Upheaval: Another Fantastic Book by Jared Diamond
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis by Jared Diamond
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis is different from Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel. The latter is one of the best broad sweep of history books ever written, and should be essential reading. In Upheaval, Diamond writes case studies of how 7 countries responded to periods of crisis. While I found his attempt to frame his accounts by how a psychologist would view how individuals deal with crises a bit of a stretch, that is a mere minor annoyance. Diamond’s case studies are informative and well structured. Diamond has some level of personal experience with each of the countries he writes about, and his detailed knowledge of the history of such a range of countries is truly remarkable.
Diamond’s case study of Finland shows the endless practicality of the Finns. The Finns fought off Soviet invasions twice during World War II--first in the “Winter War” (1939-1940) and then in the “Continuation War” (1941-1944). While massively numerically overwhelmed, the Finns fought valiantly and bravely, and kept the Soviets from occupying their country. Indeed, Finland was the only European country that fought in WWII that was able to avoid enemy occupation. No country would come to Finland’s assistance in the Winter War, while Germany sent some old equipment for the Continuation War. While the Finns described themselves as “co-belligerents and not allies” with Germany, that was a distinction no one in the West cared to make at the end of the war.
Led by the Soviet Union, the Allies imposed harsh terms on Finland after the war. Finland had to pass a retroactive law to persecute its former leaders for defending the nation when the Soviets attacked. This was practical, as if they had not done it, the USSR would have itself. Finland was forced to pay heavy reparations, but this in turn forced the country to develop heavy export industries, and thus led to economic growth and a broad economic transformation.
The Finns were exceptionally practical long after WWII. “We can never change our geography” was a guiding principle. WWII taught them the lesson that they could expect no help from the West in a crisis. They adopted a policy of always making sure to keep the Soviet point of view in mind and maintain trust with the USSR.
In order to do this, Finland needed to take steps few other nations would. For example, parliament changed a law so a president trusted by the Soviets could serve longer. The Finnish press self-censored itself and never published things that would upset the USSR. While the term “Finlandization” was used derogatorily in the West, the Finns were the ultimate realists and pragmatists, and did very well by their nation.
Other fascinating cases are those of Chile and Indonesia before and after their coups, as well as how Australia’s self-identity changed from being an extension of Britain to being an Asian country. All of the case studies of countries in crisis Diamond writes about are well developed and interesting to read. He even sheds light with his case studies on Meiji Japan and post-war Germany, despite the fact I thought I knew those stories reasonably well.
Upheaval is further proof, if anyone needed it, of Jared Diamond’s wide ranging intellect and fantastic storytelling ability. I have always found it amazing that one man commands such knowledge of so many different topics. The real magic with all of Diamond’s work though is not his knowledge, but his ability to use narratives to draw key conclusions from it.
Here’s a podcast of Sam Harris interviewing Jared Diamond. Great conversation, worth the time to listen all the way through it. https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/making-sense-with-sam-harris/id733163012?i=1000442571756
Bill Gates’ review of Upheaval with a short video of Gates interviewing Diamond: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Upheaval