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Overview
Based on Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the
same name, Guns, Germs and Steel traces humanity's journey
over the last 13,000 years – from the dawn of farming at the end of
the last Ice Age to the realities of life in the twenty-first century.
Inspired by a question put to him on the island of Papua New Guinea more than thirty years ago,
Diamond embarks on a world-wide quest to understand the roots of global inequality.
Why were Europeans the ones to conquer so much of our planet?
Why didn't the Chinese, or the Inca, become masters of the globe instead?
Why did cities first evolve in the Middle East?
Why did farming never emerge in Australia?
And why are the tropics now the capital of global poverty?
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Women farming in Papua New Guinea |
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As he peeled back the layers of history to uncover fundamental,
environmental factors shaping the destiny of humanity,
Diamond found both his theories and his own endurance tested.
The three one-hour programs were filmed across four continents on
High Definition digital video, and combinied ambitious dramatic reconstruction
with moving documentary footage and computer animation. They also
include contributions from Diamond himself and a wealth of international
historians, archeologists and scientists.
Guns, Germs, and Steel is a thrilling ride through the elemental
forces which have shaped our world – and which continue to shape our
future.
Where to next?
Find out more about Episode
One.
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