Product Description

Some central questions in the natural and social sciences can't be answered by controlled laboratory experiments, often considered to be the hallmark of the scientific method. This impossibility holds for any science concerned with the past. In addition, many manipulative experiments, while possible, would be considered immoral or illegal. One has to devise other methods of observing, describing, and explaining the world.

In the historical disciplines, a fruitful approach has been to use natural experiments or the comparative method. This book consists of eight comparative studies drawn from history, archeology, economics, economic history, geography, and political science. The studies cover a spectrum of approaches, ranging from a non-quantitative narrative style in the early chapters to quantitative statistical analyses in the later chapters. The studies range from a simple two-way comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, to comparisons of 81 Pacific islands and 233 areas of India. The societies discussed are contemporary ones, literate societies of recent centuries, and non-literate past societies. Geographically, they include the United States, Mexico, Brazil, western Europe, tropical Africa, India, Siberia, Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific islands.

In an Afterword, the editors discuss how to cope with methodological problems common to these and other natural experiments of history.

(20100325)

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Product Details

Publisher	Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
ISBN	0674035577
Features	ISBN13: 9780674035577 Condition: New Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Creator	Jared Diamond James A. Robinson
EAN	9780674035577
Label	Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Dewey Decimal Number	907.2
Studio	Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Number Of Pages	288
Title	Natural Experiments of History
Format	Hardcover
Publication Date	2010-01-15
Manufacturer	Belknap Press of Harvard University Press

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Customer Reviews

Interesting But Uneven

Review by R. Albin, 2010-07-24

This is an interesting book on theme of comparative analysis in historical studies. There are 7 chapters describing specific comparative studies; Patrick Kirch on the evolution of Polynesian societies, James Belich on frontier societies, Stephen Haber on the development of banking systems in selected Western Hemisphere nations, Jared Diamond on Haiti vs the Dominican Republic and Pacific island societies, Nathan Nunn on the long term effects of the African slave trade, Banerjee and Iyer on the long term consequences of Indian colonial land tenure systems, and Acemoglu et al on the effects of the Napoleonic conquest of parts of Germany. Most of these chapters are summaries of previously published research. There are essentially 2 major themes. One, exemplified in the chapters by Belich and Acemoglu et al,is an effort to find common underlying structures by use of comparisons. A second, and generally more robust theme, is use of comparisons is to identify contingent features that result in marked differences in present day outcomes. In his comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic and what led to the marked differences in present day economic status, for example, Diamond points to differences in geography and ecology but also to marked differences in the behavior of the 2 major 20th century dictators, Duvalier and Trujillo.

The chapters vary somewhat in quality. Chapters by Kirch and Belich are really brief summaries of a large body of prior work. They are interesting but insufficiently detailed though they have excellent bibliographies. The Nunn chapter is most interesting part of this book. Nunn uses a careful accounting of the regional distribution of the African slave trade to assess the long term effects of the slave trade on African economic development. Nunn makes a very creditable argument that the slave trade not only negatively impacted African development but accounts for a large component of the economic discrepancy between Africa and the rest of the world. This is a remarkable result. A less impressive analysis is that of Acemoglu et al on the effects of the Napoleonic occupation of parts of Germany. Acemoglu et al argue that French occupation eliminated traditional legal codes and barriers to economic development, facilitating economic modernization. The analysis does show a modest effect of French occupation. A point on which they don't comment is the bigger effect of being part of Prussia, not surprising given the historic commitment of the Prussian monarchy to development and subordination of traditional institutions.

An important point made by several of the authors is the importance of interdisciplinary approaches. While some of the authors are looking for underlying common features, more than anything else, these chapters emphasize the importance of careful, systematic analysis of contingent features over long periods. Comparative analysis can certainly be very useful in identifying such features.

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Latest book by Jared Diamond

Review by Terrell Crutchfield, 2010-07-07

This is a very interesting and well written book. While I don't think everyone will like it, I am interested the books that Prof. Diamond writes.

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Natural experiments in history

Review by Stephen J. Wylie, 2010-03-14

Natural experiments in history is a fascinating set of essays looking at seven historical "experiments". Each chapter has a different author who presents the reader with a wealth of information of their subject of expertise. The writing styles vary, as expected, from author to author. Jared Diamond's chapter on the origin of the differences between Haiti and the Dominican republic, and on different Pacific Islands is the highlight of the book and I wondered why the entire book wasn't on these topics. The chapter on Politics and Banking was less stimulating to me. Of course, the real value of these lessons of history is their application today. We seem destined to repeat the mistakes over and over. I fully recommend this to anyone interested in reasons why societies rise and fall.

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Interesting, but not a typical Diamond book.

Review by A. Rubin, 2010-03-01

I am a huge fan of Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel, and also enjoyed The Third Chimpanzee. Am eagerly awaiting the follow-up to Collapse.

This book is a collection of 7 essays, most of which are quite dry and academic. Definitely not as readable as the books I mentioned above.

Diamond co-wrote the prologue (which is mostly a summary of the book's contents) and afterword. He also authored (alone) one chapter, which is a comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Specifically, he examines why Haiti and the DR have turned out so differently, despite the fact that they share the same island. Much of this is discussed also in his book Collapse, but the chapter is still very interesting.

Another chapter (by Kirch) compares a few different Polynesian islands, to try and discover which variables led to different political histories. Some areas of the world discussed in other chapters are: West Africa, India, and the western US, among a couple of others. Some of these chapters are more interesting than others. None is probably as readable as Diamond's own.

This is definitely not a light read, and it is not something that most people will read cover to cover. An important book for the academic community perhaps, but not for the average reader (like me). Overall kind of boring.

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Dry, but worth the read if you're into the subject matter.

Review by Don Hogle, 2010-01-05

Jared Diamond has written brilliant books (Guns, Germs and Steel; Collapse; The Third Chimpanzee among others) that triangulate data from an array of different fields to reach conclusions about our history on this planet. His belief in that methodology for understanding our species and our history is what is at the heart of this collection of essays, which he edited along with a colleague. Indeed, the book is a defense of those methodologies.

Some of the essays are more interesting than others: notable is the one which quantitatively correlates the extent of the slave trade in various African countries with the state of their modern-day economic development (or rather, the lack thereof.)

It's a bit of a dry read -- in some essays more than in others. But if this methodology for understanding our past interests you, it's worth the read.

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