Sapiens

A Brief History of Humankind

By: Yuval Noah Harari

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2017 Yuval Noah Harari (P)2017 Penguin Random House Canada

Critic reviews

"Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international best seller. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!" (Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Collapse, and The World Until Yesterday)

"Sapiens is the sort of book that sweeps the cobwebs out of your brain. Its author, Yuval Noah Harari, is a young Israeli academic and an intellectual acrobat whose logical leaps have you gasping with admiration...Harari's writing radiates power and clarity." (The Sunday Times)

"Not only is Harari eloquent and humane, he is often wonderfully, mordantly funny. . . . Sapiens is a brave and bracing look at a species that is mostly in denial about . . . the crossroads it is rapidly approaching." (The Independent)

Mental Liberations

See the world and it's evolution out of the confines of social trends and traditional beliefs.

awesome survey of human history

a tour de force exploring the history of the human race from the emergence of modern humans with the cognitive revolution to the way in which robotics and genetic engineering may well produce new species with god-like powers far surpassing our own. A fascinating,, stimulating, informative and troubling read!

Incredible Book

I picked up this book because it was recommended by Bill Gates on some online website. I didn't expect it to be such a stunning piece of work. The beginning of the book covers an area of human prehistory that is truly fascinating. the latter chapters are not as strong but still great.

amazing book, and great speaker

would recommend this book to anyone! narrator was also amazing to listen to. I've enjoyed all hours I've spent listening to this book and being educated by humankind

Breathtaking

The breadth of this book is staggering. It goes over old and new concepts with an objective approach that's never stale or boring. It's a long read, but the quality of the writing and narration makes it a breeze. Will be reading again, and again. Wow!

highly recommend!

One of the top two most influential book I have ever read. the other one is Richard Dawkins The selfish Gene 1976.

Well done.

wonderfully crafted piece of literature. I kind of wished there was another five chapters. I will probably have to listen to it again ... maybe annually.

This is a must read!!

Should be required reading in all schools in all nations. Extremely insightful and thoughtful. Please share!!

Brilliant

An all encompassing look at mankind where we came from and where we can go to. Cleverly insightful and thoroughly engrossing.

Better if Yuval read it (or read the book yourself

Really great details and insights, if a bit on the dark side. The reader I felt put a spin on the words sometimes that seemed to inject too much of his own opinion. I've heard Yuval speak on these topics before, even the darker comments are supposed to have an earnest energy to go with them, which imparts alarm but also hope. This narration I found instead almost sounded sardonic at times, like coldly flaunting horror over the masses.

Overall still worth a read, but read it yourself I'd suggest.