Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World

Unstoppable Us #1

by Yuval Noah Harari, Ricard Zaplana Ruiz (Illustrator)

The multi-million bestselling book, retold for younger readers

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Science, Audiobook, Middle Grade, Historical

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

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.

Reviews

[S.Ach · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sapiens" happens to be one of my top favourites. Everyone should read it, whether they agree to YNH's inferences or not. (Yes, one of my American conservative friends vehemently disliked the book - cause, "God is real, you see, not a collective imagination as YNH implies".. he opined). YNH makes you think, with his convincing arguments.

I have started a book club with the kids of my friends, and this children version of Sapiens is book of this month. Reluctantly kids agreed to read this non-fiction (We hate history, We have never read non-fiction other than our text books, But, this book looks nice ….has pictures…cool some of them said.)

The premise here is same as 'Sapiens'… eloquently expressed in YNH's famous Ted Talk - " Why humans run the world" - Men rule over all the other animals on earth, because men co-operate with complete strangers, and that's because they collectively believe in stories.. stories like religion, society, corporations, money, etc etc.

YNH provides many easy to understand and relatable arguments to put this point forward.

After reading, most kids absolutely loved it, with many positive reviews.

[Ana Lanuwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

De los mejores libros que he leído con mi hijo. No sé quien esperaba que llegara la noche con más ganas para seguir leyendo. Es un libro escrito para niños pero perfecto para leer en familia porque los más pequeños aprenderán y los más grandes … también.

Nadie, que yo haya leído, había logrado explicar la historia de la humanidad de una manera tan amena, sencilla y divertida.

Ahora sé y mi hijo también que animales gigantes de los que ni si quiera conocíamos el nombre habitaron el planeta, junto con otras especies de hombres: los Denisovanos, los Neardentales y los enanos de la isla Flores y todos, todos, se extinguieron a manos de los Sapiens. 😢

Ahora sé y mi hijo también el concepto abstracto y real de lo que significa una corporación, que los Sapiens dominaron el mundo no por ser los mas fuertes, ni siquiera los más inteligentes, sino por dos capacidades que nos hacen imparables: la capacidad de imaginar y contar historias y la capacidad de cooperar para alcanzar un bien común.

Ahora sé y mi hijo también que ese poder de especie debe ser usado para evitar que acabemos con las especies que aún no se han extinguido.

Me encantó como con narraciones de la historia Harari da libertad al lector para hacerse preguntas frente a nuestra humanidad, frente a la religión y a la manera como funciona el mundo económica y políticamente.

Sin duda un libro que le abrirá el mundo a nuestros hijos y nos dará tema para responderles preguntas de
todo tipo.

Amé la invitación al final a que todos usemos nuestro super poder de Sapiens en pro del planeta que habitamos.

[Dawnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastic book for kids between the ages of 8 to 12, depending on their interests. (even if the book says it’s for kids 10 years and up)

what i loved:
- this shares a lot of great information in a very easy to understand way.

- it gives the basic information to a lot of things so that kids can go and find more answers in the specific topics they are more interested in

- it is written in a way that makes it easy for kids to understand but dienst dumb it down too much or oversimplifies it.

- it has very nice kid friendly illustrations but not in a childish way that some kids that are a bit older wouldn’t find interesting anymore.


what i think could have been done a bit better:

- it’s a bit too focused on explaining some sections for pages and pages and keeps mentioning it later -for example stories and food used as examples to explain things- on as well while other things -for example how humans are responsible for the death of too many other species be it animals or other human like species- are just breezed over.

- some of the language is sadly a bit too much how we use it right now. for example “selfie” is used in this book. but maybe in just a few short years that word won’t be used anymore, since just a few short years ago nobody said it either. it’s just the first example i can think of but there where a few moments in the book that i wished the book would use that specific word since that might make the book outdated in just a few short years -language wise!- for which is sad since the story itself certainly won’t be.

- the illustrations are beautiful, but the kids in the book look at least teenager age (if i would have had to guess the age of most of the kids illustrated in the book i would at least say 14) why? this book is targeted towards middle grade aged kids, why couldn’t there also be a few 8-12 year olds?
is that a big issue? of course not. but it’s something i just don’t understand? especially since in a few illustrations there are kids that look more the age the book is targeted towards.

- the end feels pretty rushed.
the book spends most of its time trying to explain how our earliest ancestors might have lived and spend their days. which is great!
but the last m, i don’t know 20-30 pages are all of a sudden a rush of information about how humans spread out over the globe and became responsible for mass extinction and also shared that kids also have a voice they can use to stop things they thing are not as they should be, especially in efforts to help save animals and the planet.
there a no real explanations given for any of that -there are simply not enough pages for that left.
i think it would have been either better o leave this first book in this series (since that is what it’s marketed and sold as, the first in the unstoppable us series) to just explaining how humans came to be and stop at that and leave the book of with “in the next one you will learn how humans spread all over the world and changed it drastically by doing so” and would have had an entire book dedicated to that topic, going more in depth how humans traveled as they did and why that might be and all of that.
as it is in this book? we don’t get any of those answers at all.
i don’t know if the next book will give those, i don’t know what that one is about so maybe.
but i felt a bit disappointed that after a mostly fantastically done book filled with the beginnings of o her history one of our biggest things -living all over the world and traveling along it- was left to just a few spare sentences and closing sections.


all in all?

great book especially for the younger middle grade age group and one that i hope will be used a lot to teach the beginnings of our own species in simple and understandable ways as done in this book.

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 50%.

Nudna, męcząca i wkurwiająca.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sinopsis: ¿Sabías que todos los humanos tenemos un superpoder? Desde la sabana de África hasta los casquetes polares de Groenlandia, los humanos dominamos el planeta Tierra. Pero, ¿cómo lo hemos logrado? Los leones son más fuertes que nosotros, los delfines nadan mejor, ¡y no tenemos alas! A través de este apasionante viaje de millones de años, descubrirás cuál es este superpoder que nos hace imparables. ¿Quién dijo que la historia de la humanidad era aburrida? Descubre los misterios del origen de la humanidad y adéntrate en una aventura épica y real: la nuestra, la de todos los humanos.
Imparables es la serie de libros para niños de Yuval Noah Harari que se ha convertido en un éxito de ventas del New York Times. Se publicará en cuatro volúmenes con bellísimas ilustraciones a todo color de Ricard Zaplana Ruiz.

En este libro podrás encontrar la historia del origen de la humanidad con un lenguaje amigable para toda la familia pero manteniendo un fuerte sustento científico, con una narración llena de intriga que captura a sus lectores, junto a bellas ilustraciones que acompañan cada capítulo creando toda una experiencia de lectura y aprendizaje. 

Está principalmente orientado a jóvenes en edad escolar pero es apto para todas las edades, y no les miento cuando les digo que disfruté mucho leyéndolo, descubrí y aprendí tantas cosas que muero por leer los próximos volúmenes hasta completar esta colección. 

Un libro entretenido, cautivador, didáctico, educativo, a veces conmovedor, rápido de leer, y destaco además la potente invitación al activismo medioambiental, al cuidado de nuestro planeta y las especies con que lo compartimos. 

Full recomendado para leer en familia o con amigues!

"La historia como jamás te la habían contado, de la mano de Yuval Noah Harari"

[Pallavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars
I bought this book for my kid and he loved it very much. He was showing off by throwing out facts from the book which made me read it. This looks like the kinder version of the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind which I had read and very much appreciated last year.

Its written in a way that makes it easy for kids to understand with very nice kid friendly illustrations. Hoping for the Volume II to come out soon.

Recommended for 7+ years
Happy Reading!

[Beary Into Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never knew I needed this until I read it! This book is great for all ages even though it is marketed for middle grade. It was very informative and I honestly learned a lot. I think it's a great way to learn about history without being thrown fact after fact. Being a graphic novel made it engaging and the illustrations fit the words perfectly. Highly recommend this one!

[Koray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benim de Youtube'da incelemesini yaptığım Sapiens kitabının çocuklar için olanı bu kitap. Yani 10-15 yaş arası her çocuk okumalı. Sapiens'in bazı kısımlarını unutan ben için iyi bir fırsat oldu bu kitap. Sapiens insanlığın kullanım kılavuzudur çünkü.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not believe you can assert that something is a true story and then provide NO sources or bibliography.

In his acknowledgment Harari asserts that his book is based on the most recent science, if that is the case certainly he can toss us a few clues as to where to find that science, especially as he makes huge sweeping claims fundamental to our understanding of human evolution.

There are plenty of reasons NOT to trust Harari, starting with his blithe disregard of easily googled facts. Early humanoids certainly did not walk away from a contested giraffe kill and decide to eat more easily gathered figs because that would have been a heck of a long walk to the asian subcontinent. To build a rocket to the moon you do not need iron and bananas. Rockets are made of aluminum or titanium (because they are far lighter than iron.) the only unprocessed organic food ever included on a mission was the potato- something with waste - like a peel - would never be included on a mission where every gram counts. While those are mere facts I am disinclined to believe unsupported sweeping claims by someone who can’t be bothered to get the small, simple things right.

But what really troubles me is the interesting assertion that Homo sapiens dominate the planet, and out competed other hominids, because we have the unique ability to tell stories and imagine things that don’t exist. I would have been delighted if this had been posited as a possibility, but it is asserted as THE answer. I am SO reminded of being drilled in 6th grade that man was unique animal because we alone could create tools. Nope.

While story telling, and the ability to thus inculcate belief in others may be a big piece of our ability to flexibly cooperate (a really interesting Harari idea) there is evidence we are not the only animal that can imagine things that don’t exist, or tell stories. Additionally, there is evidence of three very concrete human attributes that do distinguish us and very likely advantaged our species.

First, neanderthals created art. They left cave drawings that appear conceptual. This is evidence that they too could clearly imagine things that weren’t real and were able to visually communicate ideas and experience. https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/n...
I am not an anthropologist but I know of two ways Neanderthals differed from us that likely disadvantaged them and allowed us to exterminate and outcompete them. They had different shoulder joints that did not allow them to throw objects overhand. Think spears. Imagine the advantage of being able to strike prey, predators or enemies from a distance. Huge advantage. https://phys.org/news/2009-01-neander...
The other massive advantage is dogs. Homo sapiens domesticated dogs, and while it may never be provable, any hunter or soldier will tell you the massive advantage dogs bring to both hunting and defense. No evidence of Neanderthal dogs has ever been uncovered. Did homo sapiens use dogs to attack Neanderthals, to defend against them, or merely to advantage our hunting of food? Who knows, but it seems very likely dogs were a massive, competitive advantage. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2...
What Harari weirdly never mentions as he expounds on his story telling idea is the human larynx. Language is a big piece of human communication- clearly not the whole story - but not insignificant. It seems Neanderthals had speech https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/nea...
But other highly intelligent animals Harari dismisses simply do not have the physical equipment to create language that can both be spoken and written. Again a massive disadvantage in communication- we alone (now that we got rid of all other humanoids) can both communicate in person and across distance and time. (Apes have thumbs but no larynx)
It is a big problem to ignore physical attributes while mistakenly asserting intellectual advantages. Some animals decorate, clearly indicating they can conceive visual storytelling and imagine a thing that doesn’t exist. Parrots can communicate emotion verbally. We know crows are capable of transmitting stories across generations. No question, humans are far and away the most complex users of storytelling. But it is a dis-service to pin all our competitive advantage on that and not mention physical and cultural differences.

[Sandra Koka (pielasit_sirdi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

DSC_8428

"..cilvēkiem vajag stāstus, lai sadarbotos, un sadarbības veidus viņi var mainīt, mainot stāstus, kuriem tic." (69.lpp.)

Grāmatām ir tā labā īpašība ne tikai iemācīt ko jaunu, bet arī atgādināt ko senu.
Ja ne gluži 10 000 gadus senus notikumus, bet vismaz savā laikā piedzīvoto. Harari aizraujošie stāsti par sapiensiem aizveda mani atpakaļ laikā, kad brīvprātīgā darbā Zambijā devos apskatīt alu zīmējumus. Nācās saagraut savus Holivudu industrijas radītos mītus par iespaidīgajiem senču mākslas darbiem, jo dzīvē tie izskatās daudz neizteiksmīgāk un blāvāk- tikai ar gida pavadību iesārtās līnijas iegūst ievērības cienīgu uzmanību. Pāris gadus vēlāk Indijā man bija iespēja vēlreiz palūkoties uz šiem mistiskajiem senču ziņojumiem, kas atliek tikai minēt, kādu stāstu tie klāsta.

Profesors Juvāls Noass Harari prot stāstus, it sevišķi tādus, kas ir par viņa mīļāko priekšmetu- vēsturi. "Neapturamie mēs" ir skolas vecuma/jauniešu grāmata par mūsu senčiem. Kas ir mūsu senči? Kā viņi dzīvoja? Vai cilvēki ir dzīvnieki? Kāpēc izmira lielie dzīvnieki un, cik atbildīgi mēs esam, lai vairs neatkārtotos vēsture? Šos un citus jautājumus Harari uzdod un mēģina atbildēt vienkāršā, saistošā un informējošā stāstījumā. Neskatoties uz to, ka grāmatas auditorija ir bērni, man kā pieaugušajam tieši šāds formāts, kas atklāti, it kā sarunas veidā ar viedu draugu, likās aizraujošs.

Skolas laikā man vēsturē pasniedza faktus, kas bija jāiekaļ galvā kā vienīgā patiesība. Harari to noliedz, pasakot, ka mēs patiesībā neko daudz nezinām par mūsu senčiem. Viss ir interpretējams. Tieši šis apgalvojums vieš lielāku uzticību autora apgalvojumiem, nenoliedzot, ka arī viņš pats var kļūdīties.

Iesaku gan bērniem, gan pieaugušajiem! Bērniem īpaši svarīgi, lai apzinātos, ka nav jākļūst pieaugušam, lai labotu cilvēces kļūdas, jo jebkura mazākā darbība, iekustina lielo mašinēriju.

"Tas ir vēl viens ļoti svarīgs dzīves likums: dzīvnieki un augi ir atkarīgi cits no cita; ja ar kādu radību kaut kas notiek, tas parasti iespaido arī daudzas citas sugas." (153.lpp.)

"Tieši tāpēc ir tik svarīgi noskaidrot, kā dzīvojuši mūsu vecvecāki. Ja mēs to zinām, varēsim izprast daudz ko savā tagadējā uzvedībā." (72.lpp.)

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kaut kādā ziņā šis antropocentriskais skatījums uz mūsu vēsturi ir ārkārtīgi aizraujošs. Manuprāt, šī tiešām varēja kļūt par ļoti labu grāmatu, taču atsevišķas lietas man traucēja uztvert grāmatu.
1. Daudzi lasītāji savās atsauksmēs jau pieminējuši neveiklo tulkojumu. Es pievienojos.
2. Ir savādi lasīt par akmens laikmetu un vienlaikus par 70 gadīgiem vectētiņiem. Lai arī kādos iztēles dziļumos autors mūs gribēja ievest, šis tomēr ir pārspīlēti.
3. Korporācijas. It kā saprotu, kāpēc tās tur minētas. Un vienlaikus jutos neērti, ka tās tur minētas tik daudz.

Es vēl gaidu meitas atsauksmi. Pagaidām viņa saka, grāmata ir ļoti laba.

[Tine · Rating 4 out of 5]

De kinderversie van Sapiens vanuit moeders' klascollectie. Enorm goed geschreven en een prachtige manier om kinderen over de wereld, de natuur, de evolutie te leren en hen zo al van jongsaf aan bewuster te leren omgaan met hun omgeving. Allemaal op een luchtige en duidelijke manier. Voor kinderen, maar stiekem nog meer page-turning dan de volwassen versie!

[Fátima Filipa (Mimodoslivros) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este livro explica como os nossos antepassados Sapiens se tornaram no animal mais poderoso do mundo, como se espalharam pelo planeta, fazendo desaparecer os neandertais, os denisovanos e muitas outras espécies humanas, e como levaram muitos animais à extinção tais como o mamute e o mastodonte.
Um livro de fácil leitura para os mais novos e que mostra a importância de estar alerta para a preservação de certos animais no planeta terra e o poder do homem na destruição de certos habitats e na extinção de animais.

[Tath · Rating 5 out of 5]

სკოლაში უნდა ისწავლებოდეს ჩემი აზრით, უმარტივესი ენით არის დაწერილი , ზუსტად მოსწავლეებისთვის გასაგებად

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastiska, tāpat kā šī autora "Sapiensi: cilvēces īsā vēsture". Jau ar "Sapiensiem" autors mani apbūra, un zināju, ka nevilšos arī šajā. Abas grāmatas ir tādas, ko noteikti vēlos savā grāmatplauktā.
Manuprāt, izcila grāmata, ko dāvināt bērniem.

[İlhanCa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harari'den yine aynı tarz ve anlatımda bir Sapiens kitabı.. bilindik ve ilginç bilgiler dolu..güzel harmanlanmış ve önümüze kitaplığımızda bulunması gerek bir kaynak olarak koymuş..

[Amit · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ideal children's book. Sheer brilliance of creators who remodeled the Sapiens into this child friendly graphical version. Felt that this should be a text book to be included into the curriculum.

[Tija Bija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viegla lasāmviela par bīstamāko dzīvnieku uz planētas Zeme – minēta iespējamā izcelsme un kādas neparastas "superspējas", kas šo bīstamo būtni nošķir no pārējiem planētas iemītniekiem.💀 Ja nebūtu šo "superspēju", šīs grāmatas (un visu citu) nemaz nepastāvētu! Nepastāvētu arī vārītu, ceptu vai fritētu kartupeļu! Pat kartupeļu (kādus mēs pazīstam) nepastāvētu!!
💀💀
Neraugoties uz īso, bet saturīgo cilvēka izcelsmes izklāstu (pēc evolūcijas teorijas, starpcitu, protams), manuprāt, visnozīmīgāk – šī grāmata jaunajam lasītājam māca mācīties no pagātnes notikumiem, īpaši par vairāku dzīvo sugu izmiršanas iemesliem, kas vēl šodien nemanāmākā amplitūdā risinās, bet, ko var mazināt, pielietojot tās pašas "superspējas", ar kurām šo ķezu ievārījām.
💀💀💀
Allaž fascinē, kādus apziņas iespējamos izcelsmes iemeslus min dažādi viedie. Šeit noskaidroju vēl nedzirdētu iemeslu, kas stimulēja cilvēka garšas kārpiņas(+ smadzenes) un iespējams attīstīja tehnoloģij-radi.

💀💀💀💀
Sūdzīb'dēlis :
🦴 Kaut kā nevietā šķita tas maķīša izklāsts. Gandrīz kā reklāma. Prasītos cits piemērs par korporācijām, to stāstiem un "noticēšanu".

🦴 Reizēm teksts šķita dīvains. Piemēram, "Mūsdienu pasaulē ir tikai dažas cilvēku grupas, kuras vēl joprojām medī un vāc augus un ogas." Vai nu Juvāls nekad nav gājis sēnēs, vai nu tomēr tulkojums man raisīja šādus un citādus pārpratumus.

🦴 Zinu, ka visus faktus bērnu grāmatās nesabāzīsi, un viss nemaz nav tik skaidri zināms, bet, nu, vīlos, ka pie nodaļas "Vācēji" tika plaši aprakstīta akmens rīku pagatavošana, bet ne reizi netika pieminēta tehnoloģija, kura radīja iespēju cilvēkam vākt, uzkrāt lietas un pārtiku, dalīties ar savākto un pārvietoties uz citām apmetnēm. Loģiski, ka liecības par akmens tehnoloģiju ir pierādāmas, bet pītie grozi (utml) ir zudušais mantojums, bet, nu tomēr "tehnoloģija uzkrāšanai & pārvietošanai", man'šķiet, tik pat nozīmīga (ja ne pat maķenīt nozīmīgāka) tehnoloģija, kā akmens pričendāļi.

[Siwabhorn Anothaisintawee · Rating 5 out of 5]

เราผู้ไม่อาจหยุดยั้ง เล่ม 1: มนุษย์ครองโลกได้อย่างไร เป็นเนื้อหาเกี่ยวกับวิวัฒนาการของเผ่าพันธุ์มนุษย์ ตั้งแต่สมัยป้าลูซี่ที่ยังมีบรรพบุรุษร่วมกับชิมแปนซี จนพัฒนาอพยพย้ายถิ่นฐานที่อยู่จากแอฟริกา ไปเจอญาติอย่างนีแอนเดอร์ธัลที่ยุโรป กระจายจำนวนประชากรมาที่เอเชีย ก่อนจะลามปามไปออสเตรเลีย รวมถึงอเมริกาเหนือและใต้

อธิบายสิ่งที่ทำให้มนุษ��์เอาตัวรอดในสมัยหลายล้านปีก่อนได้อย่างการรู้จักการใช้อุปกรณ์ทุ่นแรง และการใช้ไฟ เล่าถึงวิถีชีวิตของมนุษย์ยุคโบราณที่อาจจะไม่ได้อาศัยอยู่แต่ในถ้ำตามที่เราเข้าใจ เพราะจากการขุดค้นทำให้พบมนุษย์สมัยก่อนมีการอยู่รวมกันเป็นหมู่บ้านในบริเวณริมแม่น้ำด้วย

มนุษย์มีความสามารถในการทำงานร่วมมือกันที่ทำให้พวกเราครองโลกนี้ได้ เพราะหากเราไม่ทำงานร่วมกันเราคงไม่สามารถเอาชนะสัตว์ร้าย หรือแม้กระทั่งไปเหยียบดวงจันทร์ได้ และความสามารถในการใช้จินตนาการทำให้เรามีศาสนา ระบบกษัตริย์ บริษัท และเงินตรา

การรุกรานของมนุษย์ในดินแดนต่างๆ จนทำให้เกิดการเปลี่ยนแปลงและการสูญพันธุ์ครั้งยิ่งใหญ่ของดินแดนนั้นๆ อย่างที่เห็นได้ชัดคือแมมมอธที่หายไปจากโลกนี้เพราะการไล่ล่าของมนุษย์

ตบมือให้มนุษย์ผู้สร้างความฉิบหายให้กับทุกที่ที่เดินทางไปถึง

สำหรับเราแล้วบรรดาหนังสือในจักรวาลเซเปียนส์ เราชอบเวอร์ชั่นนี้มากที่สุด เพราะอ่านง่าย ภาพประกอบสวยงาม รองมาคือเวอร์ชั่นเต็ม ที่ชอบน้อยสุดคือฉบับกราฟฟิก เพราะตัวหนังสือมันเล็กเกินไป อ่านแล้วสงสารสายตาตัวเอง 😅

Goodreads ให้ 4.1 เราให้ 5

[Subrata Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a kid's version of part of Harari's best-seller book Sapiens I wrote Sapiens a few years back. It was so good, so easy to read. I have learned a different perspective on Human history after reading Sapiens.
Though it is written targeting a younger audience I enjoyed it a lot. It feels like revising Sapiens with many cool drawings and additional stories.

A school kid can learn about our ancient history, how we conquered the whole world, how the so-called "best creature" was a serial killer, and how nonsense stories made us united from this book.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

100%ige Empfehlung!

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 2 out of 5]

My feelings are pretty ambivalent towards this one.

Harari gives a fairly convincing overview of early human history and civilization. I guess. I don't know - I have a lot of problems with this and the fact that it is relatively convincing is actually one of them.

There's a lot of "perhaps," and "maybe," and "we really don't knows" littered throughout this book. And justifiably so - it's hard to construct a factually supported history of people when there's so little actual evidence due to the passage of time.

Which doesn't stop Harari from trying and/or rampantly speculating. It's when he doesn't hedge his sentences with "maybes" that I get really wary. Staring into the fire is mesmerizing because it's a memory from my homo sapien ancestors? Which is also why I gorge myself on gummy bears and other assorted sweet treats?

If you're gonna notably hedge on everything else - and do so with a great deal of justification - back shit up when you don't hedge and call it fact, man. Notably absent in this book is any bibliography or recommended reading that would allow a reader to follow up on Harari's argument (or attempt to construct where they're coming from). Literally nothing is cited; for me, that's a huge problem.

There's also a seeming willingness to sweep a lot under the rug in a passing sentence here, too. It's troubling that sapien conquests of other humanoid races is... while not exactly brushed aside, given a sense of inevitability and a nearly moral correctness that has the potential to lead some to pretty dark places - and nihilistic justifications. I agree that telling stories is THE power of humanity. But what do we do when one sapien story abruptly jostles against another? Does the stronger story win? Is Harari's talk of cooperation null and void when it comes to groups that are telling a story that differs from your own? Are we as willing to sweep our fellow sapiens under the rug as Harari's prose is to dismiss other humanoid species?

Make no mistake - Harari is telling a story, too, and is aware of it. I'm less than certain that I understand what the goal of the story is - what it is that they want me to believe, and what cooperation is wanted from me.

Coupled with a condescending tone towards its younger audience, endless sentences giving redundant examples, and gobs of unnecessary writing... maybe I'm not as ambivalent as I thought. Regardless of how I might feel about the argument the author is making, I actively disliked the experience of reading this text.

Notable - it's not the most common experience in a North American library to pick up a book with a globe pictured on it - that does not have North America as the focal point on that globe.

Important note added later: I read the Kirkus review of this title which says there is a source list and an index in this title. After bitching about the lack of source material I borrowed a second copy to check if I was wrong. I'm not. I've looked at two different iterations of the book and neither contain sources or an index. Maybe international copies do; maybe the ARC did. The final American product, however, does not contain these crucial elements.

[Majka Lesňáková · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is unlike any other books I have read. Originally aimed at young readers, it speaks to all audiences. If you are an adult, its mesmerizing illustrations bring you back to your childhood and make you immediately want to share this story of humankind with your kids. You even wonder why no one told you that story in a such a way before. Written in plain English, it offers simple analogies and poses the thought-provoking questions a young teenager might ask. Having read Sapiens and other Harari's books, I just can't wait for Volume II.

[Liz Konefal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this author and heard about this new book aimed for kids 8-12. I bought it for my nephew for Christmas and thought it was great.

The illustrations are awesome and it told the story of the start of man in a way that was easy to understand and interesting, but didn’t dumb it down.

Took about 90 mins to read start to finish, but actually even learned a few things myself! Would totally recommend for pre-teens interested in history and the world.

[Miku · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Niepowstrzymani" to pozycja przeznaczona dla młodszego czytelnika, gdzie w prosty sposób zostaje im przedstawione jak to się stało, że Homo sapiens dotarł do tego punktu w którym obecnie jesteśmy. Dawniej polując prymitywnymi narzędziami, żeby jeść i uciekając przed groźniejszymi drapieżnikami, a teraz pracując, rozwijając technologie oraz (w przypadku niektórych) latając w kosmos. Język, przytoczone przykłady jak i wyjaśnienia trudnych terminów są faktycznie dostosowane do bardzo młodego czytelnika, a sposób przedstawienia tych informacji jest w krótkich rozdziałach, żeby szybko przechodzić do kolejnego zagadnienia, zanim ten czytelnik zacznie się nudzić. Czasami miałam wrażenie, że niektóre kwestie zostały przedstawione bardzo infantylnie, ale z drugiej strony nie widzę innego rozwiązania jak inaczej wyjaśnić niektóre poruszane tematy.

Chętnie przeczytam drugi tom z tej serii.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vēlreiz un vēlreiz - bērniem ir jāļauj garlaikoties. Nedrīkst aizpildīt visu viņu laiku ar pulciņiem, priekšā pateiktām spēlēm vai ekrāniem (lai arī samērīgās dozās tas viss arī ir ok). Jo tieši garlaicībā bērnam attīstās radošums. Līdz šim esmu klārējusi, ka tas palīdz attīstīt arī tādas prasmes kā problēmu risināšana, empātija, inovāciju radīšana utt. Bet tagad es droši arī varu teikt - pateicoties tam, ka nekas netika pateikts priekšā (un vēl kaut kādai neizskaidrotai maģijai), mēs sākām radīt stāstus. Un vēlāk - tos mainīt un pielāgot. Un pateicoties šīm divām prasmēm, mēs esam pārņēmuši varu pasaulē. Ko mēs ar to esam izdarījuši? Neko jaunu. To pašu, ko pirms desmitiem tūkstošiem gadu. Iznīcinājuši un attīstījušies.

Līdz galam neesmu sapratusi, kā jūtos par grāmatas nodaļu par korporācijām, kā arī par teksta tulkojumu. Bet kopumā priecājos, ka tā eksistē. Jāsaņemas arī Harari darbiem pieaugušajiem.

[Vusal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tarihi sevdiren adam – Harari. Gençler için basit bir dilde yazılmış bu kitapta insanlığın nasıl dünyanın “başına bela olduğunu” tatlı bir dille anlatıyor yazar. Cevap “süper gücümüzde” saklıymış – hikaye anlatabilme becerimiz ve işbirliği kurabilme yeteneğimiz. Tarihe ilgi duyuyorsanız “Sapiens” ve “Homo Deus” gibi kitapları okumadan önce bu kitabı okumanızda fayda vardır.

[Iris Besseling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit was echt zo goed!!! Zoveel nieuwe dingen geleerd op zo’n toegankelijke speelse manier! Wilde “Sapiens” al een hele tijd lezen, maar schrok toch steeds terug en toen was er dit boek en vloog ik er echt doorheen. Hele grote aanrader!

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. I loved reading about human history and how our ancestors conquered the Earth and it’s resources. I am now fascinated with anthropology and the history of these animals. This book made me want to save all of the current endangered animals, and continue learning about anthropology and our Sapien ancestors.

[Yessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mooi boek voor kinderen in de bovenbouw maar ook voor volwassenen. Zet je echt aan het denken.. waarom zijn wij, mensen, geworden zoals wij zijn. Maakt nieuwsgierig naar de versie voor volwassenen.