Celebrated Scholar Jared Diamond Comes to The Music Hall

In this book, Diamond convincingly answers the question: How did Western Civilization come to dominate history? In doing so, he trashes old world notions of racial dominance and looks at the science behind the development of complex social systems, spread of technologies and the role geography played in both.

Next came Collapse which was published in 2005.  This book fit well within the narrative that was laid out in Guns Germs and Steel.  In Collapse, Diamond asks how societies choose to fail or succeed and draws parallels with past moments of crisis and the current state of civilization.

Diamond’s visit to the Music Hall will continue in the narrative of explaining humankind’s story over the ages. In his latest achievement, The World Until Yesterday, Diamond discusses the differences between tribal societies – that is, those that existed before the formation of state governments – and modern states.  He looks at how we moderns differ in our tackling of issues such as settling conflict, treatment of the elderly, health, religion and reaction to dangers, to name a few. Basing his knowledge off of decades of experience studying tribal societies in New Guinea and other Pacific Islands, Diamond gives us a first hand account of these people that are all but vanished from modern times.  In this new work, Diamond asks what the differences between this past world and our current one mean for our collective future.

The Portsmouth community is privileged to welcome a scholar of his rank and stature to The Music Hall to discuss his ideas and explore a better understanding of our society’s place in history.  Anyone with an interest in history, geography, anthropology, sociology and/or the human story will be enthralled in Diamond’s narrative.  I for one have front row tickets and have been counting the days to his arrival.  Take part in getting an audience with one of the leading thinkers of our time.