Have you read "Collapse : How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed"?

I think that it is a fascinating study on the many factors that cause various societies to fail. Jared Diamond examines many interesting case studies such as Easter Island, Chatham Island, Montana and that of a Viking settlement in Greenland. He especially examines how environmental factors and the depletion of natural resources lead to societal failure.

I tried to but I got bored quickly and only read the first two chapters.