I'm reading guns, germs,& steel The Fates of human societies can someone help me understand it with backup inf

It's about how European and Asian civilizations have survived and thrived, essentially at the expense of all others, and how their dominance is not because they are smarter, or are morally or genetically superior.

You know that thing they say about real estate market values and the most important factor? It's location, location, location. That's essentially the thesis of the book.

His theory is that the environment & geography of the European & Asian countries is what made them historically stronger, both w establishing the civilizations and keeping them healthier. The geographical & environmental advantages are the primary reason for the major gap in the power of the societies between them & everybody else. The crops in parts of lower Europe & Asia are stronger, and they have more domesticated animals & better livestock as a result. Because they are on an East-West axis, it was easier for migrating farmers to establish new fields since the climate would have been way more similar than those on a North-South migratory axis, like in N & S America. If you were moving from say, Minnesota to Florida you would have a whole lot more things to learn about your new environment & how to grow crops than if you were moving from Minnesota to Michigan, for example, but waaaay back in the day more Native Americans were moving N & S rather than E & W.

Their location also made it easier to travel by land & sea.

The author is a prof at UCLA & the title of the book is about the actual ways European & Asian cultures have dominated other societies. They were able to conquer other civilizations despite being so vastly outnumbered because they had better weapons = guns.

The environment of the land in Europe, rather than the genetic superiority of the inhabitants there, made Euros way more resistant to diseases. Their stronger immune systems kept them healthy, but made the inhabitants of the land they were conquering sick just by their being there & bringing their Euro diseases with them = germs. When the majority of the population is sick with disease, it's much easier for invaders to take over.

I can't remember the steel bit... Um. If I do, I'll come back & edit.

: )