Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari narrates the history of human kind, starting from pre-history with many types of sapiens roaming the world, to modern days. Large popular works often make for wide targets of criticism—which you'd see about Sapiens if you looked around. There's a lot to be critical of, but for me—uneducated in much of the anthropology and sociology underpinnings—there's also a lot to take away. Frankly, many of the vocal criticisms miss the point. Harari's greatest flaw is how he narrates as if detached from what he speaks about, as an unaffiliated observer reporting facts and observations; however, he frequently mixes well-agreed history with his opinions.
Taking a step back, his story telling led to many new revelations for me, even though many of the facts weren't all that surprising. For example, in the beginning he talks of human's ability to believe and live by fictions; we build our whole society based on them. Money, companies, countries, society, equality, rights, etc. are all constructs that we join together to believe. We're the only species that does this.
I learned a lot, and enjoyed the read. If you're willing to keep a skeptical mind and understand that much of this is Harari's own opinions, you'll likely enjoy it as well.
This is a part of my Media Diet. Learn more about this project here.