Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

I think this book has taken me much longer to read than I would like to admit. Not because it's boring---it's a great book. I just didn't set a deadline for myself and sometimes a couple weeks would pass and I would realize I was supposed to be reading a book I hadn't finished yet. But like i said before, it's a great book; and I think everyone (at least anyone who would want to consider themselves "educated") should read it.

Jared Diamond attempts to answer this question, "Why did wealth and power become distributed as they now are, rather than in some other way?" And in 400+ pages, Diamond presents arguments showing it's not the difference between people, but the difference in their environment. These environmental differences can be placed in four categories, all of which relate to geographical (funny, Diamond is a professor of, you guessed it, geography at UCLA) differences within and between continents. The four categories are:
1. Wild plant and animal species available as starting materials for domestication
2. Rates of diffusion and migrations within continents
3. Rates of diffusion between continents
4. Area or total population size

There. Now you don't have to read the book, but my guess is you probably finished it way before I did.

One thing I really enjoyed is how Diamond makes an effort to explain although the history of society is influenced by geography, the individual within that society still has the potential to rise above the means of their environment. So no, you still can't use the "I'm just a product of my environment, society, etc..." excuse.

So now that I'm finally done with this book, I'm looking for something else to read. Any suggestions?