Why review a book of
social/biological science [NOT “sociobiology”] in a writing blog? Because this
is HIGH CONCEPT, that’s why!
Also because Jared Diamond
writes so well.
There is a big difference
between information and communication. Many science writers only do
information. Diamond does communication.
Personally, I prefer his GERMS, GUNS, AND STEEL, perhaps because
I read it first, several years ago, and usually an author’s first book, the one
you read first, remains the favorite, because it was new to you, and
opened up new possibilities, but THE
WORLD UNTIL YESTERDAY: What We Can Learn from Traditional Societies is
definitely worth the read. [Viking, 2012] And for writers, there is a very
interesting chapter [10] on language.
This is not a Luddite
anti-modern screed, but a thoughtful look at traditional societies and the
things we can learn from them, about child rearing, elderly care, war, and all
the other major concerns of human society in any age.
John Robert McFarland
Daughter Katie Kennedy’s Learning to Swear in America will be
published by J. K. Rowling’s publisher, Bloomsbury Press, in 2016.
Author guru Kristen Lamb says
that author blogs are counter-productive, that a blog must be “high concept.” I
have no idea what that means, but just forget about JUST WORDS being an author
blog and consider it ‘high concept.”
My novel, VETS, about four handicapped and homeless Iraqistan veterans who
are accused of murdering a VA doctor, will be published by Black Opal Books in
2015.
I tweet as yooper1721.
I also write Christ in Winter: Reflections on Faith from
a Place of Winter for the Years of Winter. http://christinwinter.blogspot.com/
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