Name: Hannah Yang's review of Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Item: Sapiens
Rating: 5
Author: Hannah Yang

Yuval Noah Harari

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?

A Brief History of Humankind

Sapiens

Amelia Pokorny

Humans are not created equal. In fact, they weren’t created at all but evolved. Born with different genetic code and exposed to different environmental influences. Leading to different qualities and different chances of survival. “Created equal” should to translated to “evolved differently.”

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Ludek Bukovsky

Fatih Arslan

In Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World, published in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression, happiness is the air che supreme value and psychiatric drugs replace the police and che ballot as the foundation of politics. Every day, each person takes a dose of 'soma', a synthetic drug which makes people happy without harming their productivity and efficiency. The World State that governs the entire globe is never threatened by wars, revolutions, strikes or demonstrations, because all people are supremely content with their current conditions, whatever they may be. Huxley's vision of the future is far more troubling than George Orwell's Nineten Eighty-Four. Huxley's world seems monstrous to most readers, but it is hard to explain why. Everybody is happy all the time - what gtl and nponer aher could be wrong with that?

So, monotheism explains order, but is mystified by evil. Dualism explains evil, but is puzzled by order. There is one logical way of solving the riddle: to argue that there is a single omnipotent God who created the entire universe - and He's evil. But nobody in history has had the stomach for such a belief. *

Rayacak

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER** What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? Yuval Noah Harari challenges everything we know about being human in the perfect read for these unprecedented times. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us. In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we’re going. ‘I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who’s interested in the history and future of our species’ Bill Gates ‘Interesting and provocative... It gives you a sense of how briefly we’ve been on this Earth’ Barack Obama **ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**

Dhrumil Patel

Mihai Nueleanu

Matthew Jackson

Hannah Yang

If I was giving an alien a tour of Earth and could only give them one book to explain 'how did society become what it is today? & what important questions must we ask about the future?', it would be Sapiens. What a brilliant, sweeping, readable overview of human history! I feel like it covers just about every issue of historical importance -- each chapter is like an introduction to a subject that merits its own book.

In the spirit of brevity, Sapiens does not always offer an in-depth context of the historical events or issues it covers, and the conclusions it reaches for are on the global/universal scale (rather than offering best practices for individuals). Still, it brings out the key insights and questions for each topic addressed, shedding light on how concepts such as time and money, alongside various ideologies, were constructed throughout history. The idea that human cooperation and progress is the result of our ability to create and accept shared, imagined realities/stories has beautiful explanatory power and compels us to consider what we should imagine next (The real question facing us is not "what do we want to become?", but "what do we want to want?"). The sections on the history of happiness and the final section, on the potential successors of homo sapiens, were incredibly thought-provoking (I was particularly interested in the effects of advertising + the general philosophy of Buddhism). 

One of the key criticisms seems to center on Harari's idea that the Agricultural Revolution was a sham and a trap that has led to more stressful, alienated lives. One part of me is unconvinced: modernity's improvements in material quality of life and the ever-expanding palette of potential careers and hobbies seem to be objectively better than a life spent hunting and foraging. Even if Harari's claim that the average forager was more knowledgable/skilled person than the average 21st century person is true, humanity as a whole knows so much more about the universe than we did before -- quantum physics! Biology and chemistry! History! Art! Isn't this all clearly better?

Yet, I think Harari suggests that this conclusion presupposes certain shared stories about humanity (EX: The goal of humanity is to increase knowledge / improve material conditions / innovate and grow) when "as far as we can tell, from a purely scientific standpoint, human life has absolutely no meaning. Humans are the outcome of blind evolutionary processes that operate without goal or purpose." If ignorance really is bliss, why has humanity been so hell-bent on increasing knowledge? Whereas hunter-gatherers needed only know the village gossip and some knowledge of the seasons and the land, we obligate ourselves to endlessly learn more about events and suffering all around the world and across species. Now, we can even predict and worry about the suffering of future generations who will live with climate change.

Even seemingly 'good' knowledge improvements, such as personalized medicine and the potential to be amortal, won't necessarily lead to more happiness -- if anything, these developments could increase the divide between haves and have-nots and make losses of human life even more unbearable. From a religious perspective, taking away death and the afterlife would take away part of what gives life meaning. The happiness chapter discusses the importance of the gaps between our expectations and reality, and how a technologically-poor forager might be happier than than us simply because we are so much more aware of the 'deficits' in our lives, be it our personal appearance or relative wealth or the experiences we have access to. Given all this, I wouldn't be surprised if it were true that societal happiness is going down despite (or because of) objectively superior material conditions / awareness of the universe.

The question then is: what's the point of all our so-called progress? Maybe maximizing happiness has never been the end goal, but rather seeking out some kind of truth or fulfilling our imaginations or simply pushing the world to its limits (in which case, we are excelling!). Should we be redirecting ourselves? I am cognizant that in the reality outside of the stories I have absorbed to make my own experience of existence more pleasant, in the grand scheme of things, humanity and the 'progress' we have made during our time in the universe might mean little or nothing. The best things we've ever done and the worst crimes ever committed are just things that happened, and there is no one besides ourselves keeping track. Philosophies from stoicism to hedonism could all be perfectly valid ways to live one's life. Even scientific phenomena such as climate change may not be some horrible thing to prevent, but another chapter of earth's history that we will strive to survive through. But I'm a 'find meaning in every moment' person, and refuse to convert to the 'life is meaningless' camp. Realism is important to inquire about, but overrated! I can individually still want to live a long, happy, ambitious, moral life even if that isn't an objective good.

So while Harari provides no takeaway for individuals, here is mine: my life on this planet may be inconsequential to the universe, and society may just be a story we've made up, but I still impact the people and beings I interact with. Through the choices I make, I can make my minuscule contribution to our shared stories -- the force that defines our cultures and how individuals now and in the future will experience the world. If we can change the dominant story such that our next generation (which can include animals/plants/cyborgs/etc!) experiences existence more happily than we do now, that is a definite positive direction for humanity. Even if it is not 'meaningful' or 'progressive' in any larger sense, we can make it meaningful through our collective storytelling. Our stories need not be framed as 'delusions', but the most brilliant evolution of all, infusing our lives with purpose and thus the possibility of unparalleled joy and fulfillment.

Harsh Patel

Must read for understanding how humans came at the current times. Amazingly well written covering enough highlights and depth for covering range of topics. Book packs wide variety of ideas. 5/5!

Shape Mismatch

tl;dr - History of everything I guess, heavily opinionated though. Highly recommended.

A very interesting book which attempts to tell the tale of humanity from the start to now. From this birds eyes perspective, the author creates a wonderous narration spun intricately from the perspectives of biology (primarily), history, economics, politics, ethics, theologies and everything in between. The book, while for the most parts doesn't tell a typical reader something (s)he wasn't aware of (be it Neanderthals, or Buddhism, or genetic engineering), but it describes or even explains all of these things with amazing clarity. The author never shies away from extrapolating events to shed some light on their implications, from giving analogical explanations, and more importantly, never shies away from raising crucial questions, answering which is neither possible given our limits of understanding, or needed.

However, often, Harari does give an answer to these questions. And this is my main qualm with the book: overly opinionated interpretations. The narrative of the book is such that the same things which push the boundaries of your perspective, also constrict it by giving very clear opinions on the matter. And this happens in a manner which makes it difficult to separate the two. There are also moments where the author radicalizes things which needn't be. For a very small instance, boxing Christianity, Islam, Capitalism, and Communism as belief systems. While it can be digested, the way the author asserts it would leave little room for disagreements. Either you agree with him and read ahead, or you don't and you stop reading. Other examples include replacing sometimes -> often; some -> many while describing very subjective phenomenons throughout the book. The desired effect is to jolt the readers, to shake their understanding of things in order to make room for "his".

But, IMO, the book is still very much worth a diligent read. Despite the my way or the highway approach of the narrative, the book left me with many things to think about. Questions, whose answers (as given by Harari) once forgotten, are well worth the read.

Dimitris Papastergiou

I liked it!

Great book, informative, easy read, and well-written, also, written with a personal style by Harari, which already has a fan in me. The way he writes is just exactly the kind of way that would irritate people who have another opinion on matters that I always believed that, if you weren't there, you can't be sure, and if there's no evidence there's not point arguing about it.. aaaand I love that.

So kudos Mr. Harari, I'm gonna get some more books from you in the future! 

Recommended!

Sarah Schumacher

I’m a big fan of books that shift your perspective, and this is one of those. Read this if you’ve ever tried to grasp the big picture of history since the beginning of time.

Our perception informs how we view the world, often making our lens clouded, cracked, or opaque. This book serves as a much needed reset, a clear-cut tracing of our history as humankind. Understanding out past is critical to planning for the future, as well as seeing our 

 through an accurate lens. Sapiens does just that, breaking down the story of humanity in intriguing and insightful explanations and anecdotes that all add up to how we got to where we are. I learned more from this cohesive exploration than any of my history classes ever taught me, and the pacing and narration kept me engaged to the end. My lens ~feels~ squeaky clean at the moment, and I wish that for all of you.  20/10 “Biology enables, culture forbids.” 

Our perception informs how we view the world, often making our lens clouded, cracked, or opaque. This book serves as a much needed reset, a clear-cut tracing of our history as humankind. Understanding out past is critical to planning for the future, as well as seeing our now through an accurate lens. Sapiens does just that, breaking down the story of humanity in intriguing and insightful explanations and anecdotes that all add up to how we got to where we are. I learned more from this cohesive exploration than any of my history classes ever taught me, and the pacing and narration kept me engaged to the end. My lens ~feels~ squeaky clean at the moment, and I wish that for all of you.  20/10 “Biology enables, culture forbids.” 

Lennart Tondeleir

A lot of interesting ideas and insights. Gets somewhat repetitive towards the end.

Xin Ma

Joana Sá 

Surpreendeu-me! Seguiu por caminhos que não estava à espera, ensinou-me muito, embora seja uma "Breve História", gostei do facto do autor deixar em aberto a oportunidade de conhecer e investigar mais, dando-nos imensas referências bibliográficas.É um excelente livro que nos faz refletir, debater, mudar perspetivas! A escrita também está muito acessível, recomendo vivamente

Wynter

Magic Square Challenge 2018 - #5 - Nonfiction Book

Looking at my GR friends' reviews I can't help but notice the divisiveness of opinions on Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Some love it, and some think it's a generalized and biased work. My personal experience, however, was very positive. You see, I agree with Harari on the viewpoint he often describes - that is the cultural world we live in mostly consists of our self-inflicted imaginary boundaries. The notions of national sovereignty, socioeconomic practices, satisfaction with life, etc. are all constrictions we are willingly participating in. Or I should say, thanks to generations of tradition and crowd psychology, we are now unable to escape even if we wanted to. The author's arguments on imagined order and romanticism influenced consumerism really resonated with me, mostly because they are part of my own philosophy. And that is what I think this book should be marketed as: a philosophical discussion of the author's worldview, rather than an anthropological textbook. 

I enjoyed the fact that Harari was not afraid to ague for both sides, often describing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the same controversial subject. I too like to play devil's advocate. The pages on negative consequences of agricultural revolution on quality of life and positive impact of imperialism (gasp, how rude for this polite society) were especially thought-provoking. 

Since the subject has been brought up in several books I've read, including Sapiens, I have to express my complete bewilderment at the fact that the likes of The Gilgamesh Project and Artificial Intelligence research is encouraged and heavily funded as they are currently. I can't imagine how the quest for a-mortality or a far superior, ever-improving intellect can benefit humanity. I don't understand scientists that treat death as something that needs to be cured or eradicated, considering we are already putting too much strain on the planet's resources, or the fact that only the rich elite would be able to afford it, further widening the gap between the haves and have nots. Once again, I think we should ask ourselves, if we can, does it mean we should? I can't wait to see what Harari has to say on the subject in his follow-up Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.

Sumayya Tsabitah

This book is quite broad and rich amount of information. I frankly enjoyed the read. A thought-provoking book with comprehensible writings. Though I conflicted some arguments, this book is a good exercise for critical thinking though.

Anthony

This might be the best book I've ever read. I haven't really read anything history related since high school; what a mistake that is!

Yuval is a captivating writer. The content is very accessible but no doubt fascinating. There is so much more I want to learn based on what is presented here. Not only will I revisit this book in the future, but I will use it to figure out where to go next.

If you are curious about humanity, biology, or our future, this is a must-read.

It's kind of interesting volume of essays about history of mankind. It's not history book. Those thoughts and views are interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it as a reliable source about history. 

Jakub Balawejder

Bouke van der Bijl

Wonderful exploration of the history and evolution of Homo Sapiens. It was a good addition to my favorite book from last year, Guns Germs and Steel, and explores more the 'why', meaning and consequences of man's constant change, instead of answering the question of how humanity became spread around the world as it did.

Recommended for anyone interested in history and biology

Lord Aragorn

An amazing read! An eye-opener that pushes you to think outside the box about the history and evolution of homo sapiens.

Beatrix Haase

Can't exactly remember the date that I read this book but it def was this year.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where weâe(tm)re going. Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankindâe(tm)s extraordinary history âe" from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age âe" and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world âe~It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!âe(tm) Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel For more, visit www.ynharari.com

Philip Rosenbaum

Charlotte Dann

Did we domesticate corn or did corn domesticate us? Thoughtful reflections on the hows and whys of humankind up to now - aka Intro to SocioBioHistory. I particularly enjoyed the parts about the rise and fall of empires and meditations on the future of humanity, will have to pick up  Homo Deus for more of that.

Jacqueline Englund

Jimmy Cerone

The historical aspects near the beginning of the book are interesting and filled many gaps left by my high school history education. However, the real meat of this book is in the last 50 pages. Yuval presents questions I'd never considered and pulls together threads I'd never dream could be connected. Just on the basis of the last 50 pages, I'd say this is a must read.

Melad

Fantastically well written and consuming. Really hard to put down!

Madhuri jain

A thought-provoking book. It is the best book I have read so far. It answers all the questions related to human existence and they are so convincing and logical. If someone wants to read just one book in their entire life, then they should read this one.

Jamieson

“Culture tends to argue that it forbids only that which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition also natural. A truly unnatural behaviour, one that goes against the laws of nature, simply cannot exist, so it would need no prohibition.” 


This book was incredibly fucking interesting. Somehow Yuval Noah Harari is able to condense human history into 450 pages, and it's both concise enough to not drag, but detailed enough to feel like you're really developing knowledge. I love all the different threads this book bought together: history, science, culture, anthropology and philosophy all combined to create some really interesting discussions about Homo Sapiens. 

What I liked about this was that it was so educational, but also quite funny and entertaining. It was so easy to follow because of how the author infused it with jokes and funny comparisons. If you're someone like me who enjoys non-fiction but isn't a massive buff that balance between facts and humour was so nice. It's definitely a beginners, "I don't do this often" type book, but thats what I am so for me it was perfect. 

This book definitely blew my mind, multiple times. Can't tell you how many times I messaged friends and family like "did you know that scientists are going to inject Neanderthal DNA into a human so they give birth to a Neanderthal" and "did you know Homo Sapiens, Homo Erectus and Neanderthal's were alive at the same time?" and "Did you know that aluminium used to be worth more then gold so Roman kings served their favourite guests on aluminium plates and everyone else had to 'make do' with the gold plates" All the little trivia facts and things like that were fun to collect and I definitely remember a lot of the things that happened in here

I also found the discussion aspects illuminating and open-ended enough that I could debate it with myself. My perspective on some issues were challenged which was really nice. Some of the chapters though were definitely less interesting then others. The beginning was so interesting and my favourite part, early human civilisations were covered so well, but some of the discussions on economics and religion didn't engage me as much. Maybe because I hate math? regardless, the middle wasn't as exciting to me as the beginning and the end. 


  “You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.” 



Overall, I definitely recommend this if you want a brief but educational book about history. It's easy to read despite it's subject matter, and definitely taught me a thing or ten. I actually listened to this on audiobook and I highly recommend that, the narrator was fantastic and actually had a really soothing tone that helped me fall asleep (in the good, this calmed me down way not the bad it was so boring I fell asleep way)

Will definitely check out the sequel, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

scurtă istorie a omenirii

Félix

I have a hard time reviewing this book. On one hand, it's an enlightening book with lots of thoughts, ideas and knowledge worth spreading. Spending a few hours reading Sapiens isn't wasted time, it will somehow be an enriching experience. There is a lot of wisdom in almost every chapter, and it can help shatter many misconceptions about us, our history and probably our future too.

On the other hand, I loathe Harari's style. If you're somewhat interested in some kind of epistemic background in the things you read; and you aren't satisfied with books written in a style "Thus spoke Zarathustra." Sapiens will probably be a frustrating and enraging reading experience. 

Why? Because Harari doesn't care about convincing you, bringing clear and transparent arguments or, God forbid, give evidence for his claims. His style is clear: «Here is my knowledge brought to paper; eat it or die» 

He won't reference most of his thoughts, and the few times he does, it's more anecdotal than a true reference. You won't find any background information on sentences that go like:

 «Hunter-gatherers spent their time in more stimulating and varied ways, and were less in danger of starvation and disease. The Agricultural Revolution certainly enlarged the sum total of food at the disposal of humankind, but the extra food did not translate into a better diet or more leisure.»

You won't find any reference how he came to the knowledge how Hunter Gatherer used to live - it's just an assumption that will stay a thorn in the otherwise smart sounding paragraph. But the unfulfilling character of these claims makes the whole argumentation void of any credibility; and the whole book reads like this. Sure, it might be true - but you have to do your research about almost every claim he makes in his book, Harari will not reach you the hand to guide you through his beliefs.

As a reader, you just have to live with the fact that, hopefully, Harari has good reasons for his claims, you just have to trust him; but again he won't provide you with any information helping you to make your own epistemic judgement on his claims.

If your goal is to catch up with the trendiest ideas about human history from the hottest History TED speaker right now, go for it. It's fun, it's thrilling, it's somehow wise. But it's not good.

If credible background information, transparent argumentation and references mean something to you; skip it and instead, dig into The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom (from which Harari blatantly plagiarizes at least a section in my opinion), The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? (which provides much more insight into possible hunter-gatherer societies for example) and finally, for the evolution and the understanding of our mind - The Enigma of Reason.

On the other hand, if you have an academic degree and consider this book somehow convincing; I'd warmly suggest the above mentioned books as well as a refresher about how scientific, critical thinking is supposed to work. Ironically, Harari mentions it himself in his book, but he doesn't seem to care about it himself very much.

Matthew Jackson &
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

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Matthew Jackson &Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

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Matthew Jackson &
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari