Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change

Moisés Naím of Washington Post stated "In the same way that his previous and far more rigorous work, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” suffered from an excessive reliance on geography to explain complex, multidimensional events, “Upheaval” suffers from an overreliance on psychology. But in some ways, it doesn’t matter. Though the analysis stumbles, the virtues of Diamond’s storytelling shine through. Ignore his attempts to force the therapeutic 12-step onto history. Ignore also his correct but unsurprising musings about the dangerous threats facing humanity (nuclear weapons, climate change, resource depletion and inequality). Instead, let this experienced observer with an uncanny eye for the small details that reveal larger truths take you on an expedition around the world and through fascinating pivotal moments in seven countries. “Upheaval” works much better as a travelogue than as a contribution to our understanding of national crises."[5] Colin Kidd of The Guardian wrote "Diamond’s methods – drawing direct parallels between personal and national trauma, and between the psychology of individuals and character of nations – are not those practised by historians, who tend to emphasise the particularity of circumstance and the intricate unrepeatability of events. Diamond nonetheless plots in counterpoint the various predicaments he discusses, alert, in as non-deterministic a mode as he can manage, to the open textures of historical possibility. The prophet spares us chiselled commandments, but we have been warned."[6]

• Official website