HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by…
Loading...

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (edition 2015)

by Yuval Noah Harari (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
12,245376514 (4.16)254
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity's creation and evolution that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human."
Member:vguy
Title:Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Authors:Yuval Noah Harari (Author)
Info:Harper (2015), Edition: 1st, 464 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:None

Work Information

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

  1. 120
    Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (Percevan)
  2. 31
    Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber (M_Clark)
    M_Clark: This expands upon Harari's description of the history of money and commerce. It was obviously an influence on Harari.
  3. 10
    A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich (uitdepolder)
  4. 10
    A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes by Adam Rutherford (jigarpatel)
  5. 00
    The Great Divide: Nature and Human Nature in the Old World and the New by Peter Watson (longway)
  6. 00
    Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered by E. F. Schumacher (pammab)
    pammab: Sapiens' framing of capitalism-as-religion and its implications were done first in Small is Beautiful. Small is Beautiful focuses on one modern aspect of a much larger cultural change rooted in ideas & capabilities explored in Sapiens.
  7. 11
    Origin Story: A Big History of Everything by David Christian (ajagbay)
  8. 13
    The Management Myth: Why the Experts Keep Getting it Wrong by Matthew Stewart (amberwitch)
    amberwitch: An interesting and critical look at things that we take for granted, giving the reader new perspectives on everything from strategi to time
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 254 mentions

English (312)  Spanish (17)  Dutch (8)  Catalan (7)  German (5)  Italian (5)  French (5)  Hungarian (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (2)  Romanian (1)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  Danish (1)  Finnish (1)  Norwegian (1)  Chinese, traditional (1)  All languages (369)
Showing 1-5 of 312 (next | show all)
Fascinating read. Easy-to-read for those of us who aren't scientists. Harari's approach is balanced, pragmatic, and complete. He presents all sides of an issue or theory while not taking sides (as a good scientist would). ( )
  teejayhanton | Mar 22, 2024 |
Overall interesting, provided you remember you're reading a viewpoint and put it in context. Could have been a bit clearer about what is largely accepted as fact, what is debated theory, and what is personal opinion. ( )
  Kiramke | Feb 29, 2024 |
After listening to most of this book as an audio book it all seemed a bit like a well worn sock. It's certainly difficult to cover such a vast topic as human history without the kind of confidence that comes from either narcissism or brash ignorance. The extent to which there are errors is beyond me but I did notice a few (perhaps minor) errors. For example, Yuval Harari asserts that no one could have predicted the internet. Yet Vannevar Bush had presciently predicted the World Wide Web in his much quoted 1945 article in the Atlantic Monthly to the extent that it has become part of internet lore. Nevertheless, good on Yuval Harari for having a go at being an independent thinker. I felt as though there was little that was new or particularly insightful but there were moments when some of questions posed seemed worth the effort. I was left with the confirmation that predictions are risky and short-lived. The book is approaching being 10 years old. In many respects it is already embarrassingly dated, especially when it comes to Yuval Harari's speculations about war and bioprocessing. The rise of AI and the invasion of the Ukraine have changed the way we Sapiens think, so rapidly that speed of change and its consequences could easily have been a chapter heading. ( )
  simonpockley | Feb 25, 2024 |
It descends too precipitously into baseless assumptions and ludicrous extrapolations, such as disingenuously asserting that foragers lived better lives than ancient farmers, which is done by minimizing the severity and instability of the former's lifestyle. It needed less bias and more nuance. ( )
  Edwin_Oldham | Jan 6, 2024 |
Make no mistake, this is a big picture painted with broad strokes. And that is exactly what is great about it, it is educational but more importantly it’s a fun read that creates clarity and feeds curiosity! Lots of analysis and ideas that I’ll reflect on for a long time to come. ( )
  tourmikes | Jan 3, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 312 (next | show all)
Much of Sapiens is extremely interesting, and it is often well expressed. As one reads on, however, the attractive features of the book are overwhelmed by carelessness, exaggeration and sensationalism.
added by Jozefus | editThe Guardian, Galen Strawson (Sep 11, 2014)
 
Jared Diamond hoort met Simon Schama, Bill Bryson en Charles Mann tot die zeldzame auteurs die inderdaad het grote verhaal vertellen. [...] Zijn recente werk, De wereld tot gisteren, is een brede vergelijking tussen de laatste primitieve samenlevingen, en de eenheidsworst die we nu 'beschaving' noemen. Diamond laat zien hoe 'primitief' we eigenlijk nog zijn, en hoe veel we van die volken kunnen leren. Hij zet aan tot denken. Harari laat de lezer in verwarring achter. [...] Harari beheerst de techniek, maar een 'groot verhaal' komt niet van de grond.
added by Jozefus | editde Volkskrant, Marcel Hulspas (Apr 12, 2014)
 

» Add other authors (111 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Harari, Yuval Noahprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Dean, SuzanneCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Deen, MathijsNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gower, NeilMapssecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Perkins, DerekNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Purcell, JohnTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Watzman, HaimTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wood, CarolineContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
In loving memory of my father, Shlomo Harari
First words
About 13.5 billion years ago, matter, energy, time, and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang.
Quotations
Our once green and blue planet is becoming a concrete and plastic shopping centre.
Even in places devoid of assembly lines and machines, the timetable became king.
Family and community seem to have more impact on our happiness than money and health.
Hence any meaning that people ascribe to their lives is just a delusion.
We are consequently wreaking havoc on our fellow animals and on the surrounding ecosystem, seeking little more than our own comfort and amusement, yet never finding satisfaction.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (3)

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

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.16)
0.5 4
1 29
1.5 2
2 98
2.5 22
3 285
3.5 93
4 829
4.5 149
5 992

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

Tantor Media

An edition of this book was published by Tantor Media.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,240,214 books! | Top bar: Always visible