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GGS: a great read, some very interesting points are brought up and I enjoyed reading it but I had some issues with it, mainly that you can't blame environment/geography for shaping the course of history. Too politically correct, too marxist, not enough credit given to individual qualities such as intelligence and ingenuity. Written by an academic to impress other academics. I enjoyed Steven Pinker's 'Blank Slate' which I think is more pertinent with this. Also regarding the pre-eminence of nationstates in warfare, I would point out the adventures of Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun, both of who led devastatingly effective tribal armies. Genghis Khan 'colonized' just about everything west of China into central Europe, while Roma also was sacked by nomadic tribes.
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