The World Until Yesterday：What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?

Mostofustakeforgrantedthefeaturesofourmodernsociety,fromairtravelandtelecommunicationstoliteracyandobesity.Yetfornearlyallofitssixmillionyearsofexistence,humansocietyhadnoneofthesethings.Whilethegulfthatdividesusfromourprimitiveancestorsmayseemunbridgeablywide,wecanglimpsemuchofourformerlifestyleinthoselargelytraditionalsocietiesstillorrecentlyinexistence.SocietieslikethoseoftheNewGuineaHighlandersremindusthatitwasonlyyesterday?inevolutionarytime?wheneverythingchangedandthatwemodernsstillpossessbodiesandsocialpracticesoftenbetteradaptedtotraditionalthantomodernconditions.TheWorldUntilYesterdayprovidesamesmerizingfirsthandpictureofthehumanpastasithadbeenformillionsofyears?apastthathasmostlyvanished?andconsiderswhatthedifferencesbetweenthatpastandourpresentmeanforourlivestoday.ThisisJaredDiamond’smostpersonalbooktodate,ashedrawsextensivelyfromhisdecadesoffieldworkinthePacificislands,aswellasevidencefromInuit,AmazonianIndians,KalahariSanpeople,andothers.Diamonddoesn’tromanticizetraditionalsocieties?afterall,weareshockedbysomeoftheirpractices?buthefindsthattheirsolutionstouniversalhumanproblemssuchaschildrearing,eldercare,disputeresolution,risk,andphysicalfitnesshavemuchtoteachus.Acharacteristicallyprovocative,enlightening,andentertainingbook,TheWorldUntilYesterdaywillbeessentialanddelightfulreading.