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The Third Chimpanzee
by Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond, a professor of physiology at UCLA Medical School, has written an amazing series of stories about the human species in The Third Chimpanzee. He starts off by showing how we are related to the various other primate species and shows that we are most closely related to the common and pygmy chimpanzee species: our DNA differs by only 1.6 percent!

Yet, according to Diamond, that 1.6 percent difference in DNA allowed the human species to become what it is today: one of the most intelligent species on earth with a rather marked ability to destroy ourselves and other species of animals and plants on a huge scale.

In the early parts of the book, Diamond examines the differences between us and other species. In doing so, he shows that some of our characteristics (like menopause in women, our extended lifespans, the fact that women don't advertise their fertility) may have been due more to sexual selection rather than natural selection. He also uses sexual selection as an argument to show how different parts of the world came to have people of different skin, eye and hair colour or shapes.

However, he also shows that some of our tendencies, like genocide, murder, rape, etc., are shared with animals as well. Where we differ is in the magnitude of the acts: we happen to have better and more efficient ways to wage war or hunt animals for example.

He also shows that some of our cherished 'myths' are false. The rise of agriculture did not mean a better living: instead, many people suffered under agriculture (growing shorter or getting more diseases) compared to hunter-gathering societies. But an agriculture based society allowed the rise of large populations (where size means might), allowing them to conquer and dominate the hunters which is why we have all gathered into societies based on agriculture and, later, urban dwellings.

Where Diamond hits hardest is in the issue of genocide and environmental destruction. He shows that dominant people (not necessarily western people) have practised genocide over the ages and is not just a modern phenomenon. He also shows, via evidence of the decline of plant species preserved in animal leavings, that many areas of the earth that are now desert or sparsely populated were once green but were destroyed by human populations more intent on using what was then available rather than leave trees and soil for future generations to use.

It is hard to see a 'good' ending to this book. Instead, Diamond notes that we may be doomed to repeat the disasters of the past since many people don't see the use of studying the past to see the future. But perhaps this book will make us think a little more carefully about conservation and how we treat not only the environment, but also each other.

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The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond

The Third Chimpanzee
by Jared Diamond