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skepticcurmudgeon's review against another edition
4.0
Very thought provoking look at how we got here as a species and where we might be going. One of the central themes is our species ability to leverage shared fictions to transcend the limits of our paleolithic genes.
ketutar's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, what a ride!
Yuval Noah Harari questions everything. EVERY F-ING THING!
I have always said "Question everything, verify everything", and now I realize I've only questioned new things. There's an ocean of things I have never questioned, just taken as obvious.
Yuval Noah Harari questions everything. EVERY F-ING THING!
I have always said "Question everything, verify everything", and now I realize I've only questioned new things. There's an ocean of things I have never questioned, just taken as obvious.
the_schaef's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent insight into our own insignificance in this world, and the process and forces that occurred to allow Homo Sapiens to occupy to peak of the biological profile. This is one of those books that cause us to question our existence and purpose and also provides some answers, or at least direction. The authors description of Buddhism (used as examples), is right on point.
angelatian30's review against another edition
4.0
This was a reread in order to re-do all my reading notes; my first read was a really long time ago (generally done between 2018-2019), and during a simpler (more naive) time in life. However, similar to last time, I still found the first half of the book more enticing and more informative than the latter half.
The book was a good introduction to the history of humanity, easy to read, and made big subjects accessible -- these were my first thoughts as well back in 2018. Each larger chapter is broken down to smaller sections, each section with a clear structure, and good build up from point to point, often provided with real life examples to strengthen his arguments. I remember during my first read, the concept that everything is essentially a 'religion' really gave me a fresh perspective on the world that a young 20 something year old did not have.
During this second time around (especially after reading some criticisms online about how the book has a lack of research, citations, and sometimes even misleading or wrong information), I have increasingly been reminded throughout the book that this is one man's opinion, influenced by his world view. I do still feel that I appreciated many perspectives, but the latter half of the book did not delve quite into enough detail or explore enough nuances/depth for a 30 year old me.
It has also been 10 years since he wrote this book -- and there has certainly been more developments, notably AI, that brings forth new questions. I think reading this book when it was first published, in 2015, would have been more impactful for my reading journey. Somehow I just never got around to finishing it entirely.
My first read was more of a 5 star (but I got to the part about religion and gave up). Now its just a 4, and I'm glad I made notes since I don't think I would be returning to this book again in such a detailed way.
The book was a good introduction to the history of humanity, easy to read, and made big subjects accessible -- these were my first thoughts as well back in 2018. Each larger chapter is broken down to smaller sections, each section with a clear structure, and good build up from point to point, often provided with real life examples to strengthen his arguments. I remember during my first read, the concept that everything is essentially a 'religion' really gave me a fresh perspective on the world that a young 20 something year old did not have.
During this second time around (especially after reading some criticisms online about how the book has a lack of research, citations, and sometimes even misleading or wrong information), I have increasingly been reminded throughout the book that this is one man's opinion, influenced by his world view. I do still feel that I appreciated many perspectives, but the latter half of the book did not delve quite into enough detail or explore enough nuances/depth for a 30 year old me.
It has also been 10 years since he wrote this book -- and there has certainly been more developments, notably AI, that brings forth new questions. I think reading this book when it was first published, in 2015, would have been more impactful for my reading journey. Somehow I just never got around to finishing it entirely.
My first read was more of a 5 star (but I got to the part about religion and gave up). Now its just a 4, and I'm glad I made notes since I don't think I would be returning to this book again in such a detailed way.
snorlaxandfriends's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting, I sure learned a lot. Only criticisms are that it was quite heavy on philosophy, which I find very difficult to engage with, and I couldn't quite grasp the overarching message of the book or the author's opinion. Decent read, would recommend if you're not reading anything else at the minute