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Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Harari
Destined to become a modern classic in the vein of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Sapiens is a lively, groundbreaking history of humankind told from a unique perspective. 100,000 years ago, at least six species of human inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo Sapiens. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations, and human rights; to trust money, books, and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables, and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come? In Sapiens, Dr. Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical -- and sometimes devastating -- breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural, and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, palaeontology, and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come? Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power...and our future.
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nitinc09

This is a really great book

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Melaniedomenech
Pickpick

The history of humanity has unexpected twists and turns, starting with the fact that there were many species of humans. One of the oddities of the present is that only one species of humans roams the earth. Homo sapiens has been a destroyer of species (human and animal). Harari says we‘re are moving toward a global culture. He portends a future where this one species will evolve away from itself into some new.

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AileenRR
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Mehso-so

Lots of interesting bits, but it‘s pretty long and I spaced out a lot

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ecl
Pickpick

It's a pleasant read, well-researched and insightful, that occasionally moralizes at its audience. I especially enjoyed his point that foragers likely lived better lives than the first farmers, which made me realize how lucky we are to have been born after all that progress has been made.

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Shemac77
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Panpan

Takeaway? Humans are horrid. The end.

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ricalyr

..essential..

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thewallflower0707
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It‘s the exciting time of the year when we all post our “Best of 2022” lists, so these are my top non-fiction books for this year!
A Village in the Third Reich
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

#nonfiction #bestof #sapiens #history

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ReshamReads
Pickpick

I enjoyed this a lot. I felt like I was able to make connections that were, for me, missing links previously. I can understand that it is controversial in many aspects but I also feel that my job as a reader is to read more widely still and develop my own conclusions.

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Deifio
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Pickpick

Finally finished this audiobook! I really liked it. Though I have to admit I didn't enjoy the last couple of chapters as much. There was just too much speculation and assumptions.

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Deifio
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Still not 100% healthy. But I'm way better than a couple of days ago. I can even listen to an audiobook and do some easy crochet!

#audiocrafting

julesG That's a lovely yarn. Hope you feel better soon. 1y
AmyG Feel better! 1y
Deifio @julesG thanks, it's from my stash. And now all used up. Got to get some matching yarn soon 😅 1y
Deifio @AmyG Thanks ❤️ 1y
28 likes4 comments
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JacintaMCarter
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Pickpick

#2022Book123
There was a lot of great information in this book, but some parts of it were so dry and slowed down the pacing of the book way too much.

IuliaC This one was good, but I found the sequel 'Homo Deus' even more interesting 1y
28 likes1 comment
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BookNAround
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Pickpick

A low pick, this history of Homo sapiens started off really interesting but pretty tedious in the end. Harari makes a lot of unprovable assertions that he treats as incontrovertible fact but the book did make me think and reminded me of a lot I had previously learned in my History of Life class in college decades ago. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2022/10/review-sapiens-by-yuval-noah-harari.html...

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bookandbedandtea
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Pickpick

This was interesting and informative. Sometimes perhaps too informative as my mind wandered a bit while listening. It gave me a lot to think about so, overall, I enjoyed it.

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Deifio
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Finished my socks! They're slightly different, one is a bit bigger 🤣 But I think after a couple of wears I will hardly notice. My very first socks! Yay! 😁

#audioknitting

IndoorDame Awesome! 1y
ravenlee Hooray! They look great. 1y
SusanLee It looks awesome!!! 1y
shanaqui Aw, yay! Hurrah socks! 1y
28 likes5 comments
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Deifio
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Progress on my second sock while listening to the chapter about religion. Very interesting!

#audioknitting

FlowerFairy Lovely yarn! 1y
Deifio @FlowerFairy Thanks, I like thelat pre-dyed yarn so much. You just knit and it makes such nice patterns 😁 1y
21 likes2 comments
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thewallflower0707
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Pickpick

I found #Sapiens in the communal bookshelf at our AirBnB on Corfu, Greece 🇬🇷. I spent yesterday at the pool, reading it. The first half was excellent, the second half, when the author got closer to the modern age, fell a bit flat.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

CoffeeAndABook Corfu in September 🇬🇷 ☀️🎋 Sounds so lovely, have the best time!! And communal book are so cool, I‘ve found some real gems there! 2y
20 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Federoca
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Bailedbailed

I was never able to finish it but I'm sure is worth it and I'll try it again

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mavey
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mavey
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My first library read after oh-so-long💖

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LatrelWhite
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July selection from Instagram #feedyourmind Bookclub by actor #luisadoliveira ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Deifio
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Started listening yesterday! So very interesting! I like the theory that we invented language to gossip better. It is very well explained, with fun little examples too. And the narrator for the audiobook has a very soothing voice.

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Gregvdvinne

“One of history‘s few iron laws is that luxuries tend to become necessities and to spawn new obligations”

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Kimberlone
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My February #BookspinBingo results. Didn‘t get any bingos, sadly, as my reading ended up veering off from my original choices. I did at least read one book from my Kindle #TBR. And I finished both my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin for the month!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Fantastic month!! 2y
Saknicole Cute! 2y
Saknicole Cute! 2y
47 likes3 comments
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Kimberlone
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Mehso-so

Surprisingly, I think I would have preferred this in its original book form. While some of the concepts translated well to the graphic novel format, overall I don‘t think it was very easy to read such text heavy panels with the complex ideas being presented. The artwork was also lackluster. I feel bad giving this a so-so, since I definitely still learned quite a bit, I just didn‘t enjoy the visual reading experience.

Kimberlone Also, more of a comment on the Kindle edition, but I couldn‘t zoom in on any of the pages which made it even harder to read the small text lettering. It seems strange to me that the comic reader on Hoopla would be more user compatible than the Kindle app. 2y
57 likes1 comment
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Job132001
Pickpick

6/10

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BookNAround
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This is the only book I brought on vacation to force me to work on it. This quote tickled me. And it explains a lot.

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Sammiixxx

Is there anything more dangerous than dissatisfied and irresponsible gods who don't know what they want?

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Kimberlone
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A few days late with my February #BookspinBingo board. I had a chaotic January, so I never got to make one last month. Lots of romance options for #Swoonathon. Most of these options are books off of my Kindle, plus a few library borrows I need to start/finish this month.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Looks great!!! 2y
tokorowilliamwallace O.o let's get some reviews of the romances! Do you put longer reviews up anywhere else? 2y
Kimberlone @tokorowilliamwallace Litsy is really the only place I do written reviews, but I do keep track of my reading on Goodreads and Storygraph if you want to befriend me either of those places, but I only do number ratings on those sites. I go through phases of being really good/bad about posting reviews on Litsy, but I will try to be better this month! 2y
See All 6 Comments
tokorowilliamwallace @Kimberlone Just started following you on Storygraph, but I'd love to connect on Goodreads. Why don't you review on Goodreads? It gives the reviewer a lot of space and freedom to articulate their thoughts and impressions without length restrictions. I do not Amazon reviews, though, for its insistence upon rating when wanting to leave a review. I've wanted to just put a few thoughts and impressions down after I watch a film or series on Prime Video 2y
Kimberlone @tokorowilliamwallace My username is the same on GR. I suppose I could just copy/paste my Litsy reviews to Goodreads, but GR reviews all tend to be quite long which the Litsy format (I prefer the short and sweet format) doesn‘t really match. Probably more than that I am just too lazy to actually take that extra step….:/ 2y
tokorowilliamwallace @Kimberlone I don't think you should call yourself lazy because of your preference; but I do think you'd write some interesting, informative full reviews, and I'd love to see what your full depth of thought looks like! Your profile photo across platforms might inspire me to change mine! 2y
52 likes1 stack add6 comments
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jasna
Pickpick

4.5/5

4 likes1 stack add
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Shemac77
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Night shift reading

TheBee I heard good things about this! 2y
41 likes1 stack add1 comment
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spon10eous
Panpan

Highly opinionated! If opinions of author are removed the book would be reduced to half of the pages it has. Even the opinions are flawed and contradicting each other at some instances, some opinions are based on now rejected theories. Not recommended if you want to read it to seriously know about history. It is a series of op-ed more than a history book, consisting chiefly of author's rant.
#History #Sapiens #Mankind

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Ms_Ashley
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What you‘re telling me is that modern man, in all our infinite superiority, was NOT the only humanoid to walk the earth at an singular time in history. You mean the ever popular t-shirts showing man climbing from the primordial ooze and slowly developing a spinal column to traverse this land as a biped are NOT true? There were other compatriots who had scientifically proven higher functioning brains and desirable physicality!! 😉…

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Ms_Ashley

Finally got my hands on this one and I‘m surprised by how casually is written. I have also begun highlighted the interested moments I‘ve found. Let‘s see what all the hype is about shall we?

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bill4earth
Pickpick

This has to be one of my favorite books of all time by one of my favorite authors. Written by an expert in the field, Harari takes the reader down a journey from our beginnings to now. You will not want to put this down.

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SarahBookInterrupted
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Pickpick

Absolutely loved this book, I couldn‘t put it down. Yuval Noah Harari makes history more like a story of the history of man. It‘s a big book that seemed small as you read it. He covered so many topics and the book really gets you thinking about life and the human imagination. Brilliant and I can‘t wait to read his next one! To find out more about what I thought or the other members of Book Interrupted go to https://www.bookinterrupted.com/episodes

25 likes2 stack adds
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SimoneFroelich
Pickpick

After more than a year on my TBR I finally finished this book about the history of the human species.

I absolute loved the first chapters but unfortunately it wasn‘t as fascinating all the way through. It‘s clear that it‘s been written to entertain and you have to keep in mind that this is how he views the world.
I did like his thoughts on the happiness of the human kind today, though.

3/6📚
Audiobook

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Ritatmcarvalho
Mehso-so

3/5

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anxious_bibliophile
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Pickpick

What can I say about a book which has already been loved by millions?! I HAD to get the illustrated version of Sapiens; it's a must read for every sapient being out there!!

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peaches424
Pickpick

I loved this history book. It really took a look at anthropology and philosophy in the context of history and covered such things as religion and morality as well. I really enjoyed it.

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SarahBookInterrupted
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Read along with Book Interrupted as we read Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. We explore this book over the next 6 weeks in our weekly podcast. To find out more go to www.bookinterrupted.com

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singhaniashares
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Before we understand what humanity can achieve in the next 1000 years, it's important to understand what humans have achieved and destroyed in the past. As I turn 25 next month, I plan to learn and understand about the history of this planet before I start reading and appreciating my country's (India) history.

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mjtwo
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Pickpick

16-26 Jul 2021 (audiobook)
Initially, I loved this book - I even ordered the graphic version for Polly and Luke to peruse - but it did not maintain the same interest throughout. More ruthless editing of the middle section was required - I found there was some repetition. Nevertheless there were many interesting and thought-provoking ideas. I was particularly affected by the impact on the well-being of animals for food production - it is horrific.

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literateBee

I thought this book was so informative, that I read it twice in a row.

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youneverarrived
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Pickpick

I‘ve read some reviews that make valid points about this being written from a biased point of view but I loved reading it and I learned so much from it that I couldn‘t give it any less than five stars. Me and my other half had a few discussions stemming from it too which were interesting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#nonfiction2021 something about animals

Riveted_Reader_Melissa No matter how you feel when you finish it, it is an interesting read… lots to think about and discuss. 3y
youneverarrived @Riveted_Reader_Melissa definitely got me thinking and talking! 3y
54 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Kenyazero
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Today's #CuriousCovers prompt is a red and white cover! This lovely book has been on my shelf for a while, and I haven't managed to start it yet! It's one of the amazing additions my husband brought to our collection.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️📚🤍 3y
Eggs ♥️⚪️♥️ 👏🏻👏🏻 3y
20 likes2 comments
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Lauredhel
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Library haul today : Sapiens (graphic nonfiction), and the new Heiss.

On my hook : my first time doing broomstick lace crochet! The is the yoke of a top, in a merino/silk/linen blend.

Crazeedi That is so lovely, wish I knew how to do that! 3y
Lauredhel YouTube tutorials FTW! 3y
62 likes2 comments
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bouktique
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Mehso-so

412 p. Loved the beginning. Author presented a different take on early humans and evolution, and up until he started talking about economics and money, it was a fascinating read. The 2nd part of the book felt more like an opinion rather than factful story and I did not enjoy it as much.

#Harari #Sapiens

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Gstangelo

[T]he Christian belief [is that there is] a free and eternal soul that resides within each individual. Yet over the last 200 years, the life sciences have thoroughly undermined this belief. Scientists studying the inner workings of the human organism have found no soul there. [H]uman behavior is determined by hormones, genes, and synapses, rather than by free will - the same forces that determine the behavior of chimpanzees, wolves, and ants.