Suzannah’s Reviews > The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity > Status Update
Suzannah
is 3% done
So far this is polemical in a way that grates and stomps some important distinctions fairly flat, but also it's discussing interesting topics in interesting ways so I'll consume with a plentiful helping of salt. Anyway turns out Thomas Hobbes was a Civil-War-era royalist which sure does explain why he thought human life without autocratic government would be "nasty, brutish, and short".
— Apr 14, 2026 03:06AM
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Suzannah’s Previous Updates
Suzannah
is 39% done
The authors define man as inherently political, but in terms that make me think the more accurate term would be "ethical". I am off course predisposed to like their argument, that the choices of primitive societies should not be seen in terms of ecological determinism, but of ethics.
— Jun 11, 2026 12:20AM
Suzannah
is 34% done
This discussion of "schismogenesis", the process by which two tribes define themselves as the antithesis of the other, and therefore bind themselves into a shared system of dichotomies that can often seem peculiar and irrational to outsiders, sounds a whole lot like US politics of the past decade.
— Jun 08, 2026 12:10AM
Suzannah
is 30% done
The notion of sacredness as the origin of ideas of private property is absolutely fascinating and feels legit. It's also fascinating to me as a Christian because of course, this links up with the idea that absolute ownership rights are something that only belong to God; humanity holds possession and stewardship under conditions.
— May 29, 2026 05:00AM
Suzannah
is 22% done
"Medieval peasants often found it much easier than medieval intellectuals to imagine a society of equals" - perhaps thanks to seasonal festivals like Twelfth Night, which preserved an overturning of social norms and made it possible to imagine a freer world.
After the bombastic time of the opening chapter, this book is becoming absolutely fascinating.
— May 18, 2026 12:16AM
After the bombastic time of the opening chapter, this book is becoming absolutely fascinating.
Suzannah
is 13% done
Okay but this stuff tracing Rousseau's influences to interactions between Native Americans and Jesuits in New France is extremely fascinating
— Apr 19, 2026 12:40AM