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  • Sapiens

  • A Brief History of Humankind
  • Written by: Yuval Noah Harari
  • Narrated by: Derek Perkins
  • Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (8,204 ratings)

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Sapiens

Written by: Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
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Publisher's Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Destined to become a modern classic in the vein of
Guns, Germs, and Steel, Sapiens is a lively, groundbreaking history of humankind told from a unique perspective.

100,000 years ago, at least six species of human inhabited the earth. Today there is just one.

Us.

Homo Sapiens.

How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations, and human rights; to trust money, books, and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables, and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?

In Sapiens, Dr. Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical — and sometimes devastating — breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural, and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, palaeontology, and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come?

Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power...and our future.

©2017 Yuval Noah Harari (P)2017 Penguin Random House Canada

What the critics say

"Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international best seller. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!" (Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Collapse, and The World Until Yesterday)

"Sapiens is the sort of book that sweeps the cobwebs out of your brain. Its author, Yuval Noah Harari, is a young Israeli academic and an intellectual acrobat whose logical leaps have you gasping with admiration...Harari's writing radiates power and clarity." (The Sunday Times)

"Not only is Harari eloquent and humane, he is often wonderfully, mordantly funny. . . . Sapiens is a brave and bracing look at a species that is mostly in denial about . . . the crossroads it is rapidly approaching." (The Independent)

Editorial Review

Why do we do what we do? How did we get here? Where will we go? All these thought-provoking questions and so much more are the cornerstone of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.

This absorbing recount of the history of humanity has captivated critics and listeners alike and garnered rave reviews. Touted as a must-listen by the likes of Barack Obama and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jared Diamond, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind has been making waves since its 2017 release for its distinctive dissection of world history and evolution of the human species. And according to Bill Gates, it is one of the few books that has kept him up at night.

Life in the 21st century has made it difficult to remember that at one time, earth and human life as we know it was being moulded by cognitive, agricultural, and scientific revolutions. Sapiens is a distinct reminder that nothing we do today is a coincidence but a result of an intricately constructed web of evolution.

Contrary to its title, Sapiens is anything but brief. This New York Times bestseller is an expertly crafted breakdown of research blowing the top off of what we have come to know as our story of evolution. Dr. Yuval Noah Harari and narrator Derek Perkins take listeners on a wild ride of dizzying discovery that will leave you stunned and wanting more. Leave everything you’ve learned about our evolution as homo sapiens at the door when you press play on this audiobook, and prepare to have your mind blown.

What listeners say about Sapiens

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I've learned so much from this book!

I didn't use to like reading about history. As time has gone by, I've caught myself not only addicted to getting to know more about our history but also to audiobooks! Well, I liked the way of which this book was written especially for those like me not familiar with history. I've ended up wanting to read more and more! However, I'd like to make an observation that most parts of this book weren't narrated fully! I mean, many times the writing and its audio reproduction don't match! This doesn't compromise the understanding, but I believe this may be an issue for some people. Overall, getting to know a little more about our history was amazing!

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45 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I'll definitely listen to this again.

Really interesting book and well narrated. Even if you're familiar with the current story of our biological evolution, that story is retold in a really digestible way. There's much more in here than biology though. Philosophy, psychology and explanations of our behaviour and relationship to out environment from the beginning to modern day. I couldn't even fit an index of it all in a short review. I'll definitely listen to this again.

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

An individual's interpretation of history ...

History is an engaging topic, the segments where the author delivers on what the title promises are thus engaging and interesting. When actual history is shared I enjoyed the book. However, much of the book is nothing more than the author's subjective opinionated and biased interpretation of history. All major religions are attacked save the author's own faith and nation. I am disappointed that a "scientist" can be this jaded and closed minded.

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27 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Sam
  • 2019-04-12

Simply Wonderful, Inspired my Degree in Biology

Listen, relax, and approach with soft objectivism: The art of not forgoing your views, but not holding them out as a shield to the discussion at hand.

You'll notice most reviews which are 3 stars or lower are from people that wish they could have argued a point they disagreed with. I do not believe any point to be hollow, or narrow. The author's tone leaves the ultimate conclusion up to you. This book changed my life in 2016 and this is my 3rd go around with it.

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17 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Raised with a Creationist POV - Eyes Opened

Wow did this ever challenge my point of view and helped me to see a larger picture of how humans became what we are today. I was particularly struck by the DNA evidence of different sapiens and the fact that every species has multiple forms, for example, canines and felines. It is so logical that there were many great apes that were sapiens.

Something that was not specifically mentioned but was impactful for me personally was when the author described the positive and negative impact of the agricultural revolution. The correlation of the negative impacts of the agricultural revolution to the curse in Genesis that God put on Adam and Eve is eerily similar. This strongly supports that the Bible account in Genesis is an allegory and not a historical account. I knew this in my heart of hearts but this really sealed it for me.

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16 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not sure I learned anything.

Very long, very dry. I had to speed it up to x1.35 to get through it. Not sure why this book is so popular. Maybe I'm just dumb...

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

amazing book, I liked the narrator.

game changer!! I loved the content and the way in which it was narrated. highly recommended *****

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9 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not As Good As It Should Be

Sapiens spends a lot of words not really saying anything. The first 2/3 of the book is about the origin of our species and the cognitive and agricultural revolutions, the downfall of Neanderthal. This was the interesting section. The back third of the book is The author postulating on what the point of humanity might be, while aggressively not knowing the difference between sex and gender and constantly conflating the two.

I can’t tell if this book is nihilist or if it’s hopeful, or if the author even likes being a human. He seems to have a pretty poor view about our worth overall.

The philosophies of morality, ethics, and law basically are reduced to “imagination” by the author who doesn’t bother looking at the nuance of why those things separate us from the animals, and he kind of treats these things with disdain. He’s the bro in the entry level philosophy class who has nothing to contribute but “everything is a social construct, so I’m not subject to laws durr” like some Libertarian backwash.

#Audible1

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9 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • SDF
  • 2018-09-06

Great (but some arguments were hollow)

Great book. Some of his arguments were slightly hollow and were left under examined as to not shine light on the fact that they were overly simplistic.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a must read

to my fellow Sapiens, I wish all of you sometime in your life spare some time to give this book a read/listen

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8 people found this helpful