is reading still worth it?

guns, germs, and steel
-jared diamond

this could be one of the "most readable works on the human past," as the back cover states, but that doesn't mean i want to pick up any of the others. it's tough to say there's a lot wrong with it, but its fascinating thesis wasn't always enough to get me excited about reading it. the book's four hundred-plus pages were quite daunting even once i'd gotten a good way into it. reading guns germs and steel is relatively enjoyable, but it can be repetitive as diamond constructs detailed foundations for his ideas. he has to lay out an overarching theory explaining the course of human history, so there's a lot of ground to cover. diamond writes as one who has an answer, not as one who is wrestling with a problem. his breezy optimism and genial tone aren't always enough to bring the book to the level of the most exhilaratingly enlightening nonfiction works. still, at its worst, guns germs and steel remains a book that teaches you more than enough to make it worth the effort.