Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - Book Club #4

I review Sapiens: A brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari and it's absolutely brilliant. A real must-read. (it was also recommended by John Green so it must be good!)

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I am Simon, a fourth year PhD candidate at the University of Exeter. I upload videos on bits of science which are relevant to what I do, and sometimes just because they're really cool.

Thanks to Vlogbrothers for their sponsorship of this video. Money from the Foundation to Decrease Worldsuck contributed to equipment used in this video.

[glennsz]

This book literally changed my perspective of everything I knew and believe in, in a few weeks' time.

[AJ-kppf]

See my problem is I would love to read these types of books...but my parents are extremely religious. I once had to sneak a book by Neil Tyson.... currently reading a book my atheist friend let me borrow by Richard Dawkins...parents found out and nearly threw me out of the house. So excited to get into college to do the things I want..

[LXSUR]

These are my personal's top 5 recommendations:
- Cosmos by Carl Sagan
- The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
- The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins
- Sapiens by Yuval Harari
- The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan

[akitir]

Sapiens, YES! Still struggling to finish it because of exams but it is going soooo good.

[doylewilliams]

I started this book like 2 hours ago and I'm already having inner monologues with myself. It's crazy good.

[alexsaquatics]

I just finished it on Audible. It's cool .I'm dyslexic and dont enjoy reading .so it was good to have it read out to me .

[rajithasan]

I am just here to boost up my motivation to read this book :3

[lailaheldal]

It is one of those books you love to talk about. It is so packed with knowledge. I read Sapiens and Homo Deus last year and loved both of them.

[lohojo]

This book Club is such a good idea. Im going to join in from now on, and im definitely going to read this book.

[otaviocf]

the discussion about the living quality of animals in this book was what got me thinking about vegetarianism, and a couple of weeks ago i decided to be vegetarian. Even though he doesn't induce you to join the veggie club in the book, I just couldn't continue eating meat after everything I read. I'm pretty happy with this decision and it's one of the thinks I have to thank this book for <3

[anonnemos]

Just gotta say Simon your passionate enthusiastic video literally made my day. Brought me up from feeling down. I dont think Youtubers get enough praise in terms of how much difference they can make to one life and having watched your videos since you were in Oxford, you feel like an old friend! Metamorphosis is a great choice and I've read it. Enjoy it! And Thank You :)

[KarenTookTheKids]

I listened to the audiobook first due to my work schedule. I was so blown away I just wanted to have the physical copy as something I own. I've since read it two more times. Incredible piece of work

[BillyBob-trcv]

You encourage me to push myself so much in life; and thank you sir for doing that. People gain motivation from ppl that achieved huge goals, but they tend to forget about the small ppl. Ppl like you that show students how to do things that can help them achieve their dreams. Like organize your schedule, how to study, etc. You sir show ppl how to do things that is not taught a lot, and I thank you for that. Just thank you a lot.

[sanijadsmiles]

This book was very interesting but I also feel that by the end of the book he started delivering the book from a more of a philosophical perspective over a historical one. I also believe that as readers we should be wary on basing our historical perspective on one single book. Even though this book is well written and fairly objective, each writer writes from a point of bias whether consciously or subconsciously. I also found a few historical inaccuracies which was a little disheartening. Still thought it was a good and interesting read, but just made me more aware of perspectives when it comes to reading non fiction

[ghewins]

“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” Wow, what a blast from the past. I read that book a looong time ago (late 70s, yes, I really am that old). I remember being completely unprepared for and completely blown away by the ending. My take-away was that there are limits to the role of rationality in human existence, and when those limits are exceeded, you can drive the people around you crazy. I just wish I could remember more about Phaedra.

[arvindsethuraman]

One of the best books i have read, period. it opens up our minds to what humans can do intellectually, what we have done so far or have been doing throughout our short history on this planet and at the same time how insignificant we and our problems are when you compare yourself to the bigger picture of the cosmos. It actually awakened me from the deep sleep that me along with 99.99 % of the people in the earth are still in and threw open a new perspective of looking at life in general and human creations in particular. A very good read, i will recommend you to read it seriously without any bias and try to open up your mind, 90% of your problems in life (most of which are self created) will just disappear when you look at the bigger perspective in life.

[katharinagromann]

I read the metamorphosis by Kafka already multiple times and it's amazing! When I was in Prague, I was the only one who got excited when we passed his birth house. Anyways, I can't wait for the next book club video!

[LeonardoDiCapri-Sun]

The moment you said "really weird" I predicted it would be The Metamorphosis! One of my favourite pieces of short fiction. I really like what Vladimir Nabokov had to say about it: "Gregor is a human being in an insect's disguise; his family are insects disguised as people."

[archiehamilton]

A great book I would recommend is 'Reality is not what it seems. The journey to quantum gravity' by Carlo Rovelli. I love your videos by the way!

[samgdotson]

Thank you thank you thank you for mentioning Guns, Germs, and Steel in this discussion. The reading these two books consecutively breathes some brilliant insights.