Ever wondered about the evolution of the Humans. If you are a FRIENDS fan, you might happen to remember that episode where Phoebe doesn’t believe in evolution, which bothers Ross enough that he feels he has to convince her of the theory. How did out of so many species, humans were the only one that dominated in this Game of Evolution? How the factors like social, natural, ecological, geographical etc affected it? Hoping to find all these answers, I decided to pursue my journey through Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari Review
Genre : History, Non-Fiction
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is a primer on the human existence and its progress right from its dawn to its current shaky supremacy.
Sapiens is a personal book. It is not a scholarly documentation of the entire history of humanity. Undoubtedly seems like Harari’s own take and his own version of the events that transpired.It glosses through the different popular ideas in broad strokes on what happened and how, while allowing Harari’s own beliefs and biases to come to a conclusion as to which is the definitive and the most probable explanation.
Sapiens deals with major shifts through out history – natural, social, biological, economical and technological. It deals with the cognitive, agricultural and scientific revolutions while delving into numerous disciplines like anthropology and palaeontology. It manages to give someone interested in the basic ideas a quick glance on how it all came together.
While I loved how intellectually stimulating and interesting the book is, I found certain sections to be repetitive. And others to be easily dismissive of the ideas that do not agree with the author’s worldview. Some ideas are thoroughly explored others are just glanced over and quickly cast aside. On the whole, the book is a philosophical and intellectual exercise contemplating the nature of the world than an accurate and detailed account of events, ideas and beliefs.
Having said all that, this book is an absolute treat to beginners and curious minds. Who want to know more about us and the world that surrounds us. As some one who is only vaguely acquainted with most of the ideas in the book, I simply loved it and was thoroughly gripped.
If you are already familiar with most of the ideas,beliefs and concepts surrounding the human condition and are looking for some deeper scholarly insight, may be this book will not contribute much to your search.
Recommended for :
For anyone who is interested in humanity and the world.
About the Author :
An Israeli historian and a professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Yuval Noah Harari writings are preoccupied with concepts of free will, consciousness and definitions of intelligence. He is the author of the international bestsellers Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind(2014) and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2015). He specialized in World History, medieval and military history.
Prof. Harari regularly lectures around the world on the topics explored in his books and articles, and has written for newspapers such as the Guardian, Financial Times, The Times and the Wall Street Journal.
He also offers his knowledge and time to various numerous organizations and audiences on a voluntary basis.
Pros
- > Gripping read
- > Covers most ideas and ideologies
- > Gives a basic understanding of the world and a new way to look at it.
Cons
- > Sweeping generalizations
- > Biased at times
