unsure how i feel about this one - ive encountered diamond through both the history/archaeology undergrads i was studying, and from that perspective it was fine. i think without the wider context of the collapse book this doesn't necessarily work - i think it also seemed a little dated or to be missing something? look, i lament the loss of knowledge we have from easter island, and i know this isn't probably super intentional, but the way this was written seems a little light on the blame on colonial powers (im not saying they are all to blame, but again only form a short end to the chapter). perhaps within the wider context of the book this is from, it's top tier writing.