As a student of history and not anthropology I have to say that this book had well discussed thoughts as to the why, where and how civilizations occurred, grew, and ultimately flourished around the world. This book ultimately takes fundamental ideas which are simple to understand and by the time you are finished you are overwhelmed by the simplicity of both the arguments and the arguer.My issue is not with the text but with the delivery. One of the most difficult tasks is to try to make statistics, facts, and concepts such as discussed in this text interesting.This book neither compels the reader to continue to research this subject, nor come up with their own ideas. It is what it is, a text which provides facts but little by the way of enjoyment.