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.
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Overall rating: 4.512088 / 5 from 455 reviews.
AI Generated Review Summary
Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind is a highly regarded book that offers a unique perspective on human history. Customers find it both interesting and intriguing, making it a popular choice among readers.
Summary topics
Readability (43%): Many customers brought up that this book is a great and interesting read, making it a popular choice.
Intriguing Book (43%): Many customers remarked that this book is very intriguing and one of the best books they have ever read.
"Very interesting read, it’s a compelling read for anyone curious about humanity’s shared journey and future challenges." — Ilie
"Really enjoying this book" — Bill D.
Reviews
It’s concise and daring and it’s drawing curiosity from readers interested in anthropology and history
"Very interesting read, it’s a compelling read for anyone curious about humanity’s shared journey and future challenges."
— Ilie (5/5)
Sapiens
"Very encouraging"
— Aayush D. (5/5)
Great read
"Absolutely phenomenal book - easily understood but very deep and thought provoking writing."
— Randy (5/5)
Really enjoying this book
"I'm a little over 1/3 way through this book but, so far, I'm very happy with it. It's well-written and contains a lot of interesting and thought-provoking information about the history of our species -- both failures and successes -- as well as some interesting thoughts on what, indeed, defines the success of a species."
— Bill D. (5/5)
8/10
"An interesting and compelling read. Would recommend"
— Monty (5/5)
Love Yuval!
"This is a repurchase after losing my first copy. It’s too good not to own."
— Mrlg (5/5)
Sapiens
"Very encouraging"
— Aayush D. (5/5)
It’s concise and daring and it’s drawing curiosity from readers interested in anthropology and history
"Very interesting read, it’s a compelling read for anyone curious about humanity’s shared journey and future challenges."
— Ilie (5/5)
8/10
"An interesting and compelling read. Would recommend"
— Monty (5/5)
Fascinating Thinker
"This book really makes me stop and ponder the evolution of humankind and human-unkind as well. So much of it is common sense, yet most of us wouldn’t have considered this point of view. Given all of the world turmoil in politics, religion, sexism and separatism in life, this read slows down the thinking process and gives us another lense to view where we are heading and whether there may be other options."
— Helena V. (5/5)
Q&A
Published date: May 10, 2016
Language: English
No. of Pages: 512
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 9780771038518
Dimensions:
6.0" W x
1.45" L x
9.0" H
#1 New York Times Bestseller • New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century • A Guardian Best Book of the 21st Century • The Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama and Bill Gates
“Interesting and provocative. . . . It gives you a sense of perspective on how briefly we’ve been on this earth, how short things like agriculture and science have been around, and why it makes sense for us to not take them for granted.” —Barack Obama
“I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun, engaging look at early human history . . . you’ll have a hard time putting it down.” —Bill Gates
"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
"Sapiens is packed with heretical thinking and surprising facts. This riveting, myth-busting book cannot be summarised in any detail; you will simply have to read it." —Financial Times
"Sapiens is learned, thought-provoking, and crisply written. . . . Fascinating." —Wall Street Journal
“Yuval Noah Harari’s celebrated Sapiens does for human evolution what Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time did for physics. . . . He does a superb job of outlining our slow emergence and eventual domination of the planet.” —Forbes
“Yuval Noah Harari is an emerging rock-star lecturer at the nexus of history and science. . . . Sapiens takes readers on a sweeping tour of the history of our species. . . . Harari’s formidable intellect sheds light on the biggest breakthroughs in the human story . . . [this is] important reading for serious-minded, self-reflective sapiens.” —Washington Post
“Ambitious and illuminating. . . . The wonderful and terrifying saga of the human species on earth.” —Christian Science Monitor
"Sapiens is a starburst of a book, as enjoyable as it is stimulating." —Sunday Express
"Sapiens is a fast-paced, witty and challenging romp through 70,000 years of human history . . . I did love it, and if you are interested in the whole story of humankind, I'm confident that you will love it too." —Literary Review
“This title is one of the exceptional works of nonfiction that is both highly intellectual and compulsively readable. . . . A fascinating, hearty read.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“An encyclopedic approach from a well-versed scholar who is concise but eloquent, both skeptical and opinionated, and open enough to entertain competing points of view. . . . The great debates of history aired out with satisfying vigor.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"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
"Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international bestseller. 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
"I have just read Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens. It is brilliant. Most likely the best—and I have read very many—on the history of humankind. I have never read anything better. I think it is sad to think of all the people that will not get to read it." —Henning Mankell
“In Sapiens, Harari delves deep into our history as a species to help us understand who we are and what made us this way. An engrossing read.” —Dan Ariely, New York Times Bestselling author of Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty
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.
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