Featuring Two Exclusive Essays by Yuval Noah Harari: "The Crisis of Liberalism" and "The Theater of Terror"
Discover humanity’s past and its future in this in this special box set featuring Sapiens—a reading pick of President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg—and its acclaimed companion Homo Deus.
Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli historian and philosopher. He is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals working today.
Born in Israel in 1976, Harari received his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2002. He is currently a lecturer at the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Harari co-founded the social impact company Sapienship, focused on education and storytelling, with his husband, Itzik Yahav.
This is a book that is both entertaining and thought provoking. As the title suggests, it tells of a brief history of mankind divided into three segments: cognitive revolution, agricultural revolution and technological revolution.
In a way this book very much reminds me of "Justice" by Michael Sandel, in the sense that it questions my own interpretation of human civilisation. Is it justifiable that men were traditionally more superior than women? Did people become domesticated by wheat, rice & potatoes in the transition into agricultural society or was it an improvement? Do modern day technologies empower people or do they enslave people?
Unlike other books on human history, this book offers a new perspective into our progress as human civilisation.
I spent my summer reading the first book, Homo Deus and found it one of the most interesting nonfiction books I’ve ever read. I learned so much more about our ancestors and appreciate their sophistication and realizing that progress is a mixed bag, both positive and negative..
The second volume, Homo Deus, took longer; partially because I had less time to read for pleasure and because it painted a disturbing picture of where we are heading as a species. I highly recommend you read both. They will give you ideas that will be difficult to leave behind.
A book that delights every person who knows how algorithms and computers work. It makes them feel less alone with their own realisation of the systemic human - machine and DNA- algorithm convergence (a realisation that one better keeps, still, for oneself, since 80% of us humans believe in a form of other of creationism or spiritual entities that govern life). This book follows a rigurous logic, is well documented, is up to date with the newest scientific discoveries and is written in a concise and precise, though enjoyably colorful style.
This book open my mind wider. They let me think back what we are doing today. What should we play attention? What will be faced next if we do the same thing?
Čitanje je kao apsolutno nikada, golicalo tonu razmišljanja o svetu prošlom, sadašnjem i budućem, o odnosima koji su ga stvarali i to i dalje čline, o filozofskim traktatima, o nedosegnutoj besmrtnosti, o elemetima svesti, o sistemima inteligencije, o Darvinu, o bogovima koji su umrli, o toliko mnogo kapitalnih tema koje nedostaju današnjoj popularnoj literaturi zarobljenoj u tunelima individualnih patnji.
Ozbiljna knjiga. Opaka. Bogata smislom. Prebogata znanjem. Gotovo nerealno dobra da bi uspešno krasila izloge popularnih knjižara. Ali uspeva joj.
Sapiens is a biological, historical, psychological, cultural, and even financial look at the journey humans have made from the beginning of time to now. While Homo Deus takes the trajectory we've been on from the beginning of time to now to speculate about our future in those same areas (biological, psychological, cultural, and even financial).
I absolutely loved that it's written in simple, basic English. This book was much easier to read and comprehend than even April's current 10th grade science books. You do not need a scientific, intellectual mind to appreciate it. (Although, because I have friends who let their kids read books based on my reviews, let me add that while I'd consider this to be a middle school level book as far as reading & comprehension goes, it does touch on more mature content - I personally would recommend waiting until post-high school to read it).
I also loved that the author openly admits that the explanations of our past given in Sapiens specifically are merely theories. There is no evidence to confirm these ideas, they are just some of the plausible possibilities. And similarly, he stresses that the speculation about our future is only a possibility based on the information we have currently and what the science has shown thus far. Science is always changing and we're always learning more. Absolutely none of this should be taken as fact. It's just for fun based on what we currently know. It drives me bonkers when people try to pass ideas off as fact. This author does not do that. He's very transparent the whole time that all of this is only a possibility on how things did or might happen.
And I loved the narrator's voice for the audiobooks. He gave off real David Attenborough vibes and I felt like I was watching a beloved nature special on the Discovery Channel.
I walked away with some nuggets I'd never given thought to before. Like, have you ever realized that in the middle ages when the average life expectancy was around 40 years of age wasn't because people were dying at 40 - but because babies were dying at birth! In fact, most people that managed to survive the first 3 years of life often went on to live 60-70, and even 80, years 🤯
Although, there were a handful of times that he'd repeat himself from chapter to chapter and book to book. That nugget I just shared was mentioned 3 times in Sapiens and again in Homo Deus. There were many others that were brought up at least twice over the course of the 2 books.
But if you'd like to tickle your brain with some light speculative non-fiction, I wholeheartedly recommend giving these a solid read.
There's a third one, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, that I've added to my list and currently have it on hold in my library app. As Sapiens covers the past and Homo Deus looks to the future, "21 Lessons" applies to the present. Yes, please! We need all the help we can get in these "unprecedented times"
My recent read was Sapiens. I have not been able to read Homo Deus yet, but as soon as I get my hands on a printable copy, I will devour it. Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens provides an interesting insight into how the Agricultural Revolution is often only glorified for its positive aspects, while it also implanted equally negative aspects into human lives. For instance, there is no doubt that human health has declined over the centuries. While we may have more medications to cure ourselves, the number of diseases has increased and the human body's immunity has decreased. Harari uses narrative building to recount the history of human sociological and cognitive development. No doubt, this technique helps him make history a little more interesting. However, through a postmodern lens, we must not forget to critique his perspective, as he limits many social and cultural factors in his presentation.
Cuốn Homo sapiens : lược sử loài người là cuốn sách nói về lịch sử phát triển của loài người bắt đầu từ khi còn là một loài linh trưởng sống ở trên cây cho đến khi chúng ta tìm ra lửa và bắt đầu các cuộc cách mạng của mình nhằm thay đổi thế giới này . Cuốn sách cũng nói về những bản năng gốc của loài người như tập tính sống ở trong hang bầy đàn hay là đàn ông thì đi săn mồi còn đàn bà thì chăm sóc con cái . Nó cũng cảnh bảo trước con người ngày tàn khi mà trái đất mẹ chỉ có thể chứa được 500k người trên trái đất này , dịch bệnh , nghèo đói và thất nghiệp sẽ xảy đến . Một bức tranh cũ sau khi cuộc cách mạng thứ 3 về công nghiệp diễn ra . Đây là một cuốn sách được Bill Gate khuyến đọc để biết được lịch sử khai sinh ra chúng ta , chúng ta từ đâu tới , và chúng ta phát triển như thế nào từ nền công nghiệp lúa nước ?
Very interesting book. Structures his history around 3 revolutions: cognitive, agricultural, and scientific revolutions. Runs across a large number of topics along the way like religion, economics, politics and how he sees them interacting. Some discussions are very negative, but others are much more positive. His conclusion may seem fanciful in what he thinks is yet to come. Still is quite ruthless about how earlier periods had negatives just as the present day does. He also is quite frank about positives in both earlier periods and the present. The book starts a little slow (others who have read it tell me they had the same experience), but it is worth pushing through. I found the latter parts of the book fascinating. Some of his understandings will undoubtedly irritate, but they will make you think.
Hiçbir zaman 'bestseller' reyonundan kitap almayan biri olarak ilk kez bu kitaba fırsat verdim. İnsanın yani Homo Sapiens'in 2,5 milyon yıllık serüveninde, Bilişsel Devrim, Tarım Devrimi ve Bilimsel Devrim ile ekosistemi nasıl manipüle ettiğini bilimsel kaynaklar kullanarak anlatan bir araştırma. Son derece yalın ve keyifli bir bir dil ile yazılmış 411 sayfalık bu koca kitabı hiç sıkılmadan okuduğumu söylemek isterim. Oxford Üniversite'sinde tarih doktorası yapmış olan yazar Harari, kitabın yayınlanacağı her ülkeye özel örnekler kullanmış ve dolayısıyla kitapta pek çok Türkiye, Osmanlı örnekleri mevcut. Bu incelik de hali hazırda lezzetli olan kitabı damak tadımıza daha da yakınlaştırıyor. Şiddetle öneriyorum. Okuyun, çocuklarınıza okutun, hediye edin..
Having loved the earlier book 'The Sapiens", this book was a mild disappointment. The first part of the book was a review of the first book, which was fine. The second part of the book just seems to fly off into heights of speculation, as if Yuval Harari was trying to sensationalize, not persuade or describe.
Yuval noah has become my favourite author after I read this series of books The greatest highlight of the book is that the author stands out of the human perspective and judges us unbiased. I find the sarcastic yet interesting. It leaves you with new clearer and stronger perspective to look into human acts and behavior. To an extent it shows us why we are the way we are
Horrible pseudoscience. Almost physically painful to read. Expected an anthropological study but instead got an opinionated historians uninspired account of the history of mankind. Almost no research references and completely anecdotal. Lowered my opinion of both Bill Gates and Barack Obama as it was recommended by both. Reading this will actually make you feel less intelligent.
This is a good summary of the evolution of the human race up to our present day... I like the exploration of the intriguing possibilities that lie ahead for us...so, more reading for me and definitely more education on technological advances and its applications to my work and my personal life. MBF
The book has a very interesting premise, and it is well documented with many examples. I love how it reads like a store rather than pure facts and information. It definitely is a lighter read than many other history books.
Un recorrido fascinante por la historia de la humanidad y sus perspectivas para el futuro. Imperdible obra para reflexionar sobre nosotros y nuestra naturaleza y tecnología
A must read for perspective on humanity's trending future. What brave New world awaits us? Yuval Harari lays out the pathways for us to examine before we stumble down one by default.