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Jared Diamond’s Collapse (Penguin, £9.99) is the sorry tale of societies around the world that perished after destroying their means of support. Philosopher George Santayana said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Diamond urges us to recognise the telltale signs of ecological collapse and, this time, to choose differently. This is a huge, detailed work, but worth the effort, for you travel in the company of a brilliant mind.