Humans

I bought two copies of this book. One for myself and one for my mother. We both casually read through it a bit at a time, around the same pace, and never really got more than 40 or 50 pages apart. As we’d read it, we would find interesting, sad, inspiring, or touching stories and send the page number to each other with a few comments on it. When we saw each other in person we’d discuss some of the more notable ones. I bought the book on a whim after hearing her mention that she wanted to learn more about other people, and having known about the People of New York project, I figured this would be a great way to help her identify with the struggles and triumphs other people in the world have on a daily basis and get a glimpse into their world. Humans provided exactly what I was looking for, and what she was looking for, and then some. There are certainly better books about the difficulties of humanity snd what we’ve had to overcome, but never something with as much breadth as Humans. With a handful of larger stories and mostly short paragraphs from his conversations along with photographs, the book allows you to really gain a sense of empathy and wonder not at those people that are featured in the book, but with them. I’m hoping there’s a “Humans 2” at some point, or even a long form book with expanded interviews from the book. I’d buy and recommend either version in a heartbeat, just as I’d do with Humans.