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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

by Yuval Noah Harari

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
11,272357551 (4.17)247
History. Science. Nonfiction. HTML:

New York Times Bestseller

A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg

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 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?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moa… (more)

  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
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» See also 247 mentions

English (299)  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 (356)
Showing 1-5 of 299 (next | show all)
In hindsight, this book is so deceivingly simple that you are swept away in its prose - but you later realize that Harari's arguments either do not make sense at all or even if they sometimes do, they are not backed up with data. I'd rather read Piketty or Ferguson, who make for dry reading, but at the very least, they try to back up their opinions with fact. ( )
1 vote SidKhanooja | Sep 1, 2023 |
I loved the big picture view of Harari, and the way he worked to tie together the big themes of the evolution of our species and our culture. Very thought provoking.
I liked it so much that I gave several copies to family members and encouraged them to read it. I told my high school grandson that reading it would give him a head start in the college life. ( )
  jjbinkc | Aug 27, 2023 |
Fundamental work of Harari. He tried to fit in entire history of humanity in 440 pages. Ideas and concepts are well expressed and well defined. I really enjoyed reading part one, although there are a lot of speculations and opinions about early development of homo sapiens. This book has definitely made me think and question current foundations of the world. Must be read with caution, significantly influenced by author's political,ethical views. ( )
  kmaxat | Aug 26, 2023 |
Este es un libro interesantísimo. Seguramente muchas de las reflexiones van en contra de ciertas creencias de varios lectores, pero eso no lo hace menos valiosa la forma en la que nos va describiendo en toda nuestra complejidad y contradicción. Un libro que, sin duda, merece muchas más relecturas.

Si alguien le este libro en formato audiolibro, el narrador es, en definitiva, un plus a la obra. ( )
  uvejota | Jul 26, 2023 |
The first half of this book was very interesting.
  fleshed | Jul 16, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 299 (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
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Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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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.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (3)

History. Science. Nonfiction. HTML:

New York Times Bestseller

A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg

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 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?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moa

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