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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (6926)	12/15/2005 4:16:11 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542169

This question '"Why," as his book jacket puts it, "do some societies, but not others, blunder into self-destruction?" Because they stupidly engage in food fights over the banning of Christmas or the like while Rome burns.

To: epicure who wrote (6926)	12/15/2005 8:42:24 PM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 542169

An interesting comparison between two interesting authors. Whew, I'm afraid I'm not up to that much of a reaction to your reaction. I keep meaning to read Diamond's book but it's one of several that keeps winding up fourth on the list. Clifford Geertz, on the other hand, is, as you, no doubt, know one of the most imminent anthropologists of the 20th century. And always, at least for me, writes in a way to lead me on to the next page. I thought his review of Diamond's book made it look terribly interesting. It would serve to move it from fourth to third on my reading lists. As for the content of the argument, I'm inching toward doing some concentrated reading in that direction. Elizabeth Korblut's book on global warming will be coming out this spring. I intend to read it carefully because her New Yorker articles genuinely scared me, at least enough to begin thinking more seriously along those lines. Diamond would, I expect, do the same. I'm no fan of Posner's and find every reason not to read the volume upon volume he produces.