Including a new chapter on Japan, the latest edtion of this Pulitzer Prize-winning work argues that geographical and environmental factors, rather than racial or genetic differences among populations, have shaped the development of diverse societies. Professor Jared Diamond deftly combines history, geography, biology and ecology to show how those to whom nature gave a head start in domesticating plants and animals also gained an advantage in developing technology, writing, government, and weapons of war. A major advance in our understanding of human history, Guns, Germs, and Steel traces the way the modern world came to be. 517 pages. Hardcover. 9.5" x 6.25".