Tharindu Dissanayake's Reviews > Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

"what looks inevitable in hindsight was far from obvious at the time."

"Presumably, everyone reading this book is a Homo sapiens - the species sapiens (wise) of the genus Homo (man)."

We 'sapiens' have diverse tastes when it comes to everything, so same goes for reading, and there are oh-so many options: many sub-genre's of fiction and non-fiction. We usually pick the one we enjoy the most - and that's fiction most of the time - and stick with it for good. But every now and then, there is that book - which isn't fiction - but it feels better than fiction. And then among those select few, there is that book, once read, one cannot help but recommend to others regardless of their favorite genre. Sapiens is one of those exceptional books. This book, I belive, is an excellent read, irrespective of what your usual favorite genre is.

"As far as we know, only Sapiens can talk about entire kinds of entities that they have never seen, touched or smelled."

This is kind of a history book, but it isn't the typical history book, intended to a niche of readers. The way the author narrates is quite fascinating, and unlike in the typcial non-fiction book, gives the reader the craving to finish it in one go. And the way everything's organized is well thought out the the flow is perfect. Once started, though the book is somewhat long, you will not feel tempted to skip over any parts of it.

"You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven."

We start off with a brief introduction to how everything in the universe came to be around 13.5 billion years ago, and quickly navigate to around 70,000 years from present, where things escallate. Then comes the Cognitive Revolution, then through agricultural revolution to modern era.

"historical record makes Homo sapiens look like an ecological serial killer."
"We did not domesticate wheat. It domesticated us."

The way how the social structures and various religions evolved was described in a very unique way. Typcially, we'd expect the author to explain along a particular school of thought, and explain reasons for accepting it to be the most reasonable way to look at things. But here, things are quite different. We are provided with different, and often contradicting, views on certain major historical aspect, while allowing us form our own opinions, which is kind of fun. And the subtle humor you encounter everywhere complements the flow nicely.

" A wealthy man in ancien Egypy would never have dreamed of solving a relationship crisis by taking his wife on holiday to Babylon. Instead, he might have built for her the sumptuous tomb she had always wanted."

But I guess this book is not for the history experts, for they might find things to be too simple. A connosiur of history might find the contents boring. However, for all others, this book has the ability to shift the way you look at the world quite profoundly.

" 'Cooperation' sounds very altruistic, but is not always voluntary and seldom egalitarian."

You can't afford to miss reading this book. You shouldn't miss reading this book. You must read this book. This just became one of my all time favorites. DO GIVE THIS ONE A CHANCE...

"A person who does not crave cannot suffer."