Every now and then comes a book which captures the fantasy of readers across the spectrum and manages to get praise from all possible quarters. In 2017 Yuval Noah Harari came out with one such book - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.
Welcome to The Paperback Trails - A journey through the vast collection of books and pop-culture, which we undertake one page at a time. Today on our 8th Trail Stop, is perhaps one of the most widely acclaimed books of this decade, recommended by the like of Bill Gates.
But before we begin with Sapiens, let us have a look at the author of the book Yuval Noah Harari. Harari is an Israeli author who is a lecturer at the Department of History, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His books have gained wide traction due to his fresh insight on matters of consciousness, free will, history and his unique perspective on matters of evolution. His books always join the dots in original ways which always leaves the reader immense food for thought. His style of writing is intuitive, conclusive and substantiative, and it makes you question his claims only to get extremely satisfying and logically coherent answers by the end of the paragraph. In Sapiens, this is recurrent all through the book.
To understand Sapiens, it is imperative to ask the 3 questions of Why What and How.
Why did I pick up this book ?: To be very frank, I have never really had a brush with natural sciences and anthropology before. Had I known this book dealt with these themes so exhaustively, I might have not picked it up, but given its huge success and recommendations from people like Bill Gates, I happened to pick it up. I have always liked books which examine out pasts and try and tell history from different, fresher perspectives, so how bad could it be anyway? And boy oh boy was I in for a surprise.
What was this book all about? : The book to enlarge the canvass of our perspective of our history by taking a few steps back. With this enlarged canvass, the book retells the history of our ancestors all the way from their humble origins to becoming the apex predator to the internet surfing Homo Sapiens. The book divides the entire history of the human kind into 4 epochs, each defined by a revolution which marked a change in the way of life
"Three important revolutions shaped the course of history: the cognitive Cognitive Revolution kickstarted history about 70,000 years ago. The Agricultural Revolution sped it about 12000 years ago. The Scientific Revolution which got underway only 500 years ago, may well end history and start something completely different"
The book goes on to describe the various catalysts of human evolutions. Why things happened the way they did. It raises a plethora of questions from the patriarchal foundations of our society, to the importance of myth-making, to the advent of gods and God. It also shows the gory side of our rise from our humble origins and brings us face to face with some uncomfortable realities of our ancestors, for example about the widespread extinction spree which followed the Homo Sapiens wherever they went Harari writes
"We are the culprits. There is no way around the truth. Even if climate change abetted us human contribution was decisive"
During its entire course, Sapiens deals with multiple topics from sexuality to eating habits to ancient kingdoms to even foundations of political doctrines of kings and monarchs. To summarise the entire books and all the topics it deals with would neither be possible or appropriate in this short blog. All I can say is that this is one book which will make you think and re-think about the world that was and how has that lead to the world that is. The book is not just a history of Human's yesterday, it is a journey which is bound to leave you with lots of questions, even more, answers and a sort of satisfied smile.
How was this book to read ?: I have always felt that a great book, piques interests you never knew you had. For me, Sapiens was one such book. Propose to take me to an anthropological convention or an archaeological expo and you would find me looking at you askance and then politely refusing, for these topics and their insights bore neither relevance nor interest to me. But the way these insights were used by the author, made me hooked to it from the first page to the last. Having read multiple history books, very few commanded my interest and attention as well as Sapiens did. I feel the primary reason for this was the huge variety of topics the author dealt with in quick succession. This ensured that I was always waiting eagerly to see what comes next. In this way, even some of the recondite insights of natural sciences were presented so well and connected to the present so effectively that it became lucid and fun. Rarely do you come across as encyclopedic a book as Sapiens which is so replete with facts and figures and yet is so interesting as if you were reading a fantasy book wherein your favourite hobbit was about to clinch the magical ring.
But the single biggest USP of this book, if I were to choose one would be its fresh perspective and its ability to join the preexisting dots in totally new ways and doing all that with contextual and scientific accuracy. You can totally agree with Harari when he says in the prologue
"I encourage all of us, whatever our beliefs, to question the basic narratives of our world, to connect past developments with present concerns and not be afraid of controversial issues"
With the book, he questions and makes us rethink the existing narratives around our evolution, language, agriculture, myths, modern institutions, schools of thoughts etc. He does it in simple language. While at many points he does make very wide-ranging and almost iconoclast claims, he makes sure to back them up with facts and sound reasoning. It is for this reason that you can be assured that you are in good hands and have a very credible anchor in Harari as you journey through our collective yesterdays
Can this be your first book ?: If you, like me, have a knack for reading about history and mythologies then rest assured you can take the plunge without even worrying about the heft of the book, for it will be a quick read for you. If the latter does worry you, then I would suggest to pick up other books (perhaps this blog might help you do so) and then once you get your reading in order pick up Sapiens
You might not like this book: If non-fiction is not your thing. While this book does tell a story, rather The Story, it remains encyclopedic in nature and I do not mean that in a disparaging way. The book has made one of the most competent efforts to present facts from a wide range of disciplines in sufficient depth, that I have ever come across, but it still remains a non-fiction book. For readers who would prefer a book with lighter themes and most importantly a story arc might find this book a little boring. A few of my friends found this book too much to process and sort of gave up in the middle. If you happen to strike such a conundrum, I would strongly suggest to keep aside the book for the time being, rather than forcing it down your gullet, just because everyone says it is a good book. A lot of amazing books get spent simply because they are picked up at the wrong time, so don't go that route.
With this, we come to the end of our 8th trail-stop. Hope you will have as interesting a time as I did, watching our ancestors journey from the inner recesses of Africa as a humble ape to conquering the world like no other species had done it before them. Until next time, keep reading, keep recommending and keep sharing for more the passengers in the paperback trails the better
Welcome to The Paperback Trails - A journey through the vast collection of books and pop-culture, which we undertake one page at a time. Today on our 8th Trail Stop, is perhaps one of the most widely acclaimed books of this decade, recommended by the like of Bill Gates.But before we begin with Sapiens, let us have a look at the author of the book Yuval Noah Harari. Harari is an Israeli author who is a lecturer at the Department of History, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His books have gained wide traction due to his fresh insight on matters of consciousness, free will, history and his unique perspective on matters of evolution. His books always join the dots in original ways which always leaves the reader immense food for thought. His style of writing is intuitive, conclusive and substantiative, and it makes you question his claims only to get extremely satisfying and logically coherent answers by the end of the paragraph. In Sapiens, this is recurrent all through the book.
To understand Sapiens, it is imperative to ask the 3 questions of Why What and How.
Why did I pick up this book ?: To be very frank, I have never really had a brush with natural sciences and anthropology before. Had I known this book dealt with these themes so exhaustively, I might have not picked it up, but given its huge success and recommendations from people like Bill Gates, I happened to pick it up. I have always liked books which examine out pasts and try and tell history from different, fresher perspectives, so how bad could it be anyway? And boy oh boy was I in for a surprise.
What was this book all about? : The book to enlarge the canvass of our perspective of our history by taking a few steps back. With this enlarged canvass, the book retells the history of our ancestors all the way from their humble origins to becoming the apex predator to the internet surfing Homo Sapiens. The book divides the entire history of the human kind into 4 epochs, each defined by a revolution which marked a change in the way of life
"Three important revolutions shaped the course of history: the cognitive Cognitive Revolution kickstarted history about 70,000 years ago. The Agricultural Revolution sped it about 12000 years ago. The Scientific Revolution which got underway only 500 years ago, may well end history and start something completely different"
The book goes on to describe the various catalysts of human evolutions. Why things happened the way they did. It raises a plethora of questions from the patriarchal foundations of our society, to the importance of myth-making, to the advent of gods and God. It also shows the gory side of our rise from our humble origins and brings us face to face with some uncomfortable realities of our ancestors, for example about the widespread extinction spree which followed the Homo Sapiens wherever they went Harari writes
"We are the culprits. There is no way around the truth. Even if climate change abetted us human contribution was decisive"
During its entire course, Sapiens deals with multiple topics from sexuality to eating habits to ancient kingdoms to even foundations of political doctrines of kings and monarchs. To summarise the entire books and all the topics it deals with would neither be possible or appropriate in this short blog. All I can say is that this is one book which will make you think and re-think about the world that was and how has that lead to the world that is. The book is not just a history of Human's yesterday, it is a journey which is bound to leave you with lots of questions, even more, answers and a sort of satisfied smile.
How was this book to read ?: I have always felt that a great book, piques interests you never knew you had. For me, Sapiens was one such book. Propose to take me to an anthropological convention or an archaeological expo and you would find me looking at you askance and then politely refusing, for these topics and their insights bore neither relevance nor interest to me. But the way these insights were used by the author, made me hooked to it from the first page to the last. Having read multiple history books, very few commanded my interest and attention as well as Sapiens did. I feel the primary reason for this was the huge variety of topics the author dealt with in quick succession. This ensured that I was always waiting eagerly to see what comes next. In this way, even some of the recondite insights of natural sciences were presented so well and connected to the present so effectively that it became lucid and fun. Rarely do you come across as encyclopedic a book as Sapiens which is so replete with facts and figures and yet is so interesting as if you were reading a fantasy book wherein your favourite hobbit was about to clinch the magical ring.
But the single biggest USP of this book, if I were to choose one would be its fresh perspective and its ability to join the preexisting dots in totally new ways and doing all that with contextual and scientific accuracy. You can totally agree with Harari when he says in the prologue
"I encourage all of us, whatever our beliefs, to question the basic narratives of our world, to connect past developments with present concerns and not be afraid of controversial issues"
With the book, he questions and makes us rethink the existing narratives around our evolution, language, agriculture, myths, modern institutions, schools of thoughts etc. He does it in simple language. While at many points he does make very wide-ranging and almost iconoclast claims, he makes sure to back them up with facts and sound reasoning. It is for this reason that you can be assured that you are in good hands and have a very credible anchor in Harari as you journey through our collective yesterdays
Can this be your first book ?: If you, like me, have a knack for reading about history and mythologies then rest assured you can take the plunge without even worrying about the heft of the book, for it will be a quick read for you. If the latter does worry you, then I would suggest to pick up other books (perhaps this blog might help you do so) and then once you get your reading in order pick up Sapiens
You might not like this book: If non-fiction is not your thing. While this book does tell a story, rather The Story, it remains encyclopedic in nature and I do not mean that in a disparaging way. The book has made one of the most competent efforts to present facts from a wide range of disciplines in sufficient depth, that I have ever come across, but it still remains a non-fiction book. For readers who would prefer a book with lighter themes and most importantly a story arc might find this book a little boring. A few of my friends found this book too much to process and sort of gave up in the middle. If you happen to strike such a conundrum, I would strongly suggest to keep aside the book for the time being, rather than forcing it down your gullet, just because everyone says it is a good book. A lot of amazing books get spent simply because they are picked up at the wrong time, so don't go that route.
With this, we come to the end of our 8th trail-stop. Hope you will have as interesting a time as I did, watching our ancestors journey from the inner recesses of Africa as a humble ape to conquering the world like no other species had done it before them. Until next time, keep reading, keep recommending and keep sharing for more the passengers in the paperback trails the better
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