diamond attended the university of north carolina at chapel hill and then new york university, graduating from the latter with a b.a. degree in english and philosophy. at the outbreak of world war ii, diamond joined the british army field service and served in north africa. like many veterans of his generation, he went to graduate school on the g.i. bill. and, in 1951, received a ph.d. degree in anthropology from columbia university, where he was greatly influenced by the anti-racism writing of franz boas. supporting diamond's ph.d.-degree was his unpublished dissertation "dahomey: a proto-state in west africa" (1951).