Fascinating and provocative book
4 stars
A book that examines how humans evolved and what lies ahead for them. The book offers intriguing insights on historical events, but some of them are controversial and debatable.
Hardcover, 491 pages
Finnish language
Published Feb. 2, 2016 by Bazar.
Kuinka ihmisestä tuli ihminen
100 000 vuotta sitten maapallolla asui ainakin kuusi ihmislajia. Nyt lajeja on vain yksi: Homo sapiens. Miten meidän lajimme onnistui päihittämään muut lajit? Miten mestästäjistä tuli kaupunkien ja kuningaskuntien rakentajia? Miten ryhdyimme uskomaan jumaliin, valtioihin ja ihmisoikeuksiin sekä luottamaan rahaan ja lakeihin? Miksi alistuimme byrokratialle, aikatauluille ja kuluttamiselle? Ja millaiseksi maailma on muuttumassa?
Kirjassaan Sapiens. Ihmisen lyhyt historia Yuval Noah Harari käy läpi koko ihmisen historian ensimmäistä maan kamaralla kulkeneista ihmisistä nykyhetkeen. Lajimme kehitykseen on vaikuttanut useita radikaaleja – ja joskus tuhoisiakin – läpimurtoja. Miten historian virrat ovat muovanneet ihmistä, yhteiskuntaa ja kaikkea ympärillämme?
A book that examines how humans evolved and what lies ahead for them. The book offers intriguing insights on historical events, but some of them are controversial and debatable.
It's very convincing and I really appreciate the ideas and perspective on religion especially. I learned long after reading it about the complete disregard for evidence and accuracy.
Excellent work. Sapiens is fairly short, considering how much it covers – the whole human history, pretty much – but manages to be both entertaining and educational.
Apparently also shocking – looking at some reviews, Harari's views on the benefits of agriculture (it being the biggest fraud in human history) have struck a nerve with some folks. But I agree with Harari here: while from the viewpoint of a privileged urban European, agriculture is a sweet deal, I'm sure it hasn't been such a great deal for most people involved in it in human history.
All in all, Harari seems to hit the key points in Homo Sapiens history quite well. This is highly recommended to anybody, especially if you haven't studied human history much. If you've well read, there's little new here, but it's still a well-written and an entertaining book.