Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Horrible creatures, Homo Sapiens. We've rampaged through history destroying stuff and it hasn't made us any happier. You'd probably come to that conclusion anyway, without having to read about the various revolutions that have brought us to our current state of world dominance teetering on the verge of self-destruction, but it's interesting to see it all set out blow by blow. That said, there are parts of this book that are like reading a newspaper article on a subject you know a lot about, when you realise how much detail is missing and you huff and puff a bit and think, "Well, I wouldn't have explained it like that." Up till that point, you were happy reading the paper and being informed about other stuff you didn't know much about, and it isn't that there's anything wrong with what they're saying about your pet subject exactly, it's just that they're bound to offer a broad sweep rather than an in-depth examination. And I think Yuval Noah Harari can probably be forgiven for such passages, because he is, after all, attempting to cover an almost impossible swathe of history in this book. I'm generally a bit of a misanthrope, so the "plus ca change" message resonates with me, but if you're looking for hope and affirmation you probably won't find much here. The last couple of chapters are the weakest. The arguments are generally fine up to the present, and if he'd stopped there it would have been a better book, but he goes on to speculate about the future of the species, and that isn't generally what a history is all about. Harari is a mediaeval and early modern historian to trade, and the best bits of the book are undoubtedly about the period he knows best. This is a fascinating and an audacious project, to come up with a history of the Homo Sapien was no mean task. The author in his very simple yet relevant analogies has tackled some pretty fundamental questions in this powerful book. What made Sapiens better than the rest? What role did various types of religions play in the ascent of humans over other? Why West progressed while East lagged in scientific development? And lastly the core question of happiness. What is the difference between liberalism's definition of happiness to that of Buddhism?This is by far the best book I have read this year. I highly recommend reading this masterpiece.
What do You think about Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind (2011)?
ספר עיון מעולה, כתוב בצורה מעניינת ובהירה. מומלץ!
—stellavtu
One of the best nonfiction books I ever read. Fascinating and thought provoking.
—Mumtaz
