Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

We as humans have a short attention span, and an even shorter memory for the past. We tend to view our current state as inevitable, and have trouble remembering that things weren't always the way they are now. In fact, as recently as 200 years ago, people lived markedly different lives supported by different social structures, to say nothing of 1000, 2000, or 10000 years ago. Harari shows us the long arc of the species, from its emergence as hunter gatherers in Africa, winning out over other Homo- species, through the development of shared consciousness “The Cognitive Revolution”, the beginnings of sedentary lifestyle via agriculture, and the past 500 years of scientific, economic and technological progress. He refuses to use conventional tropes to describe Homo Sapiens and its societies, forcing the reader to look at humans' place in the world with fresh eyes. What has our species accomplished in the past 70,000 years? Is the world better off? Are we better off? These are the questions Harari strives to answer. The book is not without its flaws; much of it is uncited and it's sometimes difficult to tell fact from opinion. But I can think of few books I've read in the last five years that have changed my view of the world as much as this one.