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Unstoppable Us #2
Unstoppable Us, Vol. 2: Why the World Isn't Fair
From world-renowned historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, the bestselling author of Sapiens, comes the second volume in the bestselling Unstoppable Us series that traces human development from the Agricultural Revolution to Prehistoric Egypt.
Humans may have taken over the world, but what happened next? How did our hunter-gatherer ancestors become village farmers? Why were kingdoms and laws established? How did we go from being the rulers of Earth to the rulers of each other?
And why isn’t the world fair?
The answer to all of that is one of the strangest tales you’ll ever hear. And it’s a true story!
From cultivating land and sharing resources to building pyramids and paying taxes, prepare to discover how humans established civilization, endured the consequences for it, and created history-changing inventions along the way.
In Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World , acclaimed author Yuval Noah Harari explored the early history of humankind. In Volume 2 , he is back with another expertly crafted story of how human society evolved and flourished. His dynamic writing is accompanied by maps, a timeline, and full-color illustrations, making the incredible story of our past fun, engaging, and impossible to put down.
Humans may have taken over the world, but what happened next? How did our hunter-gatherer ancestors become village farmers? Why were kingdoms and laws established? How did we go from being the rulers of Earth to the rulers of each other?
And why isn’t the world fair?
The answer to all of that is one of the strangest tales you’ll ever hear. And it’s a true story!
From cultivating land and sharing resources to building pyramids and paying taxes, prepare to discover how humans established civilization, endured the consequences for it, and created history-changing inventions along the way.
In Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World , acclaimed author Yuval Noah Harari explored the early history of humankind. In Volume 2 , he is back with another expertly crafted story of how human society evolved and flourished. His dynamic writing is accompanied by maps, a timeline, and full-color illustrations, making the incredible story of our past fun, engaging, and impossible to put down.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published March 5, 2024
91 people are currently reading
1495 people want to read
About the author
Yuval Noah Harari
67 books38.6k followersYuval Noah Harari is an Israeli historian and philosopher. He is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals working today.
Born in Israel in 1976, Harari received his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2002. He is currently a lecturer at the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Harari co-founded the social impact company Sapienship, focused on education and storytelling, with his husband, Itzik Yahav.
Born in Israel in 1976, Harari received his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2002. He is currently a lecturer at the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Harari co-founded the social impact company Sapienship, focused on education and storytelling, with his husband, Itzik Yahav.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
December 23, 2023
Kiddo (9) and I really really enjoyed the first book in this series, but we enjoyed this one even more. All other "history of the world" books that I have read get bogged down in dates and names and try to establish a chronological timeline of major world events.
This book, however, dispenses with all of that. It hardly mentions dates at all, nor does it mention names. What it does, and does incredibly well, is lay out the HOW and WHY of history.
Step by step it takes us through the how and why of the agricultural revolution and the growth of villages and towns and cities and kingdoms and religions. It takes us through the rise of priests and kings and the ways life for people who settled in villages differed from the lives of their hunter/gatherer neighbors.
My 9-year-old's mind was blown. I came away with an understanding of history I never managed to get from the date and name focused books.
I highly recommend reading this alongside or soon before or after a date-focused book. Kiddo and I followed this one with A Short History of the World by Ruth Brocklehurst, which does an admirable job detailing the chronological history of the world. Reading both offers a much better overall understanding of the who and when AND how and why of history and makes everything make a lot more sense.
The Unstoppable Us books are easily some of the best nonfiction books for kids we have come across and I highly, highly recommend them for kiddos age 9-12 who are interested in history. I also recommend reading them together as kiddo and I did because there's so much here that I (and probably many adults) never learned in school.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Bright Matter Books for providing an early copy for review.
This book, however, dispenses with all of that. It hardly mentions dates at all, nor does it mention names. What it does, and does incredibly well, is lay out the HOW and WHY of history.
Step by step it takes us through the how and why of the agricultural revolution and the growth of villages and towns and cities and kingdoms and religions. It takes us through the rise of priests and kings and the ways life for people who settled in villages differed from the lives of their hunter/gatherer neighbors.
My 9-year-old's mind was blown. I came away with an understanding of history I never managed to get from the date and name focused books.
I highly recommend reading this alongside or soon before or after a date-focused book. Kiddo and I followed this one with A Short History of the World by Ruth Brocklehurst, which does an admirable job detailing the chronological history of the world. Reading both offers a much better overall understanding of the who and when AND how and why of history and makes everything make a lot more sense.
The Unstoppable Us books are easily some of the best nonfiction books for kids we have come across and I highly, highly recommend them for kiddos age 9-12 who are interested in history. I also recommend reading them together as kiddo and I did because there's so much here that I (and probably many adults) never learned in school.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Bright Matter Books for providing an early copy for review.
October 14, 2024
Dünya neden adil değil? Bunu bir çocuğun anlayacağı şekilde anlatmış. İlk bölüme göre daha sosyolojik bir kitap olmuş. Bir yetişkin olarak dinlerken çok keyif aldım. Kitaptan aldığım köpeklerle ilgili bir alıntıyı da buraya aktarayım:
"... Şimdi köpeklerin en zeki hayvan türü olmadığını biliyoruz. Şempanzeler filler, yunuslar ve hatta domuzlar bile köpeklerden daha zeki. Ancak konu insanların ne istediği veya nasıl hissettiğine gelince, köpekler bir numaradır. Zaman zaman bu konuda insanlardan bile daha iyidirler. Üzgün olduğunuzda öğretmeniniz veya kardeşiniz, belki bunu fark etmez. Ama köpeğiniz bilir. Kim çiftçi olmak ister? Günümüzde çoğu insan köpekleri sadece sevdiği için yanında tutar. Köpeklerini yemezler, saymazlar ve onlara zorla saban çekmezler. Köpekler eşsizdir, insanlar birçok hayvan dururken yanlarında onları ister. Çünkü onların verebileceği bir şeye ihtiyaç duyarlar. Bu sevgiyle değil, kontrol etmekle ilgilidir..."
"... Şimdi köpeklerin en zeki hayvan türü olmadığını biliyoruz. Şempanzeler filler, yunuslar ve hatta domuzlar bile köpeklerden daha zeki. Ancak konu insanların ne istediği veya nasıl hissettiğine gelince, köpekler bir numaradır. Zaman zaman bu konuda insanlardan bile daha iyidirler. Üzgün olduğunuzda öğretmeniniz veya kardeşiniz, belki bunu fark etmez. Ama köpeğiniz bilir. Kim çiftçi olmak ister? Günümüzde çoğu insan köpekleri sadece sevdiği için yanında tutar. Köpeklerini yemezler, saymazlar ve onlara zorla saban çekmezler. Köpekler eşsizdir, insanlar birçok hayvan dururken yanlarında onları ister. Çünkü onların verebileceği bir şeye ihtiyaç duyarlar. Bu sevgiyle değil, kontrol etmekle ilgilidir..."
October 16, 2023
Het mysterie van de mens. Waarom de wereld niet eerlijk is. Tekst: Yuval Noah Harari. Illustraties: Ricard Zaplana Ruiz.
Oh, wat een geweldige mooi én boeiend boek!
Ik heb de graphic novels van Sapiens gelezen en ben sindsdien grote fan van Harari. Wat een talent heeft die man; hij heeft de gave om moeilijke, complexe dingen duidelijk en bondig op een vlotte manier samen te vatten en met een meeslepende pen neer te schrijven.
Het begon met een boek, werd toen een strip en is nu een kinderboek. Kinderboeken moet ik zeggen. Het eerste deel (Hoe wij het machtigste dier op aarde werden) heb ik gemist. Gelukkig kwam dit tweede deel wél op mijn pad (dank u Saskia!).
In waarom de wereld niet eerlijk is zien we hoe allesbepalend het moment was waarop sommige mensen boeren werden: de onvoorziene kwalen en plagen die het met zich meebracht, de afhankelijkheid, de ongelijkheid tussen mensen die er uit volgde,… Maar ook de opkomst van koningen, goden en slaven bijvoorbeeld. Toen begon ook het onderdrukken van vrouwen (hen als een bezit zoals een wagen zien), de onverdraagzaamheid ten op zichte van queer mensen, het platbranden van bossen, de opflakkeringen van virussen en bacteriën,… Problemen waar we nog steeds mee zitten en die allemaal ontstaan zijn door de opkomst van de landbouw. Boeiend.
Dit boek mag in geen enkele klas ontbreken. Jong én oud gaan hier zo veel door leren. Ferme aanrader. Yuval Noah Harari is en blijft één van onze belangrijkste schrijvers!
Oh, wat een geweldige mooi én boeiend boek!
Ik heb de graphic novels van Sapiens gelezen en ben sindsdien grote fan van Harari. Wat een talent heeft die man; hij heeft de gave om moeilijke, complexe dingen duidelijk en bondig op een vlotte manier samen te vatten en met een meeslepende pen neer te schrijven.
Het begon met een boek, werd toen een strip en is nu een kinderboek. Kinderboeken moet ik zeggen. Het eerste deel (Hoe wij het machtigste dier op aarde werden) heb ik gemist. Gelukkig kwam dit tweede deel wél op mijn pad (dank u Saskia!).
In waarom de wereld niet eerlijk is zien we hoe allesbepalend het moment was waarop sommige mensen boeren werden: de onvoorziene kwalen en plagen die het met zich meebracht, de afhankelijkheid, de ongelijkheid tussen mensen die er uit volgde,… Maar ook de opkomst van koningen, goden en slaven bijvoorbeeld. Toen begon ook het onderdrukken van vrouwen (hen als een bezit zoals een wagen zien), de onverdraagzaamheid ten op zichte van queer mensen, het platbranden van bossen, de opflakkeringen van virussen en bacteriën,… Problemen waar we nog steeds mee zitten en die allemaal ontstaan zijn door de opkomst van de landbouw. Boeiend.
Dit boek mag in geen enkele klas ontbreken. Jong én oud gaan hier zo veel door leren. Ferme aanrader. Yuval Noah Harari is en blijft één van onze belangrijkste schrijvers!
March 18, 2024
Dünyanın neden adaletsiz olduğunu ve daha adaletli bir dünya için ne yapmak gerektiğini büyüklere bile anlatmak güç işken bunu çocuklara, onların anlayabileceği basitlikle anlatmak çok zor ve bir o kadar da sorumluluk isteyen bir iş. Hariri zor bir işin altından başarıyla kalkmış görünüyor. Bu kitabı çocuğunuza, yeğeninize alıp okumasını, anlamasını sağlamak, onu kuşkusuz daha akıllı, zeki, dış dünyaya karşı uyanık ve duyarlı bir çocuk yapacaktır. Ne yazık ki içinde yaşadığımız dünya, bu kitabın ona verdiği bilinçle daha çocuğunuz ya da yeğeninizin mutlu bir çocuk ve ileride yetişkin olmasını garanti etmiyor. Hatta bu bilinçle, onsuz olabileceğinden daha mutsuz olma ihtimali büyük. Böyle bir paradoks da var maalesef. Çünkü hikayeler insanları mutlu, sömürülmelerini rasyonel, onları toplum içinde "uyumlu" bireyler kılar.
June 14, 2024
Who was your favorite character (and why)? ancient humans I liked it beacose they were funny that the fact that an old arangutan can defeat a human
What surprised you? that a farmer can have up to 12 children
Would you change the ending? Why/why not? no beacose I thot it was pretty cool beacose everything people believe in comes from dreams
What surprised you? that a farmer can have up to 12 children
Would you change the ending? Why/why not? no beacose I thot it was pretty cool beacose everything people believe in comes from dreams
December 5, 2023
Wederom een ingewikkeld verhaal op een begrijpelijke manier uitgelegd. Moet kinderen (en andere mensen) aan het denken zetten.
October 15, 2024
Viens no dīvainākajiem stāstiem, kas jebkad dzirdēts. Turklāt tas ir patiess stāsts
April 9, 2024
I know! I know! I’m probably not the intended target audience for this book, but I love the simple language that conveys the essence of human history. Don’t we say that if you can’t explain it to a 5 year old you probably don’t understand it yourself? It also makes you reflect on the amazing crazy things our society is built on. And maybe if we can change the stories around it we can build a better society. That’s an interesting concept.
January 6, 2024
While this is a book intended for children, Harari conveys a beautiful yet strong message through storytelling. Recommended for children but definitely also for adults. Bonus: the drawings and visuals make the story come to life even more.
May 7, 2024
This series was so good, I recommended it to my social studies teacher.
June 21, 2024
Reading it with my daughter. As always great!
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December 1, 2023Yuval Noah Harari jest dobrze znany polskiemu czytelnikowi. Jego książki popularnonaukowe dla dorosłych np. SAPIENS, 21 LEKCJI NA XXI WIEK, HOMO DEUS i in. zrobił dość dużo szumu na rynku książki, więc jeśli interesują was tematy związane z historią ludzkości, archeologią, to zapewne to nazwisko wam sporo mówi. Ja jednak skupiłam się na jego serii skierowanej do starszych dzieci, młodzieży NIEPOWSTRZYMANI.
Pierwszy tom JAK PRZEJĘLIŚMY WŁADZĘ NAD ŚWIATEM, był bardzo ciekawy i pokazywał historię naszego gatunku w inny, oryginalny sposób. Założyłam więc, że tom drugi DLACZEGO ŚWIAT NIE JEST SPRAWIEDLIWY również wart jest mojej uwagi. Nie pomyliłam się, bo i tutaj odnalazłam oryginalne podejście do tego kim jesteśmy i dlaczego świat ułożyliśmy w taki, a nie w inny sposób.
Sam podtytuł jest już wystarczająco intrygujący, by zdecydować się sięgnąć po NIEPOWSTRZYMANYCH 2. Kto choć raz nie pomyślał, że świat jest niesprawiedliwy - niech pierwszy rzuci kamień... czy jakoś tak. Nie wierzę, że istnieje taki człowiek, bo nawet gdy mamy piękne życie, to coś zawsze mogłoby być lepsze, a świat i tak wyraźnie pokazuje, że jest niesprawiedliwy... Tylko, że następnym razem, zamiast obwiniać cały świat uściślijmy nasze pytanie i zadajmy je we właściwy sposób, czyli: dlaczego ludzie są niesprawiedliwi?
Harari jest bardzo dobry w skuciu opowieści i to, co mi się chyba najbardziej podobało w tej części, to własnie podejście do naszego ludzkiego bajania i naszej potrzeby życia z opowieści. Czasem i piękne i straszne te nasze nawyki, ale co by nie mówić, one nas określają - sprawiają, że żyje nam się łatwiej... według zasad. Kluczowe słowo dla tej książki ZASADY - bo to my sobie je narzuciliśmy, to, by stworzyliśmy kierowników, szefów, niewolników... PRACĘ!!! Tak... to nasza wina.
Autor idzie przez epoki i pokazuje nam człowieka, który od zbieracza (niech to piernik! dlaczegoż nie zostaliśmy tymi zbieraczami!) do rolnika, który chorował na nowe choroby, założył sobie na szyję kierat pracy od rana do zmierzchu, żywił się jednostajnie i wreszcie osiadł swym tłustym tyłeczkiem w jednym miejscu i wmówił sobie, że to własnie jest lepsze, a co gorsza uwierzył, że to jest WOLNOŚĆ!
Książka jest bardzo ciekawa, choć przyznaję, że mam parę zastrzeżeń. Niektóre rzeczy, zwłaszcza pod koniec, zostały potraktowane według mnie nieco powierzchownie i bez zrozumienia, głębszego przemyślenia, ale to tylko szczegół, malutki - bo całość jest wartościowa i pięknie podana.
Właśnie! Co do podania: książki z serii NIEPOWSTRZYMANI, są świetnie wydane. Wydawnictwo Literackie jak zawsze spisało się na medal. Piękna, twarda oprawa, dobry, nieco większy niż tradycyjny format, świetny papier i oczywiście pięknie wydrukowane ilustracje Ricard'a Zaplana Ruiz'a - jego kreska jest dzika, szybka i drapieżna... zupełnie jak nasz ludzki gatunek.
sprawiedliwość i niesprawiedliwość wymyślił człowiek
NIEPOWSTRZYMANI
tom 2
Wydawnictwo Literackie
egzemplarz recenzencki
Pierwszy tom JAK PRZEJĘLIŚMY WŁADZĘ NAD ŚWIATEM, był bardzo ciekawy i pokazywał historię naszego gatunku w inny, oryginalny sposób. Założyłam więc, że tom drugi DLACZEGO ŚWIAT NIE JEST SPRAWIEDLIWY również wart jest mojej uwagi. Nie pomyliłam się, bo i tutaj odnalazłam oryginalne podejście do tego kim jesteśmy i dlaczego świat ułożyliśmy w taki, a nie w inny sposób.
Sam podtytuł jest już wystarczająco intrygujący, by zdecydować się sięgnąć po NIEPOWSTRZYMANYCH 2. Kto choć raz nie pomyślał, że świat jest niesprawiedliwy - niech pierwszy rzuci kamień... czy jakoś tak. Nie wierzę, że istnieje taki człowiek, bo nawet gdy mamy piękne życie, to coś zawsze mogłoby być lepsze, a świat i tak wyraźnie pokazuje, że jest niesprawiedliwy... Tylko, że następnym razem, zamiast obwiniać cały świat uściślijmy nasze pytanie i zadajmy je we właściwy sposób, czyli: dlaczego ludzie są niesprawiedliwi?
Harari jest bardzo dobry w skuciu opowieści i to, co mi się chyba najbardziej podobało w tej części, to własnie podejście do naszego ludzkiego bajania i naszej potrzeby życia z opowieści. Czasem i piękne i straszne te nasze nawyki, ale co by nie mówić, one nas określają - sprawiają, że żyje nam się łatwiej... według zasad. Kluczowe słowo dla tej książki ZASADY - bo to my sobie je narzuciliśmy, to, by stworzyliśmy kierowników, szefów, niewolników... PRACĘ!!! Tak... to nasza wina.
Autor idzie przez epoki i pokazuje nam człowieka, który od zbieracza (niech to piernik! dlaczegoż nie zostaliśmy tymi zbieraczami!) do rolnika, który chorował na nowe choroby, założył sobie na szyję kierat pracy od rana do zmierzchu, żywił się jednostajnie i wreszcie osiadł swym tłustym tyłeczkiem w jednym miejscu i wmówił sobie, że to własnie jest lepsze, a co gorsza uwierzył, że to jest WOLNOŚĆ!
Książka jest bardzo ciekawa, choć przyznaję, że mam parę zastrzeżeń. Niektóre rzeczy, zwłaszcza pod koniec, zostały potraktowane według mnie nieco powierzchownie i bez zrozumienia, głębszego przemyślenia, ale to tylko szczegół, malutki - bo całość jest wartościowa i pięknie podana.
Właśnie! Co do podania: książki z serii NIEPOWSTRZYMANI, są świetnie wydane. Wydawnictwo Literackie jak zawsze spisało się na medal. Piękna, twarda oprawa, dobry, nieco większy niż tradycyjny format, świetny papier i oczywiście pięknie wydrukowane ilustracje Ricard'a Zaplana Ruiz'a - jego kreska jest dzika, szybka i drapieżna... zupełnie jak nasz ludzki gatunek.
sprawiedliwość i niesprawiedliwość wymyślił człowiek
NIEPOWSTRZYMANI
tom 2
Wydawnictwo Literackie
egzemplarz recenzencki
May 19, 2025
"Als je opgroeit, hoor je veel verhalen en een belangrijk deel van opgroeien is leren welke verhalen je moet houden, welke je moet veranderen en welke je moet opgeven. Kinderen hebben daarbij een groot voordeel vergeleken bij volwassenen: ze hebben de verhalen nog niet zo vaak gehoord. [...] Tegen de tijd dat je vijftig bent, heb je het al duizenden keren gehoord en het zelfs aan je eigen kinderen verteld. Dan is het veel moeilijker om van gedachten te veranderen. [...] Dat betekent dat je een grote verantwoordelijkheid hebt, én een grote kans. En vergeet niet: als je niet goed weet welke verhalen veranderd moeten worden, kun je die ene grote vraag stellen: lijdt er iemand door dit verhaal? Als een verhaal veel leed veroorzaakt, pas dan goed op voor dat verhaal. Het allerbeste is dan om te praten met mensen die ervan te lijden hebben om hún kant van het verhaal te horen. Stel jezelf open... en luister." ~ bladzijden 156-157
Mooi advies.
Na het lezen van Sapiens wilde ik ook wel weten hoe de kinderversie zou zijn. Er zijn meerdere delen - met prachtige illustraties, dit is deel 2 maar die sprak me het meest aan om te lezen.
Wat mij het meest opvalt ten opzichte van Sapiens is dat dit (kinder)boek veel suggestiever geschreven voelt. De uitleg en hoofdstukken voelen veel sturender naar een bepaald mening dan Sapiens, dat twee kanten van het verhaal belicht en daarin geen mening trekt: beide kanten worden objectief geëxploreerd en toegelicht, zodat de lezer zelf een conclusie kan trekken. 'Waarom de wereld niet eerlijk is', is daarin veel stelliger. Misschien omdat de titel ook al een stelling an sich is.
In het slot van het boek wordt er mooi gesproken over luisteren naar alle kanten van een verhaal, dus ook naar de mensen die erdoor getroffen worden, maar dit mis ik eigenlijk in het boek zelf. Alsof de auteur zijn eigen raad niet opvolgt. Voelt een beetje gek. Als het zo belangrijk is om hiernaar te luisteren en kinderen verhalen kunnen veranderen, waarom worden beide kanten dan niet belicht in het boek, zoals bij Sapiens wel het geval is? Iets doen begint met lezen en luisteren.
Wel ontzettend mooie illustraties, duidelijk uitgelegd, een mooie kaart achterin over de verschillende soorten schrift. Duidelijk een kinderboek vanwege het taalgebruik, maar ook volwassenen kunnen er veel van leren want het boek is wel iets toegankelijker dan Sapiens. Al zou ik Sapiens meer aanraden.
Mooi advies.
Na het lezen van Sapiens wilde ik ook wel weten hoe de kinderversie zou zijn. Er zijn meerdere delen - met prachtige illustraties, dit is deel 2 maar die sprak me het meest aan om te lezen.
Wat mij het meest opvalt ten opzichte van Sapiens is dat dit (kinder)boek veel suggestiever geschreven voelt. De uitleg en hoofdstukken voelen veel sturender naar een bepaald mening dan Sapiens, dat twee kanten van het verhaal belicht en daarin geen mening trekt: beide kanten worden objectief geëxploreerd en toegelicht, zodat de lezer zelf een conclusie kan trekken. 'Waarom de wereld niet eerlijk is', is daarin veel stelliger. Misschien omdat de titel ook al een stelling an sich is.
In het slot van het boek wordt er mooi gesproken over luisteren naar alle kanten van een verhaal, dus ook naar de mensen die erdoor getroffen worden, maar dit mis ik eigenlijk in het boek zelf. Alsof de auteur zijn eigen raad niet opvolgt. Voelt een beetje gek. Als het zo belangrijk is om hiernaar te luisteren en kinderen verhalen kunnen veranderen, waarom worden beide kanten dan niet belicht in het boek, zoals bij Sapiens wel het geval is? Iets doen begint met lezen en luisteren.
Wel ontzettend mooie illustraties, duidelijk uitgelegd, een mooie kaart achterin over de verschillende soorten schrift. Duidelijk een kinderboek vanwege het taalgebruik, maar ook volwassenen kunnen er veel van leren want het boek is wel iets toegankelijker dan Sapiens. Al zou ik Sapiens meer aanraden.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2023
Kurzmeinung / Leseerlebnis
Vielen Dank an Netgalley und an den C.H. Beck Verlag für das kostenlose Leseexemplar.
Als ich das Buch anfrug war mir nicht klar, dass es sich um einen Fortsetzungsband handelt. Es fehlte aber auch glücklicherweise während der Lektüre nichts. Wahrscheinlich werde ich aber jetzt auch den ersten Band lesen und auch alle folgenden. Auch für den Erwachsenen Leser wird hier die Geschichte der Menschheit schlicht, informativ und unterhaltsam wiedergegeben. Nicht nur stilistisch, sondern auch inhaltlich wendet der Autor sich aber primär an jüngere:
"Wenn eine Geschichte also verändert werden muss, dann sind es eher die jungen Menschen, die es tun."
Damit hat er nicht nur absolut Recht sondern fordert gleichzeitig uns ältere auf, sich an die eigene Nase zu fassen. Er bringt uns aber auch dazu, uns an den Zauber neuer Geschichten zu erinnern.
#WarumdieWeltnichtfairist #NetGalleyDE
#nocfictionnovember #nonficnovember
Vielen Dank an Netgalley und an den C.H. Beck Verlag für das kostenlose Leseexemplar.
Als ich das Buch anfrug war mir nicht klar, dass es sich um einen Fortsetzungsband handelt. Es fehlte aber auch glücklicherweise während der Lektüre nichts. Wahrscheinlich werde ich aber jetzt auch den ersten Band lesen und auch alle folgenden. Auch für den Erwachsenen Leser wird hier die Geschichte der Menschheit schlicht, informativ und unterhaltsam wiedergegeben. Nicht nur stilistisch, sondern auch inhaltlich wendet der Autor sich aber primär an jüngere:
"Wenn eine Geschichte also verändert werden muss, dann sind es eher die jungen Menschen, die es tun."
Damit hat er nicht nur absolut Recht sondern fordert gleichzeitig uns ältere auf, sich an die eigene Nase zu fassen. Er bringt uns aber auch dazu, uns an den Zauber neuer Geschichten zu erinnern.
#WarumdieWeltnichtfairist #NetGalleyDE
#nocfictionnovember #nonficnovember
Read
December 11, 2023Met een minikind in huis dat elke dag - en ja, echt elke dag - minstens 101 vragen stelt zijn kinderboeken zoals deze een geschenk van onschatbare waarde.
Dankzij Waarom de wereld niet eerlijk is en zijn inkijk naar hoe landbouw en boeren ontstaan en zo ook de ongelijkheid in de samenleving uit een historische hoek én op een toegankelijke manier voor kinderen vanaf 10 jaar, (maar het kan gerust sneller als je zoals ik een super nieuwsgierig kind hebt) kreeg minikind weer wat meer kennis en rust in haar hoofd.
Bovendien kan je in het boek prachtige illustraties vinden allemaal in kleur. (En de pagina’s ruiken lekker, dat is blijkbaar ook een plus.)
En er is nog meer goed nieuws want dit is een tweede boek, Hoe wij het machtigste dier op aarde werden, is het eerste deel van deze auteur met de prachtige illustraties en zal zonder twijfel hier thuis ook een plaatsje krijgen.
Dankzij Waarom de wereld niet eerlijk is en zijn inkijk naar hoe landbouw en boeren ontstaan en zo ook de ongelijkheid in de samenleving uit een historische hoek én op een toegankelijke manier voor kinderen vanaf 10 jaar, (maar het kan gerust sneller als je zoals ik een super nieuwsgierig kind hebt) kreeg minikind weer wat meer kennis en rust in haar hoofd.
Bovendien kan je in het boek prachtige illustraties vinden allemaal in kleur. (En de pagina’s ruiken lekker, dat is blijkbaar ook een plus.)
En er is nog meer goed nieuws want dit is een tweede boek, Hoe wij het machtigste dier op aarde werden, is het eerste deel van deze auteur met de prachtige illustraties en zal zonder twijfel hier thuis ook een plaatsje krijgen.
March 4, 2024
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this!
My kids and I really liked the first one in this series and I was very excited for this one! I thought it did a really good job going into the ramifications of storytelling and agriculture, both good and bad.
My kids and I really liked the first one in this series and I was very excited for this one! I thought it did a really good job going into the ramifications of storytelling and agriculture, both good and bad.
February 10, 2025
3.75 ⭐️
Świetna książka, nie tylko pod względem edukacyjnym i rozrywkowym, ale też wizualnym. Trzyma poziom, tak samo jak pierwsza część, chociaż mam wrażenie, że było mniej ciekawostek, na które ja osobiście liczyłam najbardziej ;(( Muszę przyznać też, że wielokrotne powtórzenia obecne w tekście, pod koniec zaczęły mnie męczyć.
Świetna książka, nie tylko pod względem edukacyjnym i rozrywkowym, ale też wizualnym. Trzyma poziom, tak samo jak pierwsza część, chociaż mam wrażenie, że było mniej ciekawostek, na które ja osobiście liczyłam najbardziej ;(( Muszę przyznać też, że wielokrotne powtórzenia obecne w tekście, pod koniec zaczęły mnie męczyć.
January 1, 2024
Dobre, ale według mnie pierwsza część była lepsza.
October 11, 2024
3.5
A fascinating sequel and a fantastic book written for children but can definitely be read by adults! Human beings are all about stories! Loved it!
A fascinating sequel and a fantastic book written for children but can definitely be read by adults! Human beings are all about stories! Loved it!
November 24, 2024
Fala muito sobre o Egito 😃🤩🥳
December 11, 2024
I read this to my homeschool kids, and we really enjoyed it. I learned so much. I hope they put out another one.
July 21, 2025
great for kids to learn from!
July 5, 2024
cocuk kitabi deyip gecemem hic sahane elegine zamanina saglik
September 7, 2024
I’m really enjoying reading this series to my 10 year old daughter. Yuval is a gifted communicator and is able to distill how our society works to a child’s level. I know that my daughter comes away understanding our society, its history, and her place in it more and more after each book- 10 out of 10.
May 23, 2025
wat is toch een leuke boeken serie en wat heeft rik van de westelaken een fijne stem!
May 14, 2024
Birincinin ardindan hemen devam ettim, asil bu calismadan sonra yazar ilgimi cezbetti diyebilirim.
April 3, 2025
Marvelous storytelling.
Harari takes a long, complex, convoluted idea about the nature of human societies and turns it into an accessible, engaging narrative covering the span of human history since the Agricultural Revolution. It is a clear, concise, compelling narrative. Halfway through I became worried it was turning too strident and propagandist, but that turned out to be part of a larger story and made sense once it fit into place with what followed.
So, the book's title asks why the world isn't fair. Its answer, in brief: Agriculture and harmful Stories.
The creation of agriculture roughly 10,000 years ago led to changes in humans and the way we interact with the world and each other, which in turn led to collective, shared stories that are beneficial for some and harmful for others. In between was a long, cumulative chain of what Harari calls "unintended consequences."
To quickly go through the steps along the way: the advent of agriculture was the first time humans, on a large, organized scale, controlled our environment instead of adapting to it (as hunter-gatherers had for the thousands of years prior). Humans controlled where plants grew, where they didn't (trees, weeds, and similar), where water flowed (irrigation), and more. That changed the way we thought about the world, the fact that we could alter the world to fit us instead of changing ourselves to fit it. Domestication of animals followed swiftly, as we also realized we could control the animals we wanted to use. Farming and herding allowed far more people to live in far less space, so soon we made larger buildings and settlements to further control our environments. Each new solution brought different problems, though, so the adaptations had to continue.
Once collections of people became larger, they needed better ways to coordinate and cooperate--and every solution continued the mindset of having power and control. Kings and priests began to lead the people. Taxes became necessary to support the governments the kings and priests led to coordinate the cooperation. Writing became necessary to keep track of taxes and economic exchanges. Bureaucracy became necessary to keep track of the writing. Socioeconomic inequality became the entrenched norm for human societies. If people could own plants, animals, and environments, they could also own other people--slavery. (The 10 Plagues of Agriculture, from the book's most prominent graphic: Unbalanced Diet, Hard Work, Drought, Flood, Pests, Plant Disease, Animal Disease, Human Disease, War, Slavery.) On and on to the world we know today.
All of it enabled, both the good and the bad, by the ability of humans to have society-wide shared beliefs. Because everyone agrees to accept the same ideas and beliefs as true and abide by them. For a government to work, residents must agree to accept that government as valid. For money to have value, everyone must agree on the value and must honor that agreement. Society works, in other words, because of shared stories. Someone tells a story, others endorse it, and it spreads until everyone decides together make that story our shared reality. These stories are powerful tools that have led to humans controlling the world, all of our amazing accomplishments. These stories are powerful tools that have cause oppression and wars and the suffering of millions. Power comes from stories, both the power to harm and the power to heal.
And it all started with the Agricultural Revolution.
That's the story this book tells. It is a powerful story. Both depressing and hopeful; you can't fix a problem unless to you understand the causes of the problem, so much of the book is about how the world has become so unfair--but the end is about how to use that insight to be able to make the world more fair.
Powerful and compelling.
Harari takes a long, complex, convoluted idea about the nature of human societies and turns it into an accessible, engaging narrative covering the span of human history since the Agricultural Revolution. It is a clear, concise, compelling narrative. Halfway through I became worried it was turning too strident and propagandist, but that turned out to be part of a larger story and made sense once it fit into place with what followed.
So, the book's title asks why the world isn't fair. Its answer, in brief: Agriculture and harmful Stories.
The creation of agriculture roughly 10,000 years ago led to changes in humans and the way we interact with the world and each other, which in turn led to collective, shared stories that are beneficial for some and harmful for others. In between was a long, cumulative chain of what Harari calls "unintended consequences."
To quickly go through the steps along the way: the advent of agriculture was the first time humans, on a large, organized scale, controlled our environment instead of adapting to it (as hunter-gatherers had for the thousands of years prior). Humans controlled where plants grew, where they didn't (trees, weeds, and similar), where water flowed (irrigation), and more. That changed the way we thought about the world, the fact that we could alter the world to fit us instead of changing ourselves to fit it. Domestication of animals followed swiftly, as we also realized we could control the animals we wanted to use. Farming and herding allowed far more people to live in far less space, so soon we made larger buildings and settlements to further control our environments. Each new solution brought different problems, though, so the adaptations had to continue.
Once collections of people became larger, they needed better ways to coordinate and cooperate--and every solution continued the mindset of having power and control. Kings and priests began to lead the people. Taxes became necessary to support the governments the kings and priests led to coordinate the cooperation. Writing became necessary to keep track of taxes and economic exchanges. Bureaucracy became necessary to keep track of the writing. Socioeconomic inequality became the entrenched norm for human societies. If people could own plants, animals, and environments, they could also own other people--slavery. (The 10 Plagues of Agriculture, from the book's most prominent graphic: Unbalanced Diet, Hard Work, Drought, Flood, Pests, Plant Disease, Animal Disease, Human Disease, War, Slavery.) On and on to the world we know today.
All of it enabled, both the good and the bad, by the ability of humans to have society-wide shared beliefs. Because everyone agrees to accept the same ideas and beliefs as true and abide by them. For a government to work, residents must agree to accept that government as valid. For money to have value, everyone must agree on the value and must honor that agreement. Society works, in other words, because of shared stories. Someone tells a story, others endorse it, and it spreads until everyone decides together make that story our shared reality. These stories are powerful tools that have led to humans controlling the world, all of our amazing accomplishments. These stories are powerful tools that have cause oppression and wars and the suffering of millions. Power comes from stories, both the power to harm and the power to heal.
And it all started with the Agricultural Revolution.
That's the story this book tells. It is a powerful story. Both depressing and hopeful; you can't fix a problem unless to you understand the causes of the problem, so much of the book is about how the world has become so unfair--but the end is about how to use that insight to be able to make the world more fair.
Powerful and compelling.
Before the Agricultural Revolution, humans didn't try to control much. They gathered wild fruits and hunted wild animals and occasionally burned a forest or dug a trap, but they only rarely told plants where to grow, or water where to flow, or rocks where to roll. After the Agricultural Revolution, farmers became control freaks. From the moment they woke up until the moment they went to sleep, people like Wheaty and her family were busy telling the world around them what to do.
-----
Controlling animals and plants made farmers far more powerful than before. But power isn't happiness, nor is it peace. . . . When you try to control others, you often make them seriously unhappy--and you often end up unhappy yourself. That's exactly what happened in the Agricultural Revolution.
The farmers thought that the things around them--wheat plants, water, and sheep--should do exactly as they were told. That demanded a lot of hard work from the farmers, and eventually they found that they too were doing what somebody else told them to do. They were more and more controlled by priests and chiefs.
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There were many advantages to having a large kingdom like ancient Egypt, but controlling a big kingdom was a big headache. The pharaoh had to organize so many people and so many things. And to do that, two very important questions needed answering: "Who owns what?" and "Who owes what?"
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Bureaucracy works like magic. In fairy tales, you read about sorcerers who can create or destroy entire villages by uttering a spell. Bureaucrats can create or destroy villages by moving paper around. An evil bureaucrat can make a village starve just by putting the paper with the village tax record in the wrong drawer. A good bureaucrat can rescue the village by finding the missing document or deleting the name of the village from the king's tax list. One stroke of the pen and a hundred people are saved.
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The only way to keep order--in a house or in a kingdom--is to have lots of people who follow the rules all by themselves, without needing rewards or punishments. But why would they do that? Because they believe in the rules. That's the secret of every successful system: people obey the rules because they believe in them.
But what causes people to believe in the rules? More important, what causes even poor and enslaved people to believe in rules that make them so miserable?
The answer is stories! You may think there's nothing useful about telling stories, but it's actually the greatest power humans have. It's our secret superpower! By convincing people to believe in the rules, a good storyteller can do the work of a hundred soldiers far more efficiently.
-----
Kids have one big advantage over adults here: they haven't heard the stories as many times. . . . By the time you're fifty, you've heard it thousands of times and you've even told it to your own kids. It's much harder to change your mind.
So, if a bad story needs changing, it will probably be kids who do it.
That means you have a big responsibility--and a great opportunity. And remember, if you're not sure which stories need changing, you can ask that important question: does this story cause suffering?
If a story causes a great deal of suffering, be very careful about that story. Best of all, talk to someone who's suffering because of it, and ask them to tell you their story. Then open your mind and your ears . . . and listen.
August 1, 2024
I liked Volume 2, but not as much as Vol.1. I would give this a 4.25, if there were more star choices. I like the messages he generates from going back in history. I agree with many of them, not all. But that's why I read. Everyone should read this and his other books. He writes in a very understandable way about difficult subjects. Good for you, Yuval. Plus makes you think at the same time of your position or understanding. I disagree with his one thought that if Stories cause suffering it shouldn't be followed. Unfortunately, life isn't that easy. Its my opinion, ALL people have to suffer in life, especially when they are trying to accomplish their goals. The accomplishment means even more when they have gone through suffering and still accomplished whatever they aimed for. Overall a very good book, I liked volume 1 better, still needs to be read.
March 11, 2024
Bu kitap çocuklara hitap eden bir dille kaleme alınmış olsa da içindeki bazı fikirler gerek tecrübesizlikleri gerek düşünce yetilerinin tam olarak gelişmemiş olması sebebiyle çocuklara uygun değil.
"Homo sapiens'in en büyük becerisi hikaye anlatmaktır" başlığı altında, tarım devrimi sonrası güç erklerinin taleplerinin yerine getirilmesi için kutsaliyet atfettikleri yüce güç/objeyi kullanması fikri, çocuklara sunulmuş. Çocuk dediğimiz içinde bulunduğu topluluğun yaşam şekliyle yoğrulan, yeterli olgunluğa erişmemiş birey olduğundan yukarıda bahsettiğim fikri okuyan bir çocuğun içine düşeceği ruh karmaşası beni rahatsız ediyor.
Bu kitabı her ebeveyn çocuğuna okutmaz diyenleriniz olacaktır... Doğrudur ama ülkemizde kitap konusunda öyle bir cehalet var ki, hasbelkader bu eseri okuyan bir çocuk okulda öğretmenine, arkadaşlarına veya ailesine bu düşünceleri anlatsa, sorular sorsa sıkıntı yaşar diye tahmin ediyorum. Neden sıkıntı dedim? Birbirleriyle sağlıklı iletişim kuramayan yetişkinlerin "inançların temeli" konusunda ciddiyetle cevap vereceğine inanmıyorum. Verecek olanlar varsa da o anne babalar yüzde on civarındadır. Bu yüzden Çocuklarımızın kafalarını inanç konusunda karıştırmaya gerek yok diye düşünüyorum.
Bir yetişkin olarak düşündüklerime gelince: Sapiens ve Homo Deus'tan sonra yeni bir şey yok. Özetinin özeti gibi düşünebiliriz.
Eserin sonunda büyük bir ekibe teşekkür edilmiş. O ekipte bir pedagog var mıydı, varsa yorumu neydi merak ediyorum.
Eyyorlamam bu kadar.
"Homo sapiens'in en büyük becerisi hikaye anlatmaktır" başlığı altında, tarım devrimi sonrası güç erklerinin taleplerinin yerine getirilmesi için kutsaliyet atfettikleri yüce güç/objeyi kullanması fikri, çocuklara sunulmuş. Çocuk dediğimiz içinde bulunduğu topluluğun yaşam şekliyle yoğrulan, yeterli olgunluğa erişmemiş birey olduğundan yukarıda bahsettiğim fikri okuyan bir çocuğun içine düşeceği ruh karmaşası beni rahatsız ediyor.
Bu kitabı her ebeveyn çocuğuna okutmaz diyenleriniz olacaktır... Doğrudur ama ülkemizde kitap konusunda öyle bir cehalet var ki, hasbelkader bu eseri okuyan bir çocuk okulda öğretmenine, arkadaşlarına veya ailesine bu düşünceleri anlatsa, sorular sorsa sıkıntı yaşar diye tahmin ediyorum. Neden sıkıntı dedim? Birbirleriyle sağlıklı iletişim kuramayan yetişkinlerin "inançların temeli" konusunda ciddiyetle cevap vereceğine inanmıyorum. Verecek olanlar varsa da o anne babalar yüzde on civarındadır. Bu yüzden Çocuklarımızın kafalarını inanç konusunda karıştırmaya gerek yok diye düşünüyorum.
Bir yetişkin olarak düşündüklerime gelince: Sapiens ve Homo Deus'tan sonra yeni bir şey yok. Özetinin özeti gibi düşünebiliriz.
Eserin sonunda büyük bir ekibe teşekkür edilmiş. O ekipte bir pedagog var mıydı, varsa yorumu neydi merak ediyorum.
Eyyorlamam bu kadar.
April 4, 2024
This book is primarily aimed at children around 10 years old, which is significantly younger than my current age. Nevertheless, I found the author to be both humorous and insightful. I appreciated that the author concentrated on presenting facts rather than imposing a strong opinion. By leaving room for open-ended thinking, the readers are encouraged to form their own conclusions. The illustrations within the book are outstanding, adding a delightful visual layer to the narrative. Surprisingly, I discovered that there’s so much to learn from a children’s book, even as an adult. It made me wish I had access to this kind of engaging and educational content when I was 10.
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