Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Yuval Noah Harari

Oct 2014 · Signal

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Destined to become a modern classic in the vein of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Sapiens is a lively, groundbreaking history of humankind told from a unique perspective.
     100,000 years ago, at least six species of human inhabited the earth. Today there is just one.
     Us.
Homo Sapiens.
     How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations, and human rights; to trust money, books, and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables, and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
     In Sapiens, Dr. Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical — and sometimes devastating — breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural, and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, palaeontology, and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come?
     Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power...and our future.

Ratings and reviews

Highly over-rated, unless this is your first dive into history, There are red flags all over this book, for example: "...but these theories have been mostly been disproven." That's it. Really? Okay, I guess I will take your word for it knowing that, for example, in physics, pretty much everything that is thought of today as factual would have landed you in an asylum 10 years ago. Of course there is the standard "...we have no idea, but we're working on it...soon" line that applies to topics such as the beginning of the universe, why anything?, the development of life and consciousness. These mysteries will never be solved. There's a bold prediction but one that many top people in the field of say microbiology would completely stand by - and yes, I know some of them. But it's all dismissed with a waive of the keyboard. Then there is the author's (frankly embarrassing) anti-religious bias. He talks that religion is decreasing in the world, yet in fact, it's increasing - if you don't know why or how, Google it maybe. He implies, heavily, that if you're religious you can't be scientific or unbiased. Look who is talking, but that is patently false. Check out something like Closer to Truth to have your mind blown by a "religious" person - Yuval couldn't hold a candle to these people. I could go on and on and on but it frankly isn't worth my time - I spent enough of that reading this book. So again, in sum: if you know nothing about nothing, have zero background in history as an academic subject, and can accept tremendous bias and a "just trust me" attitude, this book is for you! There's a lot better ways to get educated.

I wasn't going to pick up this book,however before one condemns something they should read it for themselves. This, alongside the works of Rand and Hayek, was an absolute waste of time to read. My one regret being that I did not finish it time to receive a refund for the loss of brain cells through this dross. I'll be reading a far better book, with actual research to back up it's arguments instead of the author's mental masturbatory fantasies on the virtues of imperialism. PS "Dawn of Everything" is a better read and accomplishes what "Sapiens" only claims to do

Truly one of the most interesting books I have ever read like this. Not only just as fascinating as Jared Diamond Guns Germs and Steel, it's also more approachable - and flips some long-standing 'common wisdoms' on their heads along the way. I find myself coming back to certain sections and re-reading them - full of well reasoned, interesting discussion on a fundamentally important topic, and really makes you look at our modern world from a different perspective.

About the author

Professor YUVAL NOAH HARARI is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, which have sold over 35 million copies worldwide, and been translated into 65 languages. Born in Haifa, Israel in 1976, Harari received his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2002, and is currently a lecturer at the Department of History, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Harari lectures around the world on the topics explored in his books and articles and has written for publications such as The Guardian, Financial Times, New York Times, The Times, The Economist, and Nature magazine. He also offers his knowledge and time to various organizations and audiences on a voluntary basis.