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Diamond’s epic look at what we might learn from how non-state traditional societies work. I am not well enough read in anthropology to be able to critique Diamond fairly, but to an amateur it sometimes seems a little reductionist. Nevertheless, fascinating and detailed.
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A fascinating novel of an "ambisexual" planet where people only become gendered during a short monthly window. LeGuin saw the novel as a thought experiment about how a society without men or women might be. An entertaining novel of ideas. I struggled at first with the somewhat Lord of the Rings-like invented language, but am glad I stuck with it because it became a rather profound meditation on social difference and friendship.