Chris’s pick
November, 2019
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari
HarperCollins Publishing, 2015
We think of ourselves, we humans, as the masters of the universe. In reality, up until 70,000 years ago, we shared the earth with at least six different evolutions of human (genus Homo). Homo Sapiens existed concurrently with Homo Neanderthalensis, Homo Erectus, and other humans for 100,000 years—some in Africa, some in Australia, some in Aisa. And, we were “insignificant animals” with ecological impact less than fireflies or jellyfish. Not until the Cognitive Revolution did Homo Sapiens –Sapiens meaning “wise” –come to dominate the earth.
This is how Harari’s Sapiens begins, with a mind-boggling introduction of pre-historic human.
He follows that with a breath-taking ride throughout our entire human history, from prehistoric until the present, and even steps beyond the “now”.
The simplest overview of this remarkable book is that Harari breaks history down into three distinct revolutions: Cognitive (70,000 years ago), Agricultural (10,000 years ago), and Scientific (500 years ago). These revolutions empowered humans to do something no other form of life has done: to create and connect around ideas that do not physically exist (think religion, capitalism, and politics).
Harari focuses on key processes that shaped humankind, such as the advent of agriculture, the creation of money, the spread of religion, and the rise of political empires. With a light touch (the book is extraordinarily readable), he explores our evolution through history, biology, philosophy, and economics, salted with illustrations and interesting examples throughout.
I have my favorite chapters. Perhaps you, like me, will be fascinated as to how the “discovery of ignorance” led to the scientific revolution. Parts of the chapter entitled The Capitalist Creed is just mind-blowing. It often feels like one is reading about two dozen separate little books. Just when you have digested, say, why the French Revolution really began, you are thrown into the Opium Wars, which culminated in Britain controlling Hong Kong as part of a drug-deal, allowing the British to continue supplying opium to an already addicted Chinese population (!)
Certainly, there has been criticism of parts of this book. Religious scholars seem to have a particularly difficult time with some of Harari’s postulations. Bill Gates (who loved the book), and others, have a difficult time with Harari’s conclusion that the Agricultural Revolution was “humankind’s greatest fraud”.
For me, though, any book that reawakens and excites the student in me is well worth reading. Almost every part of this astounding book gave me pause, caused me to sit back and think, or better yet, leave the book to research what had just been stated. Much of the last third of the book is based on contrasting opinions and perspectives—often Harari explores the same subject using three or four viewpoints, something I admire.
I am not sure I agree with everything theorized in Sapiens, but the book left me with an expansive historical structure, which I can build on as I continue to read similar books. The last chapter is truly thought-provoking, as Harari explores the fate of Sapiens in the future.