Goliath's Curse

The History and Future of Societal Collapse

De: Luke Kemp

A vast and unprecedented survey of societal collapse—stretching from the Stone Age to the age of silicon—that digs through the ruins of fallen societies to understand the root causes of their downfall and the most dire consequences for our future.

"A brilliant and insightful book.”—Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.

Stepping back to look at our precariously interdependent global society of today—with the threat of nuclear war ever present, the world getting hotter and hotter, and the rapid creation of dangerous algorithms—one couldn’t be blamed for asking: Will we make it?

Addressing this question with the seriousness it demands, Cambridge scholar Luke Kemp conducts a historical autopsy that stretches over 300,000 years, from our beginnings as a species to early attempts at cities to Egypt, Rome, and on into our cloudy future. He draws on multiple historical databases and the latest discoveries from archaeology and anthropology to reveal profound and often counterintuitive insights into why societies collapse, how those living through such collapses were impacted, and what it means for us today.

While books like Jared Diamond’s Collapse zoom in on only a few case studies, Kemp makes use of the largest datasets available, allowing him to identify the broader trends, and deeper causes, behind societal breakdown. Goliath’s Curse is not just a book about a few empires—it is a radical retelling of human history through collapse.

It is also a stark reminder that there are both bright and dark sides to societal collapse—that it is not necessarily a reversion to chaos or a dark age—and that making a more resilient world may well mean making a more just one.

©2025 Luke Kemp (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Citing Hobbes’s Delusion, Goliath’s Curse, and cobalt miners in the Congo, renowned existential risk specialist Luke Kemp looks both back into history and forward into the future, spelling out the dangers that we currently face and suggesting ways in which we might avoid the pitfalls leading to collapse, before our luck runs out. This is a brilliant and insightful book, guaranteed to keep you thinking during the day and wide awake with worry during the night.”—Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C. and After 1177 B.C.

"A deeply sobering and strangely inspiring history of how societies collapse—and how we can still save ours. Read it now, or your descendants will find it in the ruins."—Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus

"Anyone who doubts the importance of this conversation hasn't been paying attention—the spectacle of the world's richest man seizing chaotic control of the world's most powerful nation underscores the author's points about the corrosive effects of grotesque inequity. It's clearly past time that we figured out how to build down the scale of our societies, in interesting but urgent ways."—Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes The Sun