This unique book combines the skill of historical thinking and anthropology。 Definitely not what I thought I was going to read; it ended up being much more than that。 There are some echoes of the work of Diamond here， but on a different scale and perspective。 It is a great look at the long view of history and how we have come to understand ourselves。 The idea of inequality is at the heart of the book， and makes the case that our view of humanity is quite inaccurate。 There's a lot to work through This unique book combines the skill of historical thinking and anthropology。 Definitely not what I thought I was going to read; it ended up being much more than that。 There are some echoes of the work of Diamond here， but on a different scale and perspective。 It is a great look at the long view of history and how we have come to understand ourselves。 The idea of inequality is at the heart of the book， and makes the case that our view of humanity is quite inaccurate。 There's a lot to work through here， and there are instances where the writing can get a bit heady。 This is not a quick read; you'll want to take it in slow， savory doses。 。。。more