So I recently started reading GGS. I'm an anthropology/history noob, but I'm really interested in this kind of stuff. So seeing that GGS is a very accessible book, I decided to buy it. Although now I'm hearing from actual anthropologist/historian types such as yourselves on here that Jared Diamond is apparently a blathering idiot. I was just wondering if I should stop reading GGS and move on to something else? Or is it at least worth finishing.
Also if any of you guys/girls could recommend some other books that are similar to GGS, but are more accurate and more worthwhile to read, that'd be awesome. Thanks so much!
Edit: Thank you all so much! You guys rock and this sub is awesome!
Certainly not a waste of time. You should search over at /r/badhistory for painstaking, chapter by chapter critiques of GGS.
Don't stop - the book has problems, certainly, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading. Just look at some of the critiques of it posted here and on /r/badhistory after you are done to get an idea of where it falls short.
A book I always recommend that tries to address similar issues is Europe and the People Without History by Eric Wolf. It is a classic in post-colonial theory. Certainly, it has many problems as well, but it stands up to scrutiny much better than Guns, Germs, and Steel and takes an approach much more in line with what historians and anthropologists would take.
1491 by Charles Mann is another perennial favorite, and much less academic and much more accessible than Wolf's book, but not with quite the same scope.
Since they have yet to be referenced, you can find some good critiques of GG&S from me and my colleagues here:
How do Modern historians and history professionals view Jared Diamond's book Guns, Germs, and Steel?
How much of "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is historically accurate?
Highlights from /r/badhistory include:
/u/anthropology_nerd's series on the Myths of Conquest
Likewise, her series on GG&S, which is not as neatly cataloged... cough cough
For books on Pre-Columbian Americas, my recommendations for volumes that cover whole regions are usually:
The Inca and their Ancestors by Michael Moseley
Cities of the Ancient Andes by Von Hagen and Morris
Mexico: from the Olmecs to the Aztecs by Michael Coe and Rex Koontz (7th ed. is most recent, 6th is cheaper)
The Maya by Michael Coe * (9th ed is brand new, but not much more than 8th)
You can get those first two real cheap used on Amazon (less than $2). The Coe books are well worth the price if you're interested at all in Mesoamerica. They are all written by actual scholars in the field who know how to write for the public, and are well illustrated. If you want a little bit more detailed scholarship and don't mind a little denser book, I can recommend my favorites on specific cultures (Inca, Tiwanaku, Chavin, Aztec, Zapotec...) I can reoccomend other books. (Nothing beyond standard ones that a STEM major might read in their required social science college class)