Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Wow! What a book. This densely packed, incredibly insightful paper weight of a book has left me wanting to grab anyone walking by and gush out all the new information I have learned. Harari takes us through time from when the first sapiens roamed the planet, the Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions, capitalism, and happiness. I want everyone to read this book just so that I can talk to them about what I found so fascinating! Specifically about how the Agricultural Revolution has domesticated Homo sapiens, how happiness is biologically pre determined and what advancements in technology really mean for the future. You can take what is written with a grain a salt, or you can take it all unquestioningly. I did the latter. The immense amount of data and facts is just incredible. The writing is scientific and can be very dense, but I do like how Harari’s voice came through and how it almost seemed conversational. For those of you who are wondering, this is a much better read than a typical textbook.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about human history. I have always been critical of humans and their place in the world. However, it’s important to consider whether you think people are a part of nature, and if so, then what we do must be natural. This book does a good job of addressing that subject. If you have read it or after you do, please reach out to me so we can talk about it!