Sapiens Book Reviews

AUTHOR
Yuval Noah Harari
SCORE
4.5
TOTAL RATINGS
3,327

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari Book Summary

New York Times Bestseller

A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?

Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

👋 Do you love Sapiens books? Please share your friends!

share facebook whatsapp twitter pinterest telegram email
Book Name Sapiens
Genre Life Sciences
Published
Language English
E-Book Size 27.81 MB

Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari) Book Reviews 2024

💸 Want to send money abroad for free?

We transfer money over €4 billion every month. We enable individual and business accounts to save 4 million Euros on bank transfer fees. Want to send free money abroad or transfer money abroad for free? Free international money transfer!

The Human Condition. If you yearn to have a better understanding of the human condition, Sapiens is a must read.

Sapiens. Enlightening and well scribed. Would enjoy a conversation with the author!

Enlightening. Good explanation of how we ended up here.

Loose. Interesting beginning but devolved and I lost interest. Feels like talking to my teenage kid rather than a proper non-fiction work of history or anthropology. Many unsupported claims.

3stars because of gender section. This is a very well-written and easy to read book about complicated aspects of human history. In most cases the author has synthesized good evidence to make insightful conclusions that illuminate important things about human history. But the chapters about sex/gender, women, and the nearly universal history of patriarchy were totally inadequate and unacceptable. First of all, to isolate the issues of the history of half the human race into a few chapters is ridiculous. The details there barely scratch the surface of the depth. The author offers three simple theories why patriarchy has been pervasive, then these chapters conclude essentially in, ‘I’m not sure.’ The only chapters to do so. Even though patriarchy is clearly related to one of the bigger themes of the book: that we humans create myths and imagined orders we enforce in culture. When he deals with racism, or classism, etc., he argues that these are clearly imagined orders, and they reinforce themselves in vicious cycles. And yet, this is not mentioned in the brief discussions of gender, though of course the same vicious cycles of reinforcement are occurring. He looks for biological differences, but then so briefly and inadequately covers them. No real discussion of biology or cultural layers of pregnancy, menstruation, birth control, puberty, labor/birth, breastfeeding, motherhood and fatherhood, the commodification of the female body, not enough about sex and sexuality. These are huge aspects of human history! He should’ve consulted more feminist anthropologists or something to overcome his own myopia. I loved the rest of the book but felt such a huge part was missing. And, as such an authority in the field, bestselling author etc, I feel it was his responsibility to do much better on this issue.

Perfect!. An absolute must!!!

It was good. It was good Highly recommended Some….unnecessary parts and paragraphs

Sapiens addresses some final points. This book helped to better understand, clarify and articulate my view on the (non) existence of a soul, of the precious wonder of our brains. His writing is like a magic mushroom in terms of getting us to think outside the box and with an historical perspective. In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.

Close to perfect. True to all Humans. Loved his honesty.

Too preachy at the end. Stick with insightful analysis

Great read. Mind blowing and thought provoking.

The book that made history interesting.. My new favorite book. Large conceptual concepts such as biology and history and easily understood in this book. Years of education comes up short against the knowledge bestowed in these pages. A must read!

Amazing. Brilliant book.

Best non fiction. Best read ever. Entertaining, to the point. Sometimes too quick to draw conclusions, but when you’re going through millions of year of history - you sort of need to!

Thought provoking with missed details. Great overview. Missed some details but thought provoking

Reading it now!!! 🤯🤯🤯. Amazing book and authors perspective is amazingly objective.

Piercing and unforgettable - Superb. So know I've listened to another great book from Yuval Noah Harari. I've been a long time philosophy student and Harari could arguably be the Nietzsche of our time. His insights are soul piercing and the argumentation mind numbing. If I would take any ones futuristic prognostications seriously it would be the carefully constructed ideas of Harari. Anyway this was his first book and it was a huge hit for good reason. Harari presents the history of humanity from a unique/fresh/ and sometimes disturbing perspective. One thing for sure his ideas will stimulate your mind on multiple levels and you'll consider yourself fortunate for being exposed to his work. My only criticism is he doesn't narrate his own books. Derek Perkins reads all three of his books for the audiobook versions. He does a good job but he brings a British intellectual elitism to the text that Harari would not. Harari is powerful in intelligence but humble and gentle in his delivery. Point is- no one but the author should read the audio book- just saying. Now it's onto his second book- HOMO DEUS

Brief History of Homo Sapiens. Wonderful Book, builds the history of humans with the archeological findings and most likely cases on what could have happened and then gives a view of what is the most likely case. Brilliant one. As much as we would like to pretend the humans existed only couple of thousands of years this book takes you to the history too deep that a curious normal person like me can glance through the findings and understand and makes you think.

Decent breakdown,bad research.. A decent read on one views but there are more factual errors than actual facts. There are many things out of context to further his viewpoint on certain matters.

Hogwash. I was drawn in by the apparent research and data-driven conclusions, but was soon disheartened by leaps in logic. I stopped reading the book when the author suggested that disadvantaged black Americans believed themselves to be inferior. I couldn’t read more. I was about 1/4 of the way through the book. Hogwash and drivel. Not worth the read.

Very Eurocentric. Completely and unashamedly ignores the contributions to science made by non-Europeans, such as during the Islamic golden age, the ancient Chinese/Indians, etc. I was also quite shocked by the author’s ignorance of the importance of science and secular knowledge in the Islamic tradition. He conflates divine revelation with secular knowledge, which were both considered separate fields, by early Islamic scholars and in several Prophetic narrations. However, if you want a good overview of European contributions to humanity, I suppose it’s a good book.

Disappointing. Fights against the case for belief in God without making any fundamentally sound arguments. Fancy-words, but a philosophical waste of time.

Outstanding. Mind opening and mind bending. Makes you think. Great stuff!

Amazing book. Simply amazing!. If you want to learn about our story, our customs, our though process while being wildly entertained, this is the book for you.

Great Read. Great take on the past, present and future of mankind

A must. Want to be literate in the humanities? Want the capsule version of man’s history? Get this book.

Why do the black savages breathe so much better than us civilized whites. Stopped reading after he quoted a Dr. that referred to blacks as savages. Can’t believe the New York Times best seller critics thought nothing of that.

Great book.. Great for anyone who is trying to understand how we got here from an evolutionary perspective. I enjoyed it.

Sapient. A masterpiece that oscillates between thought provoking and paradigm changer, or even paradigm destroyer. Fundamental reading for the ones seeking to understand what makes us human and why we act the way we do.

Not What the Synopsis Describes. Don’t be fooled by the description of this book. Only the first few pages are historical accounts of the human race. The book rapidly shifts to the author’s perspective on race, sexism, injustices, and ideological positions often absent of facts. By the time you get to the 30% mark in the book, the book is virtually unreadable unless you are expecting a progressive view of humanity as a whole over the last couple hundred years. I return this book for a refund if possible.

Too much authors opinion presented as fact. Earlier on I could see that the author was presenting his version and interpretation of the history, as opposed to actually presenting anything new or factual.

A Great Place To Start. “Sapiens" does an exellent job of serving it’s said purpose: giving an overview of human history. It’s an introduction. It’s a macro-view of how human society came to be what it is today. And some of it is not pretty. Harari definitely has some opinions in this book, but even he admits that there is more to the story. I think the information is, by and large, all presented in the most objective way he could have put it. You can find evidence from this book to support a number of differing opinions and that’s the marker, for me, that this author is not aspousing an ideology. And with that, the great thing about this book is that some particular part might inspire you to dig deeper and formulate your own opinions! We definitely need more books like that. Great read for anyone looking to have their curiosity peaked!

Great Read. Best book in history

Great but. There are some part need justification and elaboration. This come off so much personal viewpoint of an author. Even though it make sense

This book is a must read, should be in every classroom. It’s mind changing, is the kind of book that you should read several times in a lifetime

Woof.. This book is Jordan Peterson levels of bad.

Superb: A must read.. I am not a vivid reader but got a catch of an imprint of this book at Court Square library in Queens, NY. Like many subway riders, books were my companion in transit. I read it two years back and this review is based on the slightly faded memory. Within the first few pages itself, I found this book so relatable with what we humans are up to and how the things have changed throughout history. And most important how this history can help us prevent future mistakes.

Starts out great but..... Book starts out great running through the historical evolution of humans but then begins to get political - was hoping for factual story of history on humans not this guys personal opinion on the matter.

Beautiful. I read this as a moving tale about the history of the human condition. A must read .

In Two Words, Marvelous, Marvelous. This may be one of the most important books I have ever read. It is not for the closed minded, but a book that makes one understand what being a human paradoxically implies, from the magnificent things our evolved creative brain can do to the very damage that same intellect inflicts upon ourselves and our world.

A deeply thought provoking book. What I love about Sapiens is it’s context and perspective it equips you with. I feel as though once you finish this book it will be impossible for you to look at not just humans, but religion, government, money, industry and many others aspects of life in a fundamentally different way.

Filler filler filler. This book has so much filler, where the author dribbles on with anecdotal examples of how a Sapiens thinks. Lazy writing - as if he was paid a penny per word.

Good book overall. A good book that was written to be too long. I believe a way shorter book could’ve contained the same amount of knowledge and information in a book 1/4 the size of this one.

Sensational. One of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. Superb

THE history book. Mr. Harari has put together the most insightful and amazing history book. Sapiens takes us from our origins in the African savanna, upsetting what I had been taught and understood, to the present day, explaining what allowed us to get to where we are and become who we are. Mr. Harari clearly shows us that the history of humankind has not been a history of a people, but rather a history of ideas. Sapiens should be mandatory reading for anyone belonging to the human race.

Some chapters incomplete, otherwise great. Well written. Makes me think. Formatting seems to have truncated some chapters.

Great. Great

Amazing Summary of History. A great recap of the last 70,000 years of human history. Through our story, the author also describes how abstract concepts like money, religion, society, and work have been developed and ingrained into our psyche. I love the author’s writing style and sense of humor. A must read for anyone and everyone.

Great Start. It started off really interesting and got really political. I’m a very left leaning individual and while I agree with a lot of the statements made by the author, I wanted to read a piece of unbiased factual history of humankind.

Sapiens. The is a well written expose on the the past, present and future of mankind. Harari’s ending chapters have my brain percolating. The future he paints had me asking questions that I just have not wanted to pose but now I must. Coming to a full boil.

💰 A universe of opportunities: Payoneer

Did you know that you can earn 25 USD from our site just by registering? Get $25 for free by joining Payoneer!

🧠 Join the movement! Experience the world's No.1 brain supplement

Imagine you at your best. All the time. Picture yourself at your sharpest and most productive. Your most alert and focused. Your most lucid, creative and confident. At work. At play. In every area of your life. Add Mind Lab Pro® v4.0 to your daily routine and uncap your true potential. Buy Now!

👉 Are you looking for an Adsense alternative advertising platform?

Adsterra is the most preferred ad network for those looking for an alternative to AdSense. Adsterra is the ideal choice for new sites with low daily traffic. In order to advertise on the site in Adsterra, like other ad networks, a certain traffic limit, domain age, etc. is required. There are no strict rules. Sign up!

Please wait! Sapiens book comments loading...

Yuval Noah Harari - Sapiens Discussions & Comments

Have you read this book yet? What do you think about Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari book? Ask the bookpedia.co community a question about Sapiens!

Sapiens E-book (PDF, PUB, KINDLE) Download

Sapiens ebook sapiens (27.81 MB) download new links will be update!

Sapiens Similar Books

Book Name Score Reviews Price
The First 20 Minutes 4.5/5 128 $7.99
Moonwalking with Einstein 4/5 879 $13.99
The Greatest Show on Earth 4.5/5 232 $15.99
The Female Brain 4.5/5 67 $13.99
The Descent of Man 4/5 30 Free

Enhance sleep, vision, cognition, flexibility, energy, long-range health and more. Performance Lab CORE Formulas support all aspects of human performance, across all walks of life. Boosts work performance and productivity with nootropics for focus, multitasking under stress, creative problem-solving and more.

Other Books from Yuval Noah Harari
Book Name Score Reviews Price
21 lecciones para el siglo XXI 4.5/5 25 $12.99
Sapiens - En kort historie om menneskeheden 0/5 0 $16.99
Guerra segreta nel Medioevo 0/5 0 $10.99
Homo Deus 4.5/5 21 $17.99
Niepowstrzymani 2 0/5 0 $10.99

Summary of Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

The Sapiens book written by Yuval Noah Harari was published on 10 February 2015, Tuesday in the Life Sciences category. A total of 3,327 readers of the book gave the book 4.5 points out of 5.

Free Life Sciences Books
Book Name Author Price
The Descent of Man Charles Darwin Free
Plant Morphology Title Jennifer Soukhome Free
Neuroscience Manual 2019 Sandra Kaplan Free
Bird Species Dieter Thomas Tietze Free
Butterflies N Mathes Free

Coinbase is the world's most trusted place to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Open an account today, and if you buy or sell $100 or more of crypto, you'll receive $10 worth of free Bitcoin!

Paid Life Sciences Books
Book Name Author Price
Eve Cat Bohannon $14.99
How the Earth Turned Green Joseph E. Armstrong $14.99
Peptide Protocols MD William A. Seeds $16.99
The Wuhan Cover-Up Robert F. Kennedy Jr. $16.99
The Equations of Life Charles S. Cockell $19.99

Jasper is the generative AI platform for business that helps your team create content tailored for your brand 10X faster, wherever you work online.