Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout. #1 New York
Times Bestseller The Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill
Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg, now available as a beautifully packaged
paperback From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of
humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that
explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced
our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand
years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet
today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what
may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a
historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the
mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with
the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans
have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires,
Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives,
connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific
events within the context of larger ideas. Dr. Harari also compels us to
look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend
laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion
years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us,
but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to
become? Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams,
this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is
essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt
Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.