Pulitzer Winner Jared Diamond Packs Hamilton High, Gives Montana ‘Collapse’ Context

I was half waiting to be depressed tonight after hearing Jared Diamond talk about the collapse of societies, especially if it had to do with Montana. Instead, there was hope in his manner, hope in his temper and hope in his message.

Montana, specifically the Bitterroot Valley, is the subject of Diamond’s best-selling book, Collapse. But he said that is not because the fall of Montana is imminent. Rather, he uses Montana as an example because it is a place where he can detail the monumental decisions that lead to the success or failure of a society in real time, through they eyes of real people.

Montana stands out in the book, he said, as a place where mistakes can be derailed, if we could only learn from the likes of the Easter Islanders, who cut down their last tree and watched their civilization crumble.

But it was no coincidence that as he rattled off the reasons ancient societies succeed or fail, he prefaced many of the those in the “fail” selection with “As you know here in Montana …”

By Courtney Lowery

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