21 Lessons for the 21st Century

“We are now living in an age of information explosion ... the last thing people need is more information. What they really need is somebody to arrange all of the bits of information into a meaningful picture – and this is what I try to do.”

Another great book from Mr Harari. While I appreciated Homo Deus a bit less than Sapiens, this one is, to me, equivalent to Sapiens. This is full of wisdom as always, and show us what has to be done in this century full of changes and challenges. A great read.

Enjoyed this. Nowhere near as polished, complete, and seminal as Sapiens. But great for hearing more of Yuval's perspectives on how 21st century social, economic and political systems work, and how he expects they might change with the rise of data and AI. Particularly enjoyed the Liberty, Community and Science Fiction chapters.

I don't agree with some of his points, and am certain a number are wrong (e.g. his over the top expectations for AI based on progress in solving games like chess), but he's quick to set expectations that he's not going to accurately predict every detail about the future. It's great that he published such a raw collection of his thoughts, as his historical perspective and ability to explain complex systems is so unique.

It's not really a book of “lessons”, more “considerations”.

Everyone should read this book. Is so full of knowledge that I can't even know where I start this.
One thing is for sure. If you want to deconstruct all the things you believe about humans, how we see the world, religions, capitalism, socialism and other stories that we tell ourselves, you should read it.

3.5 stars. Not so much lessons as in perspectives, I feel. Appreciated the questions he raised about the need for our “fictions”, whether we really have free will (no), and whether we know our own minds (negative) but didn't find them as insightful as his arguments within the first two parts on technology and politics. Much prefer his earlier books.

I blasted through this too fast, because I had to return it to the library, to fully appreciate it all. Harari is obviously good at this. Here he does a great job dissecting the many ways we humans run on stories and belief systems - from nationalistic pride to religious faith. 21 topics might have maybe been too many, but his analytic thoughts are always interesting.

The chapters singling out Israel and Judaism gave the impression of being (entertaining) payback for nagging critiques he had received for his earlier works from his own countrymen lol.

Удивило, что эта книга не менее интересная, чем Сапиенс. Обычно издатели пихают следующие книги автора какого-то бестселлера и такие книги бывают неочень. А здесь приятно удивлен. Основное отличие в том, что здесь много разных тем, а Сапиенс как-то более плавно идет в течение всей книги.

Короче говоря, если вам понравился Сапиенс, то 21 урок тоже понравится.

After reading Yuval Noah Harari's other work, Sapiens, I knew I had to read more. Thankfully, I was gifted this book. At first I thought it was Harari's attempt at a self-help book, which I was OK with, but I was very pleased to learn that it was not such a thing. It turned out to be way better than I had thought (the title deceived me).

The book is broken into 5 broad topics, with each topic encompassing a range of “lessons” relating to that topic's theme. Each lesson is more of a conversational essay designed to give the reader a broad understanding of the issue, and leaving the reader to go away in their own time and ponder it's implications. A more appropriate title for the book would perhaps be: 21 Things to Think about in the 21st Century (/s). Kidding aside, it is a very good book for the modern day person, and I would recommend it to almost anyone. Just don't expect Harari to be giving you answers on these topics; that's your job, he's just the conversation starter.