Name: The Dawn of Everything
Rating: 4.34375 (32 reviews)
ISBN: 9781250858801

David Wengrow

David Graeber

A New History of Humanity

The Dawn of Everything

lilgramps

Chris Aldrich

Peter Schoppert

Karolina

The term ‘inequality’ is a way of framing social problems appropriate to an age of technocratic reformers, who assume from the outset that no real vision of social transformation is even on the table.

A trailblazing account of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the emergence of "the state," political violence, and social inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself. Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? What was really happening during the periods that we usually describe as the emergence of "the state"? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action. Includes Black-and-White Illustrations

Amazing, will teach you more about human history than any other book ever. 

Lukas

As close as you can get to a decolonized review of the history of early states and humanity from an anarchist perspective written by two white guys. Attempts to deconstruct the idea of the noble savage, suggests that the enlightenment and the rise of egalitarian thinking were a direct result of European contact with more decentralized states such as various Native American nations. Challenges a lot of the historical narrative of the development of human civilization by presenting multiple instances in which folks were either developing cities without agriculture, knew agriculture and chose not to use it, or used agriculture to a degree but abandoned it to resume hunter gathering in order to have more time for leisure. Amongst many many other things. Truly amazing book. 

Quentin Gibeau

This novel refutes a huge chunk of accepted anthropological theories, and explores new theories backed by recent archeological discoveries. 

It’s not a breeze and very much like a textbook at times, but each chapter presents new and interesting concepts that just make sense. I think this book is super important for people to read if they have any interest in inequality, humanity, and politics (lowercase p). 

Truman M Halladay

This novel refutes a huge chunk of accepted anthropological theories, and explores new theories backed by recent archeological discoveries. 

And it’s stellar. 

It’s not a breeze and very much like a textbook at times, but each chapter presents new and interesting concepts that just make sense. I think this book is super important for people to read if they have any interest in inequality, humanity, and politics (lowercase p). 

A must read? Probably. Gives good insights about how civilisations were evolved and how they could further develop

Alican Sungur

Thomas Steur 

I would like to remove a star for how long this is, but the length is necessary to formulate the irrefutable argument it makes.

Keven Wang

Hard to read at times. Last couple of chapters are pretty good.

Felipe Saldarriaga 

WOW i have to confess this was not an easy book for me, because every chapter hits you really deep, breaking historical myths and recognizing that most of the assumptions of humanity are biased at different points of research lead us to redefine most of our own beliefs.

I have to mention the moments of "academic slaps" to other contribuitors with solid basis.

David Graeber returns to the everything in 2020 but all his legacy lives forever.

Sloan, Kara

So many interesting examples. Sometimes get lost in the story of the example and forget what point is being made, but the author buttresses each one with a reminder. Some might find that repetitive but I found it helpful and so interesting!

Caitlyn Baldwin

Graeber and Wengrow provide an anthropological look at the history of earlier human civilizations that really make you reconsider the typical assigned constraints of "civilization". I think that too often we analyze the rise and fall of peoples with such a narrow lens of perception and this work really made me consider some things in a new light. I also especially loved the section talking about native tribes indigenous to the Ohio river valley region.

drew mcarthur

Peter Freeby

Benjamin

Bastien Vaucher

Brooke

'Fascinating, thought-provoking, groundbreaking. A book that will generate debate for years to come' Rutger Bregman 'The Dawn of Everything is also the radical revision of everything, liberating us from the familiar stories about humanity's past that are too often deployed to impose limitations on how we imagine humanity's future' Rebecca Solnit 'This is not a book. This is an intellectual feast' Nassim Nicholas Taleb For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we begin to see what's really there. If humans did not spend 95 per cent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful possibilities than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision and faith in the power of direct action. 'A fascinating inquiry ... Challenging and illuminating' Noam Chomsky 'Graeber and Wengrow have effectively overturned everything I ever thought about the history of the world. The most profound and exciting book I've read in thirty years' Robin D. G. Kelley

Lucy Newlinds

Kincaid MacDonald

Doug Belshaw

Renowned activist and public intellectual David Graeber teams up with professor of comparative archaeology David Wengrow to deliver a trailblazing account of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution--from the development of agriculture and cities to the emergence of the state, political violence, and social inequality--and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike--either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could only be achieved by sacrificing those original freedoms, or alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. Graeber and Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what's really there. If humans did not spend 95% of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? What was really happening during the periods that we usually describe as the emergence of the state? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action.

The Dawn of Everything A New History of Humanity

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