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.

"Big History" type of book with the serious probing of a historian who examines what might have happened. Where we are now is full of paradoxes and stresses and strains, but also a lot more underlying stability than might have been expected. A number of counterintuitive insights offered about our current status as a species. Some serious dangers and opportunities on the horizon. How will Sapiens evolve culturally? Will tragic conflicts and ecologic damage be avoided? Will we invent our future successors? There is a little speculation of the future -- how could you resist after reviewing 60,000 years of history.

First off I am not familiar with anthropology. This is my first foray into the field so things that might appear to me to be novel and specific to the author Harari might be part of anthropology lore or dogma. However, my reading material can be considered very eclectic—I read books on a very wide range of topics.When I say this is an Amazing book I mean that on almost every other page I would find myself highlighting something that I found eye-opening.Here are some examples of what I consider remarkable ideas. The first has to do with the 3 great revolutions that have had a major effect on the lives of humans and their social revolution/evolution: The Cognitive Revolution, The Agricultural Revolution and The Industrial Revolution.What skill did we gain which resulted in a major change the direction of the development of humans? Read it and you will be surprised and impressed. It has to do with storytelling – kind of.Then there is Credit and Money. I now look at the world in a very different way with awe and also with fear. What can you imagine that could be so awesome and yet can also create a lot of fear?Oh yes, what about linking empire building with the Scientific Revolution and the appearance of capitalism! Harari sees links that I find really surprising.There is also a warning about wishing for the good old days and what it was really like in terms of very basic and simple things (like bathing and clothes) we take for granted today that were nonexistent 300 years ago.For me I would have preferred the second part of the title as the main title. Sapiens sounds like a biology book, and the second part could be made to be more intriguing reading material for anyone as “A Short History of Humans”.I hope you enjoy the book and find it as fascinating as I did!

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)

I was disappointed in this book. I expected it to catch me up on all new discoveries in Anthropology now that the new fossils are being defrosted and made accessible with global warming. The beginning chapters made me feel I had the right book. As I read more, the book seemed to be more about the author's opinions. He seems to feel that the quality of life of our ancestors chasing down large mammals, harvesting wild berries and grains was better than that of the poor soul who has to wake to an alarm clock, drive in traffic to a boring job and worry about being down-sized. Harari didn't seem to back up his opinions with his facts. Maybe it is more fun to live 40 years with death and abandonment possible at any moment - but Harari didn't convince me. I'm still looking for some books to tell me why Neanderthals never made it to Africa and why everyone who left Africa kept going to the farthest reaches of the world.