Collapse
by Jared Diamond
★ Top 25 book of 2004 · #19 on Best Books of 2004
Jared Diamond investigates why great societies of the past, from Easter Island to the Maya and Greenland's Vikings, fell into ruin. He examines how resource misuse and environmental signals shaped their fates, and what we might learn.
Best for: Readers interested in environmental lessons from past civilizations and what they mean today
Collapse is #19 on BookWard's Best Books of 2004, out of 48 2004 books that cleared our data bar.
What Collapse is about
Jared Diamond, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel, turns here to a different question: why did some great civilizations collapse, and what can we learn from their fates? He builds a global argument out of a series of historical case studies, including Easter Island, the Anasazi, the Maya, the medieval Viking colony on Greenland, and the modern world.
Diamond traces a recurring pattern of catastrophe linked to squandered resources and ignored environmental warnings. Other pressures play a part too, among them climate change, rapid population growth, unstable trade partners and hostile neighbours. He also points out that some societies found ways through the very same problems, which keeps the book from being a simple tale of doom. The tone is analytical and sobering, and it will suit readers interested in history, sustainability and how communities make decisions under pressure.
Collapse on the Best Books of 2004
Collapse came out in 2004. Of the 48 books first published in 2004 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #19 on our Best Books of 2004 list.
Why it made the list: 302 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (36 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2004 list
- The Spook's Apprentice Joseph Delaney, #17
- The Walking Dead, Vol. 1 Robert Kirkman, #18
- Knuffle Bunny Mo Willems, #20
- Going Postal Terry Pratchett, #21
See all Best Books of 2004 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2003 Best Books of 2005.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 246 want to read it, 11 are reading it now and 45 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.7 out of 5 from 36 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 71 | 55% |
| Reader love | 21 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 52 | 20% |
Questions about Collapse
When was Collapse published?
Collapse by Jared Diamond was first published in 2004.
Was Collapse one of the best books of 2004?
Collapse is #19 on BookWard's Best Books of 2004, out of 48 2004 books that cleared our data bar. 302 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (36 ratings).
Why is Collapse on the Best Books of 2004 list?
302 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (36 ratings).
More of the best books of 2004
- Darkly Dreaming Dexter Jeffry P. Lindsay, #1
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens Robert T. Kiyosaki, #2
- The Ruins of Gorlan John Flanagan, #3
- Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow, #4
- Blink Malcolm Gladwell, #5
- She Comes First Ian Kerner, #6
See the full Best Books of 2004, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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