I would also advice Christians that he is rather condescending about religion in general and Christianity in particular. This relegates the book to a speculation rather than a historical account. This wouldn't be a problem if it were in isolation, but it is a pattern repeated throughout the book, where he will base a conclusion off an assumption, then proceed to build a whole story off it. This kind of statement is endemic of the sloppy thinking he engages in, where he will assume something for the sake of the narrative. Unfortunately, I also have to agree with many of the one star reviewers, that the books downfall is the almost constant speculation he engages in, without providing further evidence.Īs an example, he states 'the creators of the cave paintings at Chauvet, Lascaux and Altmira almost certainly intended them to last for generations.' The book is very interesting and despite its length, can be zipped through due to its easy reading style. Harari has a knack of weaving complex and interesting concepts into stories, which allows the reader to feel smarter for having understood him. If you want a factual account that is supported by an honest look at the available evidence, then go somewhere else. If you want to read a story, then perhaps you might find it interesting. But to say that it is overhyped is to put it mildly. I wouldn't claim that this is the worst book ever, obviously. There are so many books about humans, many of them much better than this. Not much new to learn for me, unfortunately. And he doesn't provide sufficient evidence.Įven in the better parts of the book, it is ultimately somewhat dull. The problem is I can't put much trust in him, because there are so many things wrong or misleading stuff elsewhere. Or is that just because I'm not as well-versed in those topics? Do I just not see his errors there, just like a layperson would not see his errors in his account of evolutionary biology, intelligence research, and more? I won't know. When he leaves the topic of evolutionary biology, premodern history, and starts talking about modern history the book gets slighter better. It's one of those books that are popular with the layman, but not so much with the expert. This book is essentially his opinions, and not much else.Īny person who has strong knowledge within any of the subjects in the book will quickly realise that Harari is not an expert on much of what he writes about. If you think you're getting a good scientific description of the facts, don't buy this book. Such a massive subject derserves ten times more citations. I looked in the reference section and I was shocked to see how few citations there were. The book is filled with assertion after assertion, and virtually nothing to back them up. There is no room for any indepth discussions about the various complex issues, and no room to discuss the evidence. Unfortunately, this enormous task is the book's own undoing. 'Sapiens' is a short telling of the entire human history, from pre-anatomically modern humans through the agricultural and scientific revolutions and to the present. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. 'Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international bestseller.
#SAPIENS YUVAL NOAH HARARI AMAZON FREE#
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?īold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, palaeontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. 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. 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? 100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth.
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