Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (W. W. Norton, 2005 edition; first published 1997)

Their wordsinvention is often the mother of necessity, rather than vice versa.

Their wordsHistory followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves.

Their wordsThe objection to such racist explanations is not just that they are loathsome, but also that they are wrong.

Their wordsIn fact, I do not assume that industrialized states are “better” than hunter-gatherer tribes

Their wordsFar more Native Americans and other non-Eurasian peoples were killed by Eurasian germs than by Eurasian guns or steel weapons.

Their wordsIn fact, many or most inventions were developed by people driven by curiosity or by a love of tinkering, in the absence of any initial demand for the product they had in mind.

Their wordswe should not suppose that the decision to adopt farming was made in a vacuum, as if the people had previously had no means to feed themselves.