Deborah’s Reviews > Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind > Status Update
Deborah
is on page 338 of 512
I'm into the part about how the pair of technology and capitalism move globalism. This is valuable as I usually read about the trees (thanks to our subscription to the daily International New York Times) and rarely see the forest. Am hoping to disabuse myself of any misperceptions due to the fragmentary nature of my attention over these expat decades, though bearing in mind this is only one author's reading of others
— Jul 07, 2016 02:34AM
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Deborah’s Previous Updates
Deborah
is on page 420 of 512
I'm content to be reading this book, though the tone often is reminiscent of a charming college lecturer - not condescending but rather too casual for the tenor I'd expect on these subjects. Or that it's meant to be a popular book?
— Aug 11, 2016 06:25AM
Deborah
is on page 401 of 512
I'm reading this in small bits lately, finding the concepts challenging my understanding of how the present world I know is probably (?) just the latest stage resulting from capitalism that led predictably (but not inevitably?) to consumerism. I feel so manipulated despite my strident efforts to not conform!
— Aug 06, 2016 01:42AM
Deborah
is on page 364 of 512
I've been so naive - I always thought all those colonial exploiters who came in the explorers' wake were acting with the authority of their respective governments - but no! They hired military mercenaries as their "security forces" and pocketed all the gains (sharing with investors, right). That it was so enormous in scope leaves no doubt how we got to today's world order. Grrrrr!
— Jul 13, 2016 02:41AM
Deborah
is on page 356 of 512
HIs description of credit starts off cheerily enough, but quickly makes me increasingly uncomfortable. The role of science is convincing though the economic imperative of growth is as I've always believed, an invitation to greed putting on the breaks in, well, job creation and all the rest. Now reading about the waves of European colonization (Spain, NL, England) is a death (disaster) foretold.
— Jul 10, 2016 11:26AM
Deborah
is on page 302 of 512
I appreciate getting brief mentions of terms I recognize without actually understanding in toto (e.g. social sciences and natural sciences), so I get clued in to how they fit into the grand picture of things. I returned to this book in a break after some intense reading fiction in English, and am a bit appalled at how much is left (as I have more fiction lined up). But the librarian inquired how much longer...!
— Jul 04, 2016 07:34AM
Deborah
is on page 286 of 512
I find that reading this in small doses allows the ideas new to me to sink in. Actually I'm waiting for DD#1 to read it and see how it "speaks to" the gaps in her knowledge from getting a rather parochial education and getting an LLB degree rather than a B.A.
— Jun 18, 2016 08:01AM
Deborah
is on page 278 of 512
This new section's unexpectedly stopped me in my tracks. I thought Part IV: the Scientific Revolution would be quite straightforward - but the heading of Chapter 14: The Discovery of Ignorance, stopped me in my tracks. Apparently we're getting into _social_ sciences, which study topics that interest me but with methodologies I don't "get". So I need to slow down and read with due attention, not over a meal.
— May 29, 2016 07:42AM
Deborah
is on page 270 of 512
Just finished Ch. 12, which had content unfamiliar to me about world religions. Gets me interested in learning more about Buddhism having something to guide me personally since I'm evidently not a theist and would appreciate the benefits of a well-considered system. Living in Israel for over 30 years is plenty of Judaism for me!
— May 24, 2016 10:28PM
Deborah
is on page 220 of 512
Just read about money, now about empires. I really want DD#1 to read this book that pulls together so many things she's learned over the years and will give her perspective as she's just finshed her law studies and now seeks her place in the work world.
— May 21, 2016 06:25AM
