by Yuval Noah Harari
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—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…
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The section on the agricultural revolution alone is worth the whole book. Harari's argument that farming made individual humans worse off while making the species more powerful is one of those ideas that once you hear it you can't unhear it. Endlessly thought-provoking.
Harari has a gift for making the familiar feel strange again. The cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution, the scientific revolution — he reframes each of them in ways that are genuinely surprising. Some of his arguments are contested by historians but the book is so stimulating that the debate is part of the value. One of the best popular history books of the century.
Broad in scope and occasionally too sweeping in its conclusions, but consistently fascinating. Harari is at his best when he's destabilizing assumptions rather than building new ones. A great book for people who want to think about where we came from and why we are the way we are.
Bonnie Garmus
