World Until Yesterday

Over the past 500 years, the West achieved global dominance, but do Westerners necessarily have better ideas about how to raise children, care for the elderly, or simply live well? In a sweeping journey around the globe, Jared Diamond explores how tribal people approach essential human problems, from health and diet to conflict resolution and language, and discovers they have much to teach us. These traditional societies offer an extraordinary window into how our ancestors lived for most of human history - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms. 'Fascinating, thought-provoking, a broad sweep through all humanity . . . it left me riveted.' <b><i>Daily Telegraph</i></b> 'One of the most interesting and arresting writers of our age . . . The vast scope of his analysis, coupled with a lifetime's worth of personal insights, makes it fiercely persuasive.' <b><i>Mail On Sunday</i></b> 'The most considered, courageous and sensitive teller of the human story writing today . . . Essential reading.' <b><i>Independent on Sunday</i></b> 'One of the few people who have changed the way we see human nature and our history.' <b><i>Independent</i></b>