SapiensRecommendations
About the book
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens.
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?
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. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. 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?
Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power ... and our future.
People recommending Sapiens
What readers say about ‘Sapiens’
Ray Dalio on Sapiens
“Ray Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.”
James Cameron on Sapiens
“"It explains human behavior and why we are the way we are in human civilization from soup to nuts. And I’ve read it now a couple of times. It’s a pretty astonishing book."”
PewDiePie on Sapiens
“"Tells the major revolutions of human history."”
Vinod Khosla on Sapiens
“"A previous favorite."”
Patrick O'Shaughnessy on Sapiens
“"Provides a concise history of humankind and outlines why we have the psychology we do today."”
James Clear on Sapiens
“"[One of] the 10 best nonfiction books of all-time."”
Demis Hassabis on Sapiens
“"There's not many times where I read a book and come out with 20 new ideas I hadn't thought about before, and [this book] made me think like that."”
Keith Rabois on Sapiens
“Keith Rabois recommended this book on a Medium blog post.”
Changpeng Zhao on Sapiens
“"Gives me a greater perspective about how humans emerged and why we behave the way we do."”
Lex Fridman on Sapiens
“"Basically one of the things we've created here is we've imagined ideas that we all share."”
Kishore Biyani on Sapiens
“"Fascinating because of its multi-disciplinary approach towards understanding human society, our behaviour and our future."”
Karlie Kloss on Sapiens
“"An amazing book on the beginning of humanity."”
Ryan Shea on Sapiens
“One of Ryan Shea's 4 answers to "what is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift?"”
Anthony Pompliano on Sapiens
“"[One of the] best books I read in 2017."”
Melinda Gates on Sapiens
“Melinda Gates recommended this book on Likewise.com.”
Whitney Cummings on Sapiens
“"A great book about [how] we’ve evolved and why we have anxiety."”
Bill Gurley on Sapiens
“"I really enjoyed [this book]."”
Sebastian Junger on Sapiens
“"I’m going to give [this book] over and over again to everyone I know."”
Penn Jillette on Sapiens
“Penn Jillette mentioned this book in a New York Times interview.”
