Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Book Review)

► Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Book Review)◄

Time for another book review and, this time, I'm going to review "Sapiens"

Here is the book review extracted from Amazon:
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.

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📚 BOOK REVIEWS 📚

► LINKS YOU MIGHT LIKE

[andreypkr]

I read it and I think it's an amazing book. I found out about it from the Bill Gates' list of recommended books to read.

[SleepingElephant]

I would not skip this book.. It is a great book & is fairly non-bias. I prefer negative reviews to tell you the truth. I highly recommend the book because it is so controversial.

[MusixProu]

Have almost finished the book. Yes, he has a radical social constructionist view, but I don't see him outright pushing a leftist agenda, given that he clearly states the terrors of communism and references Solzhenitsyn. But that is not to say that this ideology wasn't pushed subtly. If you don't have a firm grip on history (which I don't), then it's hard to tell if the "facts" he proposed are accurate. And I don't see how his point on the agricultural revolution was inaccurate. It basically was, that the individual was worse off (for some time) after the revolution, in favor of mankind (the individual afterwards had a less diverse diet and less diverse lifestyle, less community). I'm not sure how that statement is ideologically driven? Also, I think the case it made for capitalism wasn't bad at all.

[wowowowzzz]

I really enjoyed this book, Sapiens. I think it was the controversy and the fact it forced me to take on new viewpoints that made me like it. I wonder if I had listened to the audio version, like you, if I would have perceived it differently. Maybe I'll try to the audio version.

John, have you read Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark? I would love to hear your thoughts on it

[mmmaria]

John, have you read Deirdre McCloskey’s books - Bourgeois Equality, Bourgeois Virtues or Bourgeois Dignity? I would love to hear your review of those.

[albertaoridge]

is this different from the other volume 1 and 2 of sapiens? or is this just a book containing those two books in one?

[kmfaessl]

Thanks for saving me some time. Had this book on my reading list but removing it immediately.

[RogerThat]

Totally disagree. One of my favorite books because it makes you think, even if you don't agree with everything. The whole point of the book, in my opinion, is to say the things we just accept often came as a result of pragmatic human concerns. If you believe God created everything and everything is a result of that then, of course, you will hate the book, but the title should have given that away. Excellent book if you came into reading it w/ an open mind.

[veehope]

Will you be doing a review on 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson?

[jasonplassaras]

John you should read the book of Jordan Peterson. I'm reading it just now, and he has something to say.

[ArtyCraftZ]

You went from Simple Programmer to Jordan Peterson lol

[vitorsampaio]

Hey John, I don't really watch your book review videos unless I have read them, but in my opinion this is a great book, and yes, revolutionary in many aspects.
I really like hearing opposing views and listening to arguments contrary to mine, but I can’t say I really understand yours. I think you misunderstood the basic premise of Harari. He is trying to portray things as they are objectively, without the meaning we attach to them. He has a doctorate in biogenetics in Oxford, and his perspective is scientific as well as historic. I found that your biggest disappointment in the book was his disregard for moral values, or natural law, but keep in mind that these things, although of extreme importance, are human contructions! They wouldn’t exist should the homo sapiens be wiped out at once. I could build up my case more, but I don’t want to prolong this. And also, if you claim that a major historian who has spent all his life studying human evolution and history made several inaccurate statements, say some of them at least!! I was really curious as to what these actually were.
Otherwise, keep up the good work. This video was strangely incoherent, but the other ones are great.

[carolinejackson]

1) Accepting that value systems are subjective and contested doesn't mean that those value systems are meaningless, and Haraari absolutely *isn't* saying that morality/ethics/justice is meaningless, he's just saying that they aren't objective 2) it's a little sad that it seems that your whole self-worth is bound up in believing that some things are objectively true or false, good and bad, so that when those ideas are challenged, your whole worldview and identity implode.

[behrang]

Hi John, In my opinion the purpose of life as human being is different depend on where, when and in which situation we are living. Maybe for the people like me and you who are living in the developed country, which in a very competitive society, being better version of ourselves does matter. But If we consider the purpose of like something constant which apply in anytime and anywhere . I don't thing in the countries that are in civil war or starvation and the people are struggling to be just alive being better version of ourselves does matter .Or maybe in 20000 year before in whole world the purpose of life was the same, and it maybe changes 20000 after. And this book is about that, it says based on conditions our believes, convictions and perceptions of life changed and will change again.

[jesselangel]

Thanks, John. I was going to invest the time in this one next. I appreciate your perspective.

[mghaderyan]

It does not pass your test because you believe there is "purpose" in life and the author does not? Hmmm. Also you did not mention what exactly is inaccurate from history in the book. Plus, the author can not begin every sentence with "This is my opinion". Also I do not remember the author saying what we do to animals is "morally wrong". He mentioned that we make them suffer. This is true whether you believe in morality or not.

[Andy-losp]

I don’t think that is a proper representation of his “morality/etc is a social construct” argument. He is just saying this in the very literal sense that the fundamental laws of physics don’t say anything about morality, but rather that morality is a concept that happened to be adaptive for us to evolve. I think unless if you invoke religious beliefs, this is pretty obvious - there’s no coherent case for morality existing in the laws of physics (how??). He’s not saying we shouldn’t have morality or that he doesn’t have one of his own, so I don’t see the contradiction.

[mmmaria]

This book is on my list, and I will still read it. Homo Deus, the author’s second book, is along the same lines. I think the authors point is to render humanity obsolete. Barack Obama loves Homo Sapiens book, by the way. I believe in humanity and moral virtues, which Yuval Noah Harare omits.

[NicolasIbarra]

Hey John, you’re right about a hidden political agenda. I would suggest to read this awesome article on the subject by one of my favorite blogs Quillette

[monkeymaster]

The book doesn't make the point that it's all random bullshit and 'just' a figment of our imagination. The stories described in the book like religious/societal systems all play a key role in the co-operation of our species and the books makes a point of noting that.