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Jared Mason Diamond

ジャレッド・メイソン・ダイアモンド

Jared Mason Diamond

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1937-09-10 （Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism (non-practicing)
Residence History
Boston (birthplace) → Cambridge (Trinity College, Cambridge) → Los Angeles (UCLA faculty) → Rome (teaching/visiting positions)

Career

Occupations
scientist, historian, author, professor, ornithologist, ecologist
Active Years
1961-2024
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), LUISS Guido Carli (Rome), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Board (former)
Memberships
Editorial board of Skeptic (magazine), Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the National Academy of Sciences, Member of the American Philosophical Society
Influenced By
Ernst Mayr
Influenced
Nominations
Royal Society Prize for Science Books (shortlisted / multiple times)

Education

Harvard College, Harvard University
Biochemical Sciences / Biochemistry
Degree: BA
Period: 1954–1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: United States
Trinity College, University of Cambridge
Physiology / Biophysics
Degree: PhD
Period: 1958–1961
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: United Kingdom
PhD thesis on concentrating activity of the gall-bladder

Awards

MacArthur Fellowship
1985
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction)
1998
Work: Guns, Germs, and Steel
Category: 一般ノンフィクション
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
National Medal of Science
1999
Organization: President of the United States / National Science Foundation
Result: 受賞
Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science
1997
Work: Guns, Germs, and Steel
Organization: Phi Beta Kappa Society
Result: 受賞
International Cosmos Prize
1998
Organization: Expo '90 Foundation (International Cosmos Prize)
Result: 受賞
Wolf Prize in Agriculture
2013
Organization: Wolf Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal

1991 popular science / evolutionary anthropology 352 pages

Examines human evolution and origins of traits that distinguish humans from other animals, drawing on anthropology, evolutionary biology, genetics and linguistics.

human evolutionorigins of language and culturecomparative behavior
Translations
  • The Third Chimpanzee (Japanese translation)

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

1997 popular science / environmental history & comparative history 480 pages

Argues that continental differences in geography, available domesticable plants and animals, and axes of orientation explain why Eurasian societies developed advantages leading to conquest, rather than genetic differences.

environmental determinismdomestication and origins of agriculturediffusion of technology and disease
Adaptations
  • [TV documentary] Guns, Germs, and Steel (documentary) (2005)
Translations
  • Guns, Germs, and Steel (Japanese translation)

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

2005 popular science / environmental history 544 pages

Comparative study of past societies that collapsed or survived, emphasizing environmental factors and resource-management decisions as key determinants.

sustainability of societiesenvironment and resource managementcomparative historical analysis
Adaptations
  • [TV documentary] Collapse (documentary) (2005)
Translations
  • Collapse (Japanese translation)

The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?

2012 popular science / comparative culture 448 pages

Surveys traditional small-scale societies to identify practices that modern industrial societies might learn from, covering child-rearing, elder care, conflict resolution and risk management.

comparative culturetraditional knowledgehealth and social institutions
Translations
  • The World Until Yesterday (Japanese translation)

Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change

2019 popular science / comparative political history 384 pages

Analyzes how nations cope with crises by comparing national case studies to individual psychological processes of coping and recovery.

crisis responsenational resiliencecomparative case studies
Translations
  • Upheaval (Japanese translation)

Bibliography

  • The Third Chimpanzee (1992)
  • Why Is Sex Fun? (1997)
  • Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997)
  • Collapse (2005)
  • Natural Experiments of History (ed., 2010)
  • The World Until Yesterday (2012)
  • Upheaval (2019)

Adaptations

  • Guns, Germs, and Steel (TV documentary, 2005)
  • Collapse (documentary)

Translations of Works

  • Guns, Germs, and Steel (Japanese translation)
  • The Third Chimpanzee (Japanese translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
interdisciplinary, accessible expository styleexplanatory approach that synthesizes scientific evidence across fields
Recurring Motifs
environmental determinismcomparative case studiesbiological perspectives on human behavior

Legacy

Known for interdisciplinary popular works that bridged academic and public audiences—especially Guns, Germs, and Steel—while also drawing methodological criticism from some anthropologists and historians.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • American Philosophical Society

In Popular Culture

  • Guns, Germs, and Steel TV documentary (2005)

Quotes

  • History cannot be fully understood without considering biological and environmental factors.
    Source: Guns, Germs, and Steel (book) (1997)

Trivia

  • An echidna subspecies (Zaglossus bartoni diamondi) was named in his honor.
  • His mother was a concert pianist; he reportedly proposed to his wife by playing a Brahms intermezzo.
  • Has twin sons born in 1987.
  • Served as a geography professor at UCLA and retired in 2024.