Sapiens
A Brief History of Humankind
Readers rate it 4.2 (2.3K on Hardcover)
458 pages · Released 2014 · Random House
Content report card
What's inside
LGBTQ+ themes
Substance use
What it offers
Positive role models
Educational value
A note for parents
Sapiens is a sophisticated work of popular history and philosophy that explores human development across 100,000 years. While primarily educational and thought-provoking, it includes frank discussions of violence, warfare, animal suffering, and historical atrocities without graphic detail. The book is challenging conceptually and best suited to mature teen readers and adults who can engage critically with complex ideas about human nature, morality, and society.
Analyzed by AI · 1 day ago
Read it with your kids?
Rate it and suggest an age to help other parents.
From the publisher
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,... 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, palaeontology 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. 'Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international bestseller. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!' - Jared Diamond
Shelved under
- History
- philosophy
- male author
- Shelf: 20 Statecraft History & Geopolitics
- Literature
- ["Shelf: 20 Statecraft History & Geopolitics"]
- German
- john seybold
- jeannie seybold
- 2011
- informative
- reflective
Share this guide
ISBN 9781846558245 · Random House