'SAPIENS' - A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

This is truly a remarkable book written by Dr.Yuval Noah Harari. This is by no means a history book following a linear chronology. It offers a global vision of humankind from the beginning until today. It analyzes the history of Mankind through its main trends in an unprecedented manner propelling History to the fields of social sciences.

The author holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Oxford and currently lectures at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Needless to say that his vision of history is as accurate as can be. It is conveyed in a simple and clear language that allows anyone to grasp the mechanic wheel of Time. And this is its main value: to provide us with a clear vision of Mankind. The book consists of four sections:

1. The Cognitive Revolution that started 70,000 years ago → FIRE
2. The Agricultural Revolution, 12,000 years ago → FARMING
3. The Unification of Humankind → MONEY
4. The Scientific Revolution, 500 years ago → SCIENCE

According to the author, the History of Humankind is made of THREE Revolutions but life on our planet took a totally different turn with the upcoming combination of money and science.

This book changes completely the elusive and fragmented vision of History. His fresh approach to our timeline provides a new light on Man's fate on the planet.

In the Cognitive Revolution, the author makes a clear summary of Prehistoric Man. He never really uses the term 'prehistory', which is a positive fact. Because, in view of our latest discoveries on the Past, the word 'Prehistory' sounds a bit obsolete. It may be chronologically correct. Yet, it is philosophically questionable in terms of the History of Humankind. This darker side of our planet's life allows the reader to update more clearly his vision of a complex period that multiple anthropologic discoveries had fragmented. It then focuses on the slow emergence of Homo sapiens as the clear master of the Earth.

This book was first published in Hebrew in 2011 and reviewed in 2014. Consequently, it does not mention the latest historical trends such as the Tilted Equator or the recent discovery of a full lost town in the Sinai desert (2018). It does mention the site of Göbekli Tepe (9,500 BC) but naturally not  the Homo sapiens of Jebel Irhoud in Morocco (2017). But again, this is not the real purpose of the book, which is to understand Man's evolution through Past and Time.
Towards the end of the book, Mr. Harari reveals that "History teaches us that what seems to be just around the corner may never materialize due to unforeseen barriers." One justification he gives is that "nobody foresaw the Internet."

The book concludes that Man can never be satisfied with what he has. It ends with this question:”Is there anything more dangerous than dissatisfied and irresponsible gods who don't know what they want?”

Of course, there is a follow-up in a second publication called: 'HOMO DEUS – A Brief History of Tomorrow'.

Christian Sorand