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pjwhyman's review
4.0
Quite an interesting read. A bit preachy in places, but understandably. While not on the same level as Guns, Germs, and Steel (which was phenomenal) it was still an excellent read.
andreashappe's review
5.0
A short history of humankind.. how can we define being human, what's our history and where can we go from here (while hopefully we can prevent a nuclear holocaust or ecological catastrophe).
This book feels like the predecessor to Home Sapiens or Factfulness. Maybe with a bit of The Better Angels of our Human Nature thrown in. Which is high praise in my opinion. And leaning a lot more towards a linguist's point-of-view.
The book is older (written 30ish years ago), some of the science does not hold up. Still a great read, informative too. Two things were the age shines through: 1, Chomsky as a linguist.. been a while; and 2, "everyone remembers where you were when news of Pearl Habor broke through" which would be 9/11 by now.
The appendix is rattling, esp. when he notes that ecologic holocaust will most likely hit his children (which would be of my age) or grandchildren. Verdict is still out.
This book feels like the predecessor to Home Sapiens or Factfulness. Maybe with a bit of The Better Angels of our Human Nature thrown in. Which is high praise in my opinion. And leaning a lot more towards a linguist's point-of-view.
The book is older (written 30ish years ago), some of the science does not hold up. Still a great read, informative too. Two things were the age shines through: 1, Chomsky as a linguist.. been a while; and 2, "everyone remembers where you were when news of Pearl Habor broke through" which would be 9/11 by now.
The appendix is rattling, esp. when he notes that ecologic holocaust will most likely hit his children (which would be of my age) or grandchildren. Verdict is still out.
kparrott's review
4.0
This book along with Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse are awesome non fiction books that you learn a lot reading. Diamond knows how to put things into terms that one can easily understand.
So much knowledge and ideas!
So much knowledge and ideas!
nguyen_vy's review against another edition
5.0
Một cuốn sách nên đọc cho tất cả mọi người.
Mình nghĩ cuốn nổi tiếng nhất của tác giả là Súng, vi trùng và thép nên khả năng các bạn muốn tìm hiểu sẽ chọn cuốn đó đầu tiên. Tuy nhiên, mình nghĩ là cuốn Loài tinh tinh thứ ba nên được đọc đầu tiên. Cuốn sách này là cuốn nền tảng trình bày những lý luận của tác giả và những cuốn sau đó sẽ làm rõ một, hai chủ đề trong cuốn sách.
Vậy nên là mong giúp ích cho mọi người trong việc chọn sách :))
Mình nghĩ cuốn nổi tiếng nhất của tác giả là Súng, vi trùng và thép nên khả năng các bạn muốn tìm hiểu sẽ chọn cuốn đó đầu tiên. Tuy nhiên, mình nghĩ là cuốn Loài tinh tinh thứ ba nên được đọc đầu tiên. Cuốn sách này là cuốn nền tảng trình bày những lý luận của tác giả và những cuốn sau đó sẽ làm rõ một, hai chủ đề trong cuốn sách.
Vậy nên là mong giúp ích cho mọi người trong việc chọn sách :))
madzik's review
4.0
I listened to it as an audiobook. It's not the newest book - which is always a concern with sciency books, but it's interesting and seems solid, covers a wide range of issues. I'm not an expert on the matter.
kmfeeney's review
2.0
I couldn't actually finish reading this. It is very well written and accessible but in 2014 the data is so outdated that is unbearable.
annakmeyer's review
3.0
Based on the back cover, I thought this was going to be based only on chimpanzee-to-human evolution. Instead, that was only a few chapters, and the rest of the book was devoted to evolution in our species. Nonetheless, all of that was interesting - but it did feel like a several-hundred-page condensation of my entire scientific and social education. The rating is mostly based on how I felt a little cheated out of the "evolution" evolution information.