According to Venkatachalam, what is the main thesis of Guns, Germs, and Steel. Support your claim. Throughout the history of humankind, people have noticed that certain civilizations have their specific patterns of development; hence, the need to analyze and explain those differences appeared. In his book, Guns, Germs, and Steel , Jared Diamond offers his explanation of why the existing civilizations ended up where they are now. Venkatachalam interprets Jared’s findings, offering an intriguing and peculiar interpretation of Jared’s ideas. Taking a closer look at Venkatachalam’s work, one can see, however, that some of Venkatachalam’s interpretations of Diamond’s ideas are quite unexpected, to say the least. According to Venkatachalam, the key point that the author is making in his book is that the specifics of the development in the European civilization regarding political, economical, cultural, and other aspects, stand in sharp contrast to the development of other civilizations, not because of the biological differences between the races, but because of the specifics of historical development. As Venkatachalam himself explains, the proximate causes have nothing to do with how civilizations develop and serve only as a foil for people’s interactions (Venkatachalam 85). In your own words, summarize Venkatachalam’s main thesis. Support your claim. Venkatachalam summarizes the key ideas of Guns, germs, and steel in a nutshell. The reviewer must focus on the proximity theory, contrasting it with the one provided by Jared Diamond. According to Venkatachalam, the theory of proximity fails to explain several issues that Diamond’s book sheds some light on. Thus, Venkatachalam makes it clear that the idea of proximity is no longer of any use and that Diamond’s “causes theory” can be used as a substitute for the former. Venkatachalam states that with the help of Diamond’s ideas, one can see the theory of civilizations’ development through a different lens and adopt an unbiased idea of why European culture has advanced differently compared to the rest of the world cultures. Besides, it is essential to add that Venkatachalam considers the ultimate causes of the key reasons for the existence of inequality within present-day society. Evaluate Venkatachalam’s book review, making explicit its strengths and/or weaknesses. (at least 300 words). Use the readings given above and/or the final project’s grading scheme to help you When it comes to analyzing Venkatachalam’s review, one must admit that it has its strengths, yet several details make the review look not that strong. Starting with the positive issues, it is necessary to mention that the review offers a very detailed analysis of Diamond’s book. It is worth mentioning that Venkatachalam’s interpretation of Diamond’s ideas is rather original, yet the reviewer still follows the source text quite closely. Moreover, Venkatachalam analyzes the text, allowing the reader to instantly jump to the conclusion that Diamond leads the readers to throughout an entire chapter: “Despite the invention of the wheel, writing and cereal cultivation in parts of America these innovations did not spread on this continent tanks to insurmountable barriers in the form of deserts and the Panama isthmus” (Venk