A review by haagedoorn
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

3.0

I am doubting between 3 and 4 stars with this one. The good sides are the clear narrative, namely starting with the often underexposed pre-history of humans and continuing with the broad strokes of human history by focusing on three main topics: imperialism, capitalism and industrialization. The bad sides are mostly restricted to the sometimes disbalance of the chapters. Some are almost childishly simple and in-your-face, others are much better. Still, the entire human history, without going into specific states or regions, in about 350 pages is quite impressive. Harari writes with a clear voice, often with wit. Being more of a historian of the modern age, the first third of the book was very informative, the last fifth about the future of mankind quite inquisitive. The large middle part lacked too much in in-depth knowledge, but that does not discredit the quality for anyone with less of a background in (early) modern history. Conclusion, three stars, but count four if you include yourself in the of crowd of ''novices within the subject of history''.