Author Jared Diamond speaks on Guns, Germs and Steel, Sept. 25

You've read the book, now hear the author.

In a presentation based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond, professor in the physiology department at the University of California-Los Angeles, will give a presentation Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in Bailey Hall on campus. The presentation is free and open to the general public, and it is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Cornell University Library.

Diamond also will lead a discussion group in the Libe Cafe in Olin Library Sept. 26 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. In a question-and-answer session, Diamond will address questions about the process of writing the book and the way its response might shape his future projects. Guns, Germs, and Steel is the book that was chosen for Cornell's student reading initiative this semester.

Seating for the Libe Cafe discussion is limited to 150 people. Tickets will be distributed in a lottery. To participate in the lottery, send an e-mail message by Sept. 15 to Kornelia Tancheva, atkt18@cornell.edu, with the subject line Jared Diamond Lottery, and include your name and status (student, faculty, staff, or library staff).

More information on the student reading initiative can be found at http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/diamond.html.