Non-fiction book alert, though this book which lays out a brief history of humankind reads like a fiction novel we could not put down.
The story of us, Homo sapiens, and our ability to “compose fiction” that laid the groundwork for what we understand to be society, religion, politics, sexuality, life and the world as we know it today. To write about everything great in this book, we’d have to write a book so we’ll try to be coherent in our ramblings.
Now this might seem like something you’d hurriedly read before an exam, but it truly is such a brilliant read. Yuval Noah Harari writes with such clarity of thought and lays it all out in a simple, logical, and concise manner that leaves you riveted. There are so many ideas that, once read, seem glaringly obvious and just common sense that one wonders, why isn't this widely discussed or understood, and we are just grateful to Harari for putting it on paper. If you are wondering, “Seriously? You’re asking me to voluntarily read a book on the history of humankind?” Yes, it’s funny, addictive, and changes your life. If you are ready to face the scary fact that we live in an imagined reality, and challenge your perspectives about what you value and what is true, this is your book.
At some level, we already know that as a species, we suck but you really get an idea of the alarming ecological impact we have had on this planet (it’s significant and tragic, and no, does not just refer to the current climate crisis). It also opens our minds to the possibility that not all the revolutions and developments we celebrate were necessarily great for us. He provocatively calls the Agricultural Revolution as History’s Biggest Fraud and guys, it just makes sense.
“An Imagined Order” and ”True Believers” are words that rattled around in our heads long after we finished this book. As you read through our history, it becomes very evident that society is indeed a construct, and we look at everything we hold to be part of our fabric in a new light. Capitalism, socialism, liberalism, tree-hugging activists, or any other ideology, Harari makes us reconsider these terms and shines light on our absurd obsession with labels and identity. At the end of it, we labelled ourselves as Hararists, so obviously we didn’t learn anything.
Our favorite passages from the book:
This was very difficult. We were debating just scanning pages and pages of the book to upload.
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