Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

I don't even know how to review this book without undermining its brilliance and/or dissuading any potential reader.
Also, this is a popular science/history/all-of-the-humanities-combined book. I do not know enough about the subject to write a detailed and objective review (there is nothing I dislike more than people misleading/misinforming others by making bold and unfounded claims on subjects they are not knowledgeable in).

It's hard to remember on a day to day basis that current life on planet earth is part of a much larger picture. Sapiens constantly expands the reader's perspective in a riveting account. Like a voice whispering “nothing is absolute” at the end of every page.  His ability to explain how we (homo sapiens) have found ourselves living in the world we do now, through an open minded, multifaceted approach and in well written prose blew me away. It was no surprise to me that it won a prize for its creativity and originality.

I don't want to refer to common criticisms I encountered while reading other goodreads reviews, partially because I am not an expert in the field (just as many of those people aren't, by the way) and also because no book is perfect. This one addresses huge themes, many of which are controversial (e.g. religion), thus tackling a large and difficult task. Opinions can and should be debated. Maybe I mostly loved this book because I constantly look at the world/life/everything through as openminded a perspective as possible. If you're not feeling openminded, you might want to leave it for later. In my view it's an incredibly intelligent effort to expand the minds of readers, and there is no way for me to convey the effect the book has. You just have to read it.

(P.S. I was finally convinced to read Sapiens after accidentally stumbling across SimonOxfPhys reviewing it on YouTube. More detailed, very enthusiastic).