"I'm a big fan of everything Jared Diamond has written, and his latest is no exception. He shows that there's a path through crisis, and that we can choose to take it."¡ªBill Gates
"Jared Diamond does it again: another rich, original, and fascinating chapter in the human saga, this one on how societies have extricated themselves from wicked crises-with vital lessons for our difficult times."¡ªSteven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now
"A riveting and illuminating tour of how nations deal with crises -- which might hopefully help humanity as a whole deal with our present global crisis."¡ªYuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
"A new book by Jared Diamond is always a rare and welcome gift. I read them all as part of a single mosaic that, could it ever be fully completed, would finally reveal us to ourselves with haunting insight and clarity, as well as the planet we have the privilege to inhabit. Each book adds more interlocking pieces to that fascinating mosaic. In Upheaval, I find eye-opening lessons about the political and psychological forces that lead to crisis and then resilience, how individuals and nations experience trauma in similar ways, and what that suggests about our future and the world's. Fortunately for us, Diamond's remarkable gift for learning languages has allowed him to live under the surface of various cultures throughout his life, traveling extensively, both mentally and physically, while witnessing many dramatic personal and national upheavals firsthand. His ability to weigh them all with a compassionate heart, a keen eye and an eloquent pen have made him the masterful observer of the human pageant and the important man of conscience that he is. I'm deeply grateful for this wise and beautiful book."¡ªDiane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper's Wife
"Jared Diamond is one of the deepest thinkers and most authoritative writers of our time -- arguably of all time -- and Upheaval proves his prescience in analyzing historical crises within nations at a time when national crises have erupted around the world. It is also his most personal work, sharing with readers his own crises, along with his intimate familiarity with many countries that have experienced upheavals, and then drawing out lessons of crisis management for nations today and in the future. No scientist has ever won the Nobel Prize for literature. Jared Diamond should be the first."
¡ªMichael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of Heavens on Earth
"The virtues of Diamond's storytelling shine through....let this experienced observer with an uncanny eye for the small details that reveal larger truths take you on an expedition around the world and through fascinating pivotal moments in seven countries."¡ªMoises Naim, The Washington Post
"I read Upheaval with appreciation for its historical sweep... If the world is going to hell in a... handbasket, Diamond has not given up hope that we can change course."¡ªRichard Rhodes, Nature
Chapter Page
Prologue: Legacies of Cocoanut Grove 3
Two stories
What's a Crisis?
Individual and national Cries
What this book is and isn't
Plan of book
Part 1 Individuals
Chapter 1 Personal Crises 27
A personal crisis
Trajectories
Dealing with Crises
Factors related to outcomes
National crises
Part 2 Natios: Crises that Unfolded
Chapter 2 Finland's War with the Soviet Union 57
Visiting Finland
Language
Finland until 1939
The Winter War
The Winter War's end
The Continuation War
After 1945
Walking a tightrope
Finlandization
Crisis framework
Chapter 3 The Origins of Modern Japan 101
My Japanese connections
Japan before 1853
Perry
1853 to 1868
The Meiji Era
Meiji reforms
"Westernization"
Overseas expansion
Crisis framework
Questions
Chapter 4 A Chile for All Chileans 141
Visiting Chile
Chile until 1070
Allende
The coup and Pinochet
Econ...omics until "No!"
After Pinochet
Pinochet's shadow
Crisis framework
Returning to Chile
Chapter 5 Indonesia, the Rise of a Mew Country 179
In a hotel
Indonesia's background
The colonial era
Independence
Sukarno
Coup
Mass murder
Suharto
Suharto's legacies
Crisis framework
Returning to Indonesia
Chapter 6 Rebuilding Germany 217
Germans holding judgment-1968-1968's aftermath
Brandt and re-unification
Geographic constraints
Self-pity?
Leaders and realism
Crisis framework
Chapter 7 Australia: Who Are We? 255
Visiting Australia
First Fleet and Aborigines
Early immigrants
Towards self-government
Federation
Keeping them out
World War One
World War Two
Loosening the ties
The end of White Australia
Crisis framework
Part 3 Nations and the World: Crises Underway
Chapter 8 What Lies Ahead for Japan? 293
Japan today
Economy
Advantages
Government debt
Women
Babies
Old and declining
Immigration
China and Korea
Natural resources management
Crisis framework
9. What Lies Ahead for the United States? Strengths, and the Biggest Problem 325
He U.S. today
Wealth
Geography
Advantages of democracy
Other advantages
Political polarization
Why?
Other polarization
Chapter 10 What Lies Ahead for the United States? Three "Other" Problems 357
Other problems
Elections
Inequality and immobility
So what?
Investing in the future
Crisis framework
Chapter 11 What Lies Ahead for the World? 383
The world today
Nuclear weapons
Climate change
Fossil fuels
Alternative energy sources
Other natural resources
Inequality
Crisis framework
Epilogue: Lessons, Questions, an Outlook 423
Predictive factors
Are crises necessary?
Roles of leaders in history
Role of specific leaders
What next?
Lessons for the future
Acknowledgments 464
Illustration Credits 466
Futher Reading 470
Index 485
About the Author 501