‘Brains aren’t a guarantee of success for leaders or societies - climate is key’

Jared M. Diamond is Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As his new book ‘Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings’ releases, the polymath professor and prolific writer speaks with Srijana Mitra Das at Times Evoke about which factors shape success — and why this involves so much more than individual genius:Could you tell us about your new book ‘Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Make A Difference’?This book looks at historic political leaders, business leaders, sports coaches and religious leaders — and who made an enormous difference. As an example, Adolf Hitler seems like the most evil person of the 20th century. Hitler is regularly blamed for causing World War II and the Holocaust — but Germany was already dissatisfied after World War I because of the Treaty of Versailles.