Details Books Supposing Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Original Title: | קיצור תולדות האנושות, [Ḳitsur toldot ha-enoshut] |
Edition Language: | English |
Literary Awards: | Royal Society of Biology General Book Prize Nominee (2015), J. A. Hollon palkinto (2017) |
Yuval Noah Harari
Paperback | Pages: 498 pages Rating: 4.43 | 377818 Users | 27522 Reviews
Narrative Toward Books Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens.How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come?
Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power ... and our future.
Present About Books Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Title | : | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind |
Author | : | Yuval Noah Harari |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | First Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 498 pages |
Published | : | 2014 by Harvill Secker (first published January 1st 2011) |
Categories | : | Nonfiction. History. Science. Philosophy. Anthropology. Audiobook. Sociology |
Rating About Books Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Ratings: 4.43 From 377818 Users | 27522 ReviewsJudge About Books Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Choose Your Fictions CarefullyThere are far too many fascinating assertions in this book to even mention. But for me the most fascinating is Hararis idea of the Cognitive Revolution which took place about 70,000 years ago. "We might call it the Tree of Knowledge mutation. Why did it occur in Sapiens DNA rather than in that of Neanderthals? It was a matter of pure chance, as far as we can tell. But its more important to understand the consequences of the Tree of Knowledge mutation than its- Pssst! Eve!- Who's there?- A friend.- What kind of friend? Come on out, don't be shy.- I'm not Shai-- You are. - I'm not. Who told you that?- I just figured it out myself. Oh, there you are. What are you doing curled round that branch?- Waiting for a chance to talk to you, Eve. So tell me, where are you going today?- I'm gathering. See, Adam and me are hunter-gatherers and we take turns. Today he's hunting and I'm gathering. He's going to catch a rabbit, and I'm going to find mushrooms and
This book had changed my life, the way I think, the way I precept the world.I think it should be an obligatory book for everyone on this planet.
"The ability to speak about fictions is the most unique feature of Sapiens language...fiction has enabled us not merely to imagine things, but to do so collectively."-- Yuval Noah Harari , Sapiens The writing style reminds me a bit of Bob Wright's The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, or Sagan's Cosmos. It is obviously a book directed at non-academics interested in 'Big History'. If I
History and Sociology for Dummies, this book is almost irrecoverably watered down intellectually. [and for all those commenters that think I am calling them dummies, I am simply referring to the popular XXX For Dummies books and I am not intentionally insulting folks that enjoyed the book.] Sapiens does make some interesting points and probably opens a few debates, but it disappointed me. There are lots of soundbites here, especially the oft-quoted one about the agricultural revolution being
One of Otis and Abby's top reads.
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