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A review by katiescho741
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
4.0
This book is the definition of balanced. Harari gives us a quick run-through of 70,000 years of humanity; he doesn't shy away from the brutal home-truths, but he doesn't leave out the wonders of the modern world either. I found myself getting slightly depressed in certain chapters, and then being cheerful in the next.
The first section has a very different feel to the later parts of the book, which is why Sapiens gets a four and not a five. The first chapters have a much more anthropological feel to them as we delve into the distant history of our species, but the majority of the rest of the book looks at humanity as a whole - culture, economy, psychology, etc. This switch didn't make it a bad book, just not the one I was expecting.
One things I liked was his earlier declaration of his atheism...this book is not going to talk through the major religions gently, but give them to you straight. Harari reminds us about how much of our world, including religions, has been invented from the minds of humans - I especially liked the chapter about comparing a god to Peugeot. But he's not cruel about religion either...again, incredible balance whilst being straight-up with the reader.
Sapiens is an excellent jumping-off point for so many subject. Harari discusses the good and bad of empires and conquests, analysis happiness and consumerism, and takes a brief look into the present and future of our species via technological advancements in genetics. This book reminds us that we are not special, whilst discussing the things that make us special. We track the wonders and advantages of modern science, whilst being told we were smarter, faster, and happier as hunter-gatherers.
This is a wonderful book, expertly written.
The first section has a very different feel to the later parts of the book, which is why Sapiens gets a four and not a five. The first chapters have a much more anthropological feel to them as we delve into the distant history of our species, but the majority of the rest of the book looks at humanity as a whole - culture, economy, psychology, etc. This switch didn't make it a bad book, just not the one I was expecting.
One things I liked was his earlier declaration of his atheism...this book is not going to talk through the major religions gently, but give them to you straight. Harari reminds us about how much of our world, including religions, has been invented from the minds of humans - I especially liked the chapter about comparing a god to Peugeot. But he's not cruel about religion either...again, incredible balance whilst being straight-up with the reader.
Sapiens is an excellent jumping-off point for so many subject. Harari discusses the good and bad of empires and conquests, analysis happiness and consumerism, and takes a brief look into the present and future of our species via technological advancements in genetics. This book reminds us that we are not special, whilst discussing the things that make us special. We track the wonders and advantages of modern science, whilst being told we were smarter, faster, and happier as hunter-gatherers.
This is a wonderful book, expertly written.