Book dossier

Upheaval

by Jared Diamond

Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change is a 2019 nonfiction book by American scientist Jared Diamond. Diamond attempts to analyze devastating crises (political, economic, civil, ecological, etc.) that may destroy whole countries and the multiple reasons causing them. To support his analysis with real-world examples, Diamond investigates past crises that have hit such countries as Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, Australia, and the United States. Diamond also tries to understand the ways in which individuals learn to cope with personal traumas and how these approaches can be applied to nations. His unexpected conclusion is that individuals do learn from crisis but countries seldom do. He also concludes that the United States is a country in which crises are getting worse.