Sapiens

A Brief History of Humankind

By: Yuval Noah Harari

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity's creation and evolution - a number one international best seller - that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human".

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one - Homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?

Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago, with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because, over the last few decades, humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

This provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

©2015 Yuval Noah Harari (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Excellent Read

If you enjoy sociology, anthropology and read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond this is an amazing book to check out. A bit less scientific tedium than in Diamond’s book, Yuval Harari’s cultural examination is made very accessible and digestible for all audiences with some profound yet almost intuitive insights. If you want an impactful read that will better shape your understanding of today’s world, look no further than “Sapiens”

all the history you really need to know

The book started out somewhat interesting, because the story of cavemen has become such a trope for me. But from the agricultural revolution onwards the big questions/reveals about who we are or came to be are raised. The part that speaks about 'imagined orders' is the real turning point. All the way from there until the explanation of capitalism and liberalism as the world's most successful religions/ideologies the book is absolutely riveting. Key events in history are described in detail and are often also accompanied by a pinch of humorous wit. I loved the way that the author looks at human history from the point of the observer and is able to keep it factual or at least without personal judgement. This changes however towards the end of the book when he speaks of the bio industry and one can clearly read/hear his opinion through the lines. Even though formulated in a factual manner it reveals his position on matters. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the tone changes. In the end, he starts to speculate about the future quite wildly which I feel is a bit detrimental to the succinct analysis of history. Some claims are made about resource scarcity and energy abundance without clearly linking the two. Some scenarios are painted about transcending our biology. I guess this is a setup for his other books because it leaves certain questions unanswered. Overall, it's great that he is able to draw several distinct lines of development through history, always referring back to certain key moments in which humans developed new cognitive/sapiens abilities. This actually creates better links for remembering how history developed, connecting events with their relative importance to the human development: the ability to organize in ever larger groups through the use of myths (imagined orders) which first were animal gods, became the science-military-industrial-complex, currently rests on the credit/growth/capitalist system that had the whole world in it's grip. I've taken a lot of insight from this book and even though it doesn't change a lot of my own conclusions about our kind, it gives me fodder to back those up.

molto interessante

Il libro mi è piaciuto moltissimo, le tematiche sono molto attuali e racchiudono tantissime sfaccettature diverse del mondo in cui viviamo. È uno di quei libri che penso avrà un impatto duraturo sul mio pensiero, fonte di molte chiavi utili a capire il percorso ed il futuro dell'umanità.
Il narratore (inglese) ha una voce tranquilla, comprensibile anche per un non madrelingua, e perfettamente adatta a questo tipo di opera.

Extremely interesting.

Starting out I wasn't sire if this book would be for me but poved it

Enlightening and greatly written

This book is full of knowledge. An amazing portrait of humanity without taking sides to any ideology.

Little preachy, but very well written & researched

I really enjoy books like this that are well researched and informative on the history of earth/life/etc. I like how there times when he gives multiple theories, but he sometimes gets a little opinionated and preachy.

Amazing book, great narrator

I'm super glad I bought this book. Worth every cent and recommended to everyone. Very scientific based and very much unbiased, in the sense of showing both sides of the coin and not criticizing or defending only one line of thought.

Excellent Audiobook!

5 starts across the board. The content is vast. The narration is flawless (even if he sometimes sounds like the Gieko mascot). A great way to learn while commuting .

Exceptional

loved it. can't imagine I it was written 4 years ago. Brilliant exceptional. I knew a lot of topics and research the book talked about but its written so well, never lost interest even for a short while.

This book should be studied in schools

The most perspective widening book I ever listened. Makes you think about the important things.