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CronoDAS comments on Great Books of Failure - Less Wrong
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Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Subject: What causes civilizations to collapse, and how to prevent it.
Lessons: Collapse is usually caused by a civilization exhausting its natural resources. Examples include Easter Island, Norse Greenland, and modern Rwanda. There's more, but it's my father's book, and not mine.
I remember liking the history in the book, but I think you have a point there. However, remember that we're not all so lucky as to live in a society that is so different from the ones described, so I think this book has real currency for some people (just probably not the ones who can get a copy to read).
His other big book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, teaches a related lesson about failure: if you aren't lucky enough to have the necessary resources, no matter how hard you try, your success will be limited.