Once in a while along comes a book that forces us to rethink our world, gives us a startling new perspective on various issues of when, what, and why of our past, enhances our understanding of our current world, and stimulates well grounded speculation about our future. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Harari is such a book. No matter how busy we are in the day to day concerns of our life, Harari gives us a new insight into the full spectrum of human life, how it developed, why we came to be what we are, and what all this means for each of us. In a few passages Harari assumes, or an understanding of what he writes is at least benefited by, some familiarity with important books ranging from the Bible to the Koran, social phenomena as disparate as Buddhism and the Catholic Church, political movements ranging from liberalism to communism and the histories of China and the British Empire. In the pattern of books otherwise very different from each other such as the Book of Genesis and the novel Hawaii by James Michener, Harari begins with as close to the beginning as is practically possible. From the multiplicity of human forms that preceded and for a while coexisted with our species homo sapiens, he takes us through a tour reaching back to, and beginning with, the dawn of human existence to the opening of the future that is about to be among the possibilities of our fate. A point inherent in all this is how much that fate is up to our collective choices today. That he does so much in a book relatively short for the time covered and the range of ideas conicdred is a remarkable achievement.

Three words come immediately to mind when trying to describe this book.Ambitious: In an eminently readable style, Hariri takes you on a fascinating ride through the 150,000-year history of Homo Sapiens. The book explores the big questions of human history.Depressing: As Hariri states, we are “the deadliest species in the annals of Planet Earth.” By a wide margin, I would add.Provocative: Hariri obviously relishes in challenging conventional understandings of history. Or, put another way, the book is rife with controversial and sometimes poorly supported theories.Even if you end up disagreeing with most of Hariri’s conclusions, this is still a lively, often-insightful, and always-thought-provoking book.I’m not surprised that the book is still sold in just about every bookstore in America, nor that President Obama read it and recommended it. “Sapiens” is one of the most interesting books of popular nonfiction to come along this decade.

There is great deal positive that can be said about this sweeping history of the human species on Earth. Dr. Harari homes in on key factors of human development such as the impact of economic systems, the building of empires, and the spread of religion. His brief descriptions of different philosophies and religious concepts and his explanations of why some have been more successful than others are highly enlightening. He points out many areas of conflict and contradiction in present society. In one insightful statement he identifies an escalating conflict between liberal humanism and evolutionary humanism (biology), which is coming even more to the forefront with the advent of sophisticated tools for genetic modification.Yet, the reader is frequently reminded that Dr. Harari is an historian and not a scientist and that sapiens are not his favorite species. Some long sections are little more than sermonizing about his pet peeves with the current world order: Western Racism and mistreatment of animals. His long diatribes about rampant racism are aimed exclusively at Europe and the US. He fails to make any mention of the significant minorities in his own country who claim to have been explicitly disenfranchised, an omission that smacks of hypocrisy. And despite pages and pages of editorializing about the supposedly terrible way domestic animals are treated today, he fails to provide any real evidence that treatment of animals has become worse today than it was in past, or that this is a uniquely human flaw. On the contrary, it is easy to find many first-hand accounts of chimps, dolphins, and cats interacting with other species in a manner that clearly fits the definition of torture.With an allusion to another of Dr. Harari’s pet peeves, the agricultural revolution, Sapiens contains a lot of wheat, but the reader also needs to separate out the chaff.

An interesting and thoughtful read for history buffs, and really for non-fiction readers who might be curious about how we as a species got here. It is a commonly held belief that we humans have rightfully emerged to "rule over all the creatures of the earth". This book really makes me think about this assumption, and not because the author explicitly questioned it, but rather because throughout, he implicitly suggests that our common belief in our own evolutionary brilliance may not really be a fact existing in reality anywhere outside of our own fertile imaginations as a species. I would love to hear other readers' thoughts on this, so that makes me think this is a great book club choice.I've heard it said that we humans are not necessary to the survival of ecosystems, not even the ones we inhabit. I've also heard it said that germs are the true masters of the universe. Yes, the guys truly at the top of the food chain are invisible to you on an ordinary day, but they can fell you, nonetheless. Now there are some thoughts to make us rethink the stories we have told ourselves about our own brilliance, importance, strength.I defy anyone to read this book and come away thinking the same way about themselves.

This book presents a brief history of mankind (or Homo Sapiens) from its humble beginnings as mere biological organisms to masters of planet earth. Particularly intriguing is how evolution stopped explaining historical events after the cognitive revolution came about; and what are the challenges of mankind, from where we are today, devising technological advancements that would forever change us.A must read. But don't listen to me..., listen to what Barack Obama and Bill Gates have to say about this book:“Interesting and provocative…It gives you a sense of perspective on how briefly we’ve been on this earth, how short things like agriculture and science have been around, and why it makes sense for us to not take them for granted.” (President Barack Obama)“I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun, engaging look at early human history…you’ll have a hard time putting it down.” ( Bill Gates)