Diamond is writing this book for a general, broad readership, not a narrow readership of academics. That would have been difficult in any case, because he touches on so many different disciplines in the work. The work targeted curious, educated (but again, not specialist) readers who had an interest in the subject matter, which spans history, anthropology, evolutionary biology, and many other fields. The book was published by a large, commercial publisher (W.W. Norton) and won the Pulitzer Prize, which is not normally awarded to narrow academic monographs. By writing the book, Diamond sought to advance people's understanding of science and history and to sell books (always a goal of a book written for a major publisher.) But at the same time, the book exposed many general readers to academic theories that they would not have encountered elsewhere. He also hoped (a goal he makes quite clear) to change people's understandings about such important matters as race, culture, and "civilization," as well as the often unfortunate effects of European contact with the rest of the world.