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Sapiens: кратка история на човечеството by Ина Димитрова, Yuval Noah Harari, Ювал Ноа Харари
beetleb33's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Yuval makes the difficult endeavor in encapsulating all of human history into one book. I found the first couple chapters especially fascinating as he begins with first understanding humans in a larger system and under the pressures of natural selection - much like other living beings. The selective pressures set the scene for Homo sapiens to continue to survive and eventually propogate. I appreciate Yuvals attention to detail and his penchance for understanding human anatomy and chemistry; every so often there are light insights into how we think and why we do things as we do.
As the book continues I become more appreciative of his careful curation of moments in time. It is difficult to determine which events are among the most significant, yet Yuval weaves together sequences of events into a broad understanding of how we have established the current systems in place. Highlights of learning include the agricultural revolution and domestication, currency and a growing global economy, as well as thoughts on self fulfillment, happiness, and satisfaction in the context of current systems. However, I should note that Yuval has a taste for the dramatics, often using biblical allegories to preface the chapters and often speaks of humanity in an exaggerated negatory way.
As the book continues I become more appreciative of his careful curation of moments in time. It is difficult to determine which events are among the most significant, yet Yuval weaves together sequences of events into a broad understanding of how we have established the current systems in place. Highlights of learning include the agricultural revolution and domestication, currency and a growing global economy, as well as thoughts on self fulfillment, happiness, and satisfaction in the context of current systems. However, I should note that Yuval has a taste for the dramatics, often using biblical allegories to preface the chapters and often speaks of humanity in an exaggerated negatory way.
eiei's review against another edition
5.0
"Yet the truly unique feature of our language is not its ability to transmit information about men and lions. Rather, it’s the ability to transmit information about things that do not exist at all."
"Trade cannot exist with out trust, and it is very difficult to trust strangers. The global trade network of today is based on our trust in such fictional entities as the dollar, the FederalReserve Bank, and the totemic trademarks of corporations."
"Trade cannot exist with out trust, and it is very difficult to trust strangers. The global trade network of today is based on our trust in such fictional entities as the dollar, the FederalReserve Bank, and the totemic trademarks of corporations."
azsm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5
gemmapz's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
5.0
This book is a lot! Well written, presumably well researched. Fascinating in a terrible way.
foundation's review against another edition
3.0
The second half of the book was much more interesting and tied together the author's message. What is lacking is detail. At too many points in the book I found that the author compromised detail for sweeping general statements. Granted that the book would have been 3 volumes 1000 pages each with details. Still, without the detail it just comes across as interesting stories. In the end, I feel like someone described a very good dish to me but I can't eat the dish because it's not there.
jakub_oliver's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
A magnificent and cuttingly insightful look at human history, society, and even nature. Harari neither romantically sings our praises nor nihilistically espouses our wickedness, he simply analyses humans as they have been throughout the past and are in the present, a flawed, but exceptional, species.