Review of Sapiens - what did you think?

[Simon]

I'll be filming my review of Sapiens in the next couple of days but I'd like to know your thoughts on the book - hopefully I'll have a little section in the video where I can showcase your reviews!

So what did you think?

[bleli_]

Hey Simon!
Even though I have not finished Sapiens (I'm currently studying for my "A-Levels"...) I can already say that it is one of the most interesting books I've read in the past few years.
What I really did not expect from my first popular science book was Harari's humorous and at the same time captivating writing style. Even though I never highlight my books, this one is particurlary coloured as some passages are just mindblowing (the part about domestication of wheat/humans was a totally new view on the topic for me) or plain hilarious.

As a non-native speaker I can say that the language is easy to understand and not too complicated. This was also a surprise, as I usually prefer fiction and did expect this book to be harder to understand.

I'm already super excited for the time when I can finally read on and broaden my horizons through this piece of work (and for your review of course, too!).

[Slobodan]

This book is not for everyone, and yet everyone should read it. Much like Guns, Germs, and Steel (by Jared Diamond), this book looks at human history from a holistic and evolutionary perspective, but takes the tale of human history much further, asking and answering questions like: what makes humans a unique (and often, not so unique) animal? What is "progress" and where is it taking us? Did we domesticate wheat, or did it domesticate us? Does money exist? Are we happier as a species than our hunter/gatherer ancestors?

This is a great, and often painfully accurate, portrayal of why humans tend to find themselves feeling alone in the universe, and why our homogenous global culture has done more to trap us than liberate us. We all need to recognize what is really important in life, and see through the noise we've created.

[Will]

I'm in the middle of the book now...trying to catch up. For the most part I'm really enjoying it. I feel like the author takes a good non-biased stance on the issues and a high level thinking approach to dissecting the how and whys of humanity. I was disappointed though with the chapter on the agricultural revolution. To me there was a strong bias against agriculture instead of the non-biased evaluation of the issue. I don't believe that agriculture is the scourge it is made out to be. In fact I would argue that it was agriculture that allowed for the scientific revolution and many of the other advances described. It is merely another step in human history rather than the detriment described.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that was my take.