to his overall thesis I think it isn’t the entire explanation.

Guns, Germs, and Steel is an intellectually stimulating read for anyone interested in history, but whether you agree with Jared Diamond or do not this is a very good book to read.

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Book Review: Women of Myth by Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy

Women of Myth: From Deer Woman and Mami Wata to Amaterasu and Athena, Your Guide to the Amazing and Diverse Women from World Mythology by Jenny Williamson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Over the millennia and around the world, religions and literary epics and superstition had numerous female characters that have influenced numerous cultures and societies. Women of Myth: From Deer Woman and Mami Wata to Amaterasu and Athena, Your Guide to the Amazing and Diverse Women from World Mythology by Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy with illustrations by Sara Richard covers 50 goddesses, heroines, and monsters from around the world.

Over the course of 248 pages, Williamson and McMenemy cover their selected subjects in encyclopedic format giving pronunciation guides, appearance, and any symbols connected with the subject before giving an overview of the individual and their story with a sidebar to end the entry. As the very long subtitle states the authors cover women from around the world as 28 of them come from non-European, North African, or Middle Eastern cultures that sometimes dominate books like these with only token characters from China or India and a generic entry to cover all Native American tribes & cultures. The main reason I got this book was the 30 illustrations done by Sara Richard, an artist whose work I’ve followed for a very long time and frankly her work here is once again top notch. Now for some people who are triggered by gender terminology, avoid this book because Williamson and McMenemy don’t shy away from stating the evidence of genderbending or intersex for some individuals which when I checked other sources—besides those they provided in the reference section at the back of the book—turned out the authors did their research to give that possibility of that interpretation.

Women of Myth looks at 50 individuals that had significant impact upon their cultures either as deities to be prayed to, heroines to look up to, or monsters to look out for. Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy did a great job introducing readers to these individuals with the added effect of the amazing art of Sara Richard giving a visual interpretation of them as well.

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Book Review: Lore Olympus (Volume Two) by Rachel Smythe

Lore Olympus: Volume Two by Rachel Smythe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Two gods quickly meet awkwardly then go their separate ways expecting nothing to come out of it, then stuff just keeps on coming up from that meet that just makes their lives annoying. Lore Olympus: Volume Two by Rachel Smythe continues following Persephone and Hades after their initial meeting as they try to either get used to being in Olympus or back to one’s usual routine, but others keep on butting in making immortality annoying.

Covering episodes #26-49 of the webcomic sees the main protagonists attempting to get on with their lives and duties, however things aren’t easy as Olympian gossip makes both of their lives more interesting though more for Persephone than Hades. Smythe while giving depth to her central story arc, world builds a modern age Olympus, and wrapping in various Greek gods and goddesses deciding how to react to the “facts” of the relationship. The art is excellent, and the story is engaging enough to keep me invested and interested in what twists and turns Smythe is planning towards the eventual outcome—just because it is a well-known myth doesn’t mean there are not multiple ways of telling it.

Lore Olympus: Volume Two sees Rachel Smythe build upon the foundation she laid down in the first volume and kept me interested in how she’s going to craft her 21st century version.

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Book Review: The Reformation by Will Durant

The Reformation by Will Durant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Reformation was the outgrowth of and the downfall of the humanism of the Renaissance, together both movements ended the Middle Ages while dividing Europe civilization in the process. The Reformation is the sixth volume of Will Durant’s The Story of Civilization as he explores how the rest of Europe outside of Italy transitioned from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era as Christendom divided and as Europeans expanded their footprint across the world.

This volume is unique in Durant’s series as it was originally supposed to be combined with The Renaissance but given the length and depth of the research would have resulted almost twice the size of the longest book in the series. This volume is a continuation of The Age of Faith outside of Italy as well as paralleling the events through the end of the Council of Trent. After setting the stage for Luther’s protest in the first third of the book, Durant then turned to the period from Luther’s thesis to the death of John Calvin in which northern Christianity split away from Rome and developed into different sects aiming for reform, the final third of the book was Durant looking at Islam and Jewish developments followed by cultural accomplishments and then the Catholic Counter-Reformation. This volume was a change from previous volumes as Durant concentrated most of the text on a 50-year period instead of the ebbs and flows of history and society over the course of centuries. The fact that most of this period centered around religion, Durant is able for the most part to keep his contempt for belief at bay though he does go a little off in the Epilogue in synthesizing the developments of the Renaissance and the Reformation. Yet throughout the book, Durant notes that the religious developments were a reaction the pagan influences of the Renaissance along with the budding of nationalism that would be supercharged once the church came under the purview of the state.

The Reformation is a unique book as Will Durant must literally dedicate the majority of his writing towards religion instead of culture, yet he is able to hide his contempt to look how the reforming of Christianity influenced and was influenced by centralizing of various nation-states as Europe entered the Early Modern Era.

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