Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Ebook648 pages11 hours

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

New York Times Bestseller

A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg

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?

Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

Editor's Note

Expand your mind…

Expand your mind with author Yuval Noah Harari’s new classic. Harari dives deep and waxes philosophical about many of the large problems that plague us today. Whether you agree with his takes isn’t really the point; his well-considered, thoughtful arguments will give you a different perspective on all these problems than we get from headlines and 30-second news clips.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateFeb 10, 2015
ISBN9780062316103
Author

Yuval Noah Harari

Prof. Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling historian and philosopher, is considered one of the world’s most influential intellectuals today. His popular books—including Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind; Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow; 21 Lessons for the 21st Century; and the series Sapiens: A Graphic History and Unstoppable Us—have sold more than 45 million copies in 65 languages. Harari co-founded Sapienship, a social impact company with projects in the fields of education and storytelling, whose main goal is to focus the public conversation on the most important global challenges facing the world today. Harari has a PhD in history from the University of Oxford and currently lectures in the department of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

Read more from Yuval Noah Harari

Related to Sapiens

Related ebooks

Biology For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Sapiens

Rating: 4.433474128827878 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

1,894 ratings277 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Non-fiction history of where humans came from to where they are going. It was a great look into human history. The author singles out aspects of human history that he finds important. He writes really well and makes it an easy and enjoyable read. He does have strong opinions, which some people may disagree with, but I enjoyed learning about his perspective.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is an impressive book: big and interesting thoughts, good writing, compelling topic - but at times I felt it lack something - context? Numerous times I wanted to know more about a topic, how the recent research fitted with other views of the topic. Harari credits Jared Diamond with encouraging him to think big. But Jared Diamond, possible the very best at science writing for the general audience never tried to put ALL of his big thoughts into one volume. I think the scope of this book is so large, that it has become impossible to make the content fully manageable.But these are minor quibbles - this is an excellent book and a great read. Maybe in his later books, Harari focusses on slices of this broad canvas, and is able to bring the reader along, without leaving drowing them in information.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The prose is excellent and sharp, but I found his viewpoints rather pessimistic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Part natural science, part history, and part philosophy, this is a thought provoking read. It is careful not to make value judgements, but it is not reluctant to ascribe unknowable motivations to groups of people. Some of these motivations I thought reasonable, others not so much. I did have a few issues with some distinctions (and lack of distinctions) being drawn. The biggest was that the author uses a VERY broad definition of the word 'religion', which he defines as "a belief in a superhuman order." Distinctions that I, and I think most others, would make between religion, ideology, and philosophy, he lumps together as forms of religion. By his definition, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism, Stoicism, Cynicism, Epicurianism, Liberalism, Communism, Naziism, Humanism... are all forms of religion. Admittedly, the distinguishing line between such things is far from sharp, but grouping them under the umbrella term of 'religion' implies more similarity than they seem to be to have to me. The term 'belief system' would have been a better choice. His terminology may be what leads him to define humanism, for example, as a group of religions that "worship humanity." I doubt many Secular Humanists (which, oddly, is not one of the three varieties of humanism he identifies) would agree that they 'worship' humanity or regard it as 'sacred'. Humanism, in this respect, is simply the philosophical position that human codes of behavior are human based. Whereas a theistic religion may maintain that laws, taboos, commandments, and other such things are dictated by a god or gods, humanism maintains that such things have their origins in human imagination, cultural evolution, and human biology. There's not a lot of worship going on in this, unless he's also using an atypical definition for that word as well.
    But despite a few issues with terminology, I found this to be a well written, well organized, and thought provoking book. I highly recommend it.

    (P.S. the picture on page 287 of the edition I read is either upside down or the caption is incorrect. The map as shown is oriented with north at the bottom, so Europe is not in the upper left corner as the caption states.)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a fabulous book this is! Humankind through the ages, Sapiens and otherwise. Creationists are really not going to like this book, but then, few of them will read the whole thing The book is both entertaining and highly informative. Especially interesting to me is the section on the cognitive revolution. The creations of myths that allowed us to be large societies. The effects of the various peoples on the environment. There is the comparison of evolutionary success to individual suffering. Not all is gloom and doom, but then, not all is sunshine and butterflies. While the author tells us that now is a period of relative peace, it is also a period unequaled in history for the mass torture of animals. This information is not new to me, but it does break my heart. There is also information on current bioengineering. Just because we can do something does not mean we should. Hubris, greed, gluttony run amok. This book, a potentially dry subject, kept me enthralled throughout, and is worth a second read/listen to me, something I rarely do. I listened to an unabridged audio version, and the narrator, Derek Perkins, was perfect.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Author has amassed a great deal of history, facts, and speculation. He then weaves an interesting fabric explaining just about everything to do about human history/evolution. Like Chomsky, he ignores or dismisses theories and evidence that diminish the strength of his threads. Still, an entertaining read ...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    an very interesting look a humans! it is very readable but also very thought proving worth reading
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An excellent popular science book about the development of humankind that is written in a very readable style and that covers a lot of ground in a very accessible manner. Having been given the book by my brother-in-law for my birthday, I read it in a week or so and have passed my paperback copy to my son and offered to buy my daughter a copy for her Kindle.It is popular science and may not be rigorous enough for some who have already read/studied specific areas in greater depth, so you should be sceptical about the assertions made, as Harari would encourage you to be as this is a scientific book. It may not be 100% correct, but you are usually clear where Harari is putting forward his interpretation on the current evidence. Evidence can be interpreted in different ways and its interpretation changes are further evidence becomes available.It is very readable overview of a complex subject and Harari puts forward a cogent interpretation.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very interesting read about humankind. I listened to this book on audible and quite enjoyed it! I chose it because it was a pick from Mark Zuckerberg's book club. A book that I thought would be a little boring but once I got into it I found it very interesting and hard to put down. I think everyone should pick this one up at some point.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This connected quite a few dots

    This book made more sense to me than anything I've read in a long time. If you think the God has a plan for you then you may not enjoy this. But if you got a kick out of those Star Trek scenes when Spock raises an eyebrow at some emotional outburst by a human and says "fascinating" the. You will get a kick out of this.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A book that took me a while to read but never felt like a chore, and now I can't stop talking about it. Each chapter seemed to have some new idea, or a new way of presenting ideas. While generally serious and certainly not "uplifting", it was also very readable with bits of humour sprinkled around. "We study history not to know the future but to widen our horizons"
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best contemporary books to study
    A real must
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a great book and I really liked it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A wonderful read ! Written so that one is kept interested till the last page !
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is way better than any history or philosophical book I've read in school. It's such a beautiful piece of art
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Thought-provoking and genuinely compelling. Absolutely worth reading each word
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fascinating book, easy to read and very rich in content. Brings a clear point of view of what we are!!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The big picture looks intriguing, conflicting,paradoxical, inconclusive, philosophical, questioning and even though might disagree on some viewpoints, have to agree on the whole with such kind of arguments
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Deeply thought provoking. The history of humanity and its triumphs and problems described with wit and insight. Impossible to put down. Has changed the way I look at the world and its current state of politics and the future. Highly recommended!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Best For the last couple of years, I dont have eaten beef or pork.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    best book i ever read! compelling for every kind of audience.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Best book I have read so far, incredible indeed.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Harari is Confucius of tomorrow. His rare ability to make sense of everything in our world is unique. And it is very easy to read and understand.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one fascinating and eye-opening read...what a stimulating, intellectual trip!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Uno de los mejores libros que he leído hasta ahora. Lo hace a uno pensar realmente que fuimos, somos y para donde vamos.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent .
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An inspiring, thought provoking perspective on our exceptional and destructive species and its impact on our planet.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Intriguing read quite well researched with good flow of the story
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very true encompassement of who and what we are as a species and the terrificaly surprising road that got us all here trough the last 70.000 years.

    Highly recommend this to anyone looking for an entertaining read or searching for our place in the Universe.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I never write reviews but this book deserves to be read. Very well written, thought provoking book. Everyone should read it and it should be taught in schools.

Book preview

Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari

=xebook_preview_excerpt.html}˲#Ǒdo6K)JjƲb,ErJ*Su33|\M~6 c6?/?= Rjĺ2=Yxkwh|?ꫡfpܹj}:?!}Ь*W_p_i:?V_q}z祥|nMahV;F#i[7ɷƉ7ݴ^T0|sˀ}3V)T?W8//|-}U/nhOS:ۿ{{7KdRa&:/>}}L|EwRj4_ڰ ~e1nB6X4faLC"Üw_~k_775h||ˋ0w6Tm IG| ] ?׭D2EP'#߸g<6y?a~E®oF\|r{Ww!TVo? Swڝp B7[~vO]=8ooԋO&tw̭o[[B9`"Nhl jnip]SgKEΟ{LeU0b-8Sb8 [Y-#S'0Ȥzz|_κΓFV/(?_'*;镈.}ҧ*We?OI=V/]y؎^;o'z/~Wo\U/޼y v2e:Pg+PcY I78bpOUWOb%ߩ+GH\dd Gu$FVF=I(=ʨ1>Tі]M}턗ʮnfy*>'S]plx€3 m $;8lֽlkLVMd&1~CAU<TΛd lf!GIiƄ`ɷ פ΅&4S]x+<,I1M7{D&n2ѨaW@LƵxhjX;,8Xbd)j5rǡԎ.Pɞ·v4cII\1HSfˢBo&xi4@^t  ZDV<P((&;NsaǍpƷ4 $kv;߭O-*Ej]5`! >es~~OW#xpY*je醀McgOHI:0ͬIz@`vQً$J3?8Զx[}9AXr %4K"f_K,{U8_Ypel_+{6WL$a\7~;0cu'굛D<:܊R]b8p^ lasAz\|>  aouus DC |90X5;~kEY"n{;CalYDLE2;(| Q0^g˵'yz5@5?D$t zuř1B*R-*tضHgQKҼt1+Vnyr1bz2 sd!qTkHT 8R 6H,n!&GĀZG5=cawƽ>6A旮 EtB/JqLp@"?],>4)Ji.9ɏ<qUaHa/즸_09l(2%o4b-cJftq$*VКeFb, ֝אr'`ӯd /e Bqrؚ0T W`)'Ց='@E~ր ΂I&p>r"&xԅy+-' )"<:o "z=]k"#PQur`'P:R<)`W>|,xvHL-^ρH+A$4gbڱZ^VK[bVQ_[rW6=g]_f)5f㹊_ ># ҈ѳzDG{7v5}oQgsMp< ~3k )ew_Sz2Cv4r[ a(f ɱB^wYd{[h7jêz>᠆nl$y@#4R O8 )=Y tk!D#+_[f]^ !rx>`aTZZ8ZxDd*ӹ d0!omFW1O |G ABMC2$aWPEr'an,4jc󨺇ۋHE֭$>Q+=6k1f#4+@GFC380!F|SH_;F~#8S8z.!eҌk?zde.yK!7krx_%Z8Pµ*=Q!?}(xo,EGkzrd(8֩=ܴ p624wYӭR/N?. (ȸnZN&f_Reь7')#=SyᖂZFn-^k#Rޛ_%Î]_0Yy=mVuPT~BRM}9V4m%}cH-.{pJ\YP@)yQ@,SrL"ݠ[~wGBupiaM$?n*XZ*Xg;=rF|h`aXn%GQYʹ[vd |hYPUx!dand75$0|a<_`<&|Z{o=K049T ))-n|tsW#T[HW>uBҩжv:la8VcD}^eFLQ34XPK\v؟DQ8ν2gKʶ~FiT6Ll]3ΠЩ$Mv_'?8J4EVt3G2`kVRȺ)_ÃKDl=84iOD ,aD/[K>9Ɋ\H6$U8,ܫ,ry :cv bS\ +zT(ny2k_NI.*HJtS8M5j O;aGAK`3ox"g|pzfRg]~sxk7,;vE}_/=mheg8-dT*0/:S}KAXD&#]{'?ma_=c{fҧyD[RG _*zk8U~t30j<fҪJʢB 7݆Z Fh%6h5D#}\3@<77M'.h͂۴ijVQ8e!J%s_*+ꈤ R ݧ"1Dž2o2!$EY٨z{\DsdEs}**F2Vt >BӻNDQdHXsp$$5w{ >z F7J B X2RFqWe=)G$!趛?^k͆ߨQ9|5QкWd;ɻukxۢ7}:tOK)¨]n iC?X\ TRSFh7bhO!4 +/Fa3 ))A.X<>({3ȘY"OX3pHY5.~a3):E| :SN&ĩѩUl@`5ܿ_p (}(%`pɲFͰQ# IN7Tt 4l:@HP!^p˨:1UNgc=Qz pJ /|nDz[c` ;2J1'Cq7I7%X{I^&GaQtbC)W0`Io VK"UKgܽVv!oy򻹏,ds٪+K45u#JY]n-m_ǖTJs0ANT'0@v-#~)TC[׹ 0ٶ6+!V~, ;R>3LPx#ˋ,j,@g;ScCŨ!ϕ Т_f^(iWl`rгz8[Jʍjh{I9\jP^z1%/nkf;z \ |e>#$E'2DUyJ;9cDP$;2_+$I'k_K Skf&3 6dCtTG*$#!' ]֎ȓp5IevݯeՌ- mAT8dqn{HGz b+P **d=L#I VbDɗT1phu~8|`'L6HD[PNw(CRvȰ8lr9B+ـEn.$эnYSFFJ3wEsrjmN`EXsKUcV4A~s_@LB4TJk]UiR$D)btJU X-kF\4bc}n_б2[,%3ԩ7_.ʻ[qW߄LHrtl 5 M+P V=i \ACp (z╤y\6*.&P) f=sڌYBv~J ,)uhS2)!FGGzC 9em#ǡWggqh *~Z%tLYƁb߰3OQުlXab!5oʏbGHnpĐaēQ24$7'Oc)V$W#A-l-vܾ| D II @{0 1S6&hWbv2:EQO?n,I&whjDa)C!!~1 x·Wc,&ʶJc.Eَm&ł릮Q͵(1CHAF% &km^3T̗ks{ I_ aYT6&IC$]#YY{`}ْ^j"b>Df]2>h VKj(B]MVĚ67FmO̡A"d )5kDUvR)>:.vh" bF$Ђkp)˦a%†Z&C; *H!HdBRitp}QSљ/`ՍdK*}䴙3,Q5]=c՟YTgs)ZvQV@De"@l6&0+w?#w;8ǀODKʨ4aZ\hW4t_ 8S^k|lTmȦxsZ Xd(ʺ6 '/:bx,>(XƢzmj[g(LYXu;@ O6́\:NDJR9CSy+#C,e1EY$gX>6hA-7bM~B+i 1Ui5_ݦal4ȱK}X[甗گT9z>QP'9jqȏXK-X'UurE%.fƹRQNA0#5gYHu!Lnt(*\JOez'N rk8)Ă1$`MSk6w͖eQ~%:B'Gq;&xzOGWS:vL\1sf֋6:;e;/7-86ڔis(vR3 4lo&R5APYv{p )2؊׼js{w%!!KԯI\^XRWe۵r rJ]':w0#.R_r>#IG`P,Ok3$VUk(3iCs Bڗ2'씵yFLm_o-1_;iC_K q[}-/eH78ZMh3=M=KPR0@*BԲ%hxXc 7kUO(Q&Yl);f[(ց[,R"T{斴`*0Er8ֱnêSN} zkK|":3V8cJΠ&:$͔ ]vp2kᐯcXRtB+D|\%^ކaQ o\.1\쌤!EAd5Pb?4H n I0\2fƒҍVFZ.nٜH\/ӛ N,OkUq$TܲH#ԉ(hkV\?{uMD"3Pg]G 7%Nb, SapOnTzH]:Q1?t'MQF)yhGԘHu\V0""mn)$q VVmݫj߆Q؀"G"4LllwqכVEj[akm1;dT+qT&˞ go-+zz 85uySۉ/a)e5??@k~`io{,$Xk-uh[@|>wnE'%)o0:!>tغCV^cjJ2% jbZ> T~kF3RH]/y+W HmyPm%ƻPD6ZiRؗ礤ԼK H@ȥ^͎C6쬅v9,]lF]I$Qb;]ܬtvOu#౉٤rXZҲLjޢ6t O@KZYiNG]2YcS>ZK*ys:w=@TNvU%qT߳>6{e*MĮUlqJ*(Jϩg *Ο/ 41N[ \j>%_)*Fde*e{gѿsp".JOG>ڊQf!n)셗8 cøl U<(Lj2fybrܭp3KJ_6.e\>@_>A\{/x5$r$CӜ bD|J{ke(l+;;"D[Y⁵Ցkj]aH;:k V(yԫu!ie#6Ҽµt7޸Z%&In;&29 AM:ĩi>5ޗ|*(UI)V5x\ps"}*c㓞|X+Cӧwzh_],}XʭOzrn[iwf 3.wW;u|u/$RHHLc%uF3""GzR,nȲߧwhP L7=w* a6ZS~rL-ծSp!"Z)Sjlr|P49#w}A,0:8o ret,Ѷ{STtx:0:3B|W zysR0d-{f-Ѡ VW5i_seSE{| uAYbzMoux% ;<Cޛ/?1%k^/_n?×/~|ϯg[ ْ9xWg.tI׽BJa8 sQVX}{C=/K]3HK|+ցV(x:/N ()[z#kv}L.d!z c!+)*8"qkV\Y m'WvI@phK–u{f7&n]͆]FwK) e6m|ј@hy<{+/Y @m&r`sSQH@G4:Lسz^޼ ֑&.3:D HVX-.G-ݍQ1Σ9tEv~*7Efp6{WjmgXZzT2lLݼSYw9f׸"v,@jx+!S8=rw!`͖6BY;BR98~E]F@藐a9AqIϣ\7N|&"ضdD]v`[#3[p7Rd/DAXv_|MI0bxQ(HV]ĆG̢h"1PZ6bϗJRqL$`D6xPGW|SQGϮL(GK3ZZc$פDډfB=)S9q#.svq5= CV<;q?w-b{K_# Oaͨ}mZ-{l&&mB^"Iǔ!EbѫzrC{7$eX CqXv*#?l L'&KZӸԳpv}$sNSkkX\#VWtck N #V)*6j9MRt(m$0OhXxYְʺX(1(ΨQajFjtbtsB[DbVjГ d5%]m4 6` Eʊb {?̝eǢsbOBx jf F \s,R0w0`|uJJ^|[{j0d˿>ӦT0jwH"_wĽK+ʝ}-d* 6.aHɛtIpGaRo QZc]?p`^%5|×2&1X,Hʺgtt.ʋ16֫c|%V՜^:# fJZ9aW*vb ,q>F6Hh=k\u?GU#FSqrUewe3+yJ ++ʋWqZ\V$.!H }:22*Z,;[Eg87_aR)~wZ$8jf#ʋ(5t(M#/- ٪Uae5/BU-D/> ʫ@x&eI4p[c7r rQz ֊497 H:<riz@[[V)54iv,MXOg4Zr9 nѻAḙ1]Y2 mx,I9V .ak ?SZ]wANnF\D&M~kw\0Ӄ?yGƄ>T%XŐ Z!epv ?m1L%b]Z;2n8)۔i0╨K?5}Vd8h#*BKRuO0FzQǿWnQ%UUJDjʦTX5:8njRlei.l.Q|*l҃RXdޟ>3FC^ذ̑ރ?C&;yjM^⇞_`c]X(CefJRpԚt{ue$h!xeesd=TD4 F}n%иPfoĨLE)˻Q12s:ۺsNukf6)-$XW h+._˒Yo.}6X8\ܝw:(%VЦhOapoM=1\nj FCx?л01/o3=d^M``n81%~#:hF-^<؍R+ω;fBڷK>"6Vg?V_;Qv%Eh%H9èX]"{R7hVt[G57&\kc{(ESc<:()N ߲ٚOl$rgNZGɛQ}lkNJn`7 nƔ'H0w`QώR .V 6Rod;1޷/UvShչ˵2^f".[8Es7xn i6=Q8‰w ;I>:_cullLׁ#m,H{كK'ykmobli$- 8fh(K V,H?!^ 9\TR,!oR\*}akdjy(Y@?oIK֋rЖ5.")9=(^銶㕡4eī!P"Fv "J7cʁf@G;^[? ط
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1