I am a fan of history, and one thing I can convincingly say about historical books is how difficult it is to weave them into an engaging story, no matter how narrow the scope of the book. In that regard, Sapiens is an outstanding book as it tells the greatest historical story of them all - of our own species, Homo Sapiens, and how we came about to be what we are today.

Sapiens broaches a wide variety of subjects, as is expected, in telling this story - right from the formation of the universe, to the emergence of organisms, from the evolution of genus Homo to how Sapiens spread out of Africa and overtook the rest, the cognitive revolution, the behavioral patterns and societal instincts of hunter-gatherers all the way to modern humans, the agricultural revolution and its negative impacts on animals, the rise of polytheistic and monotheistic religions and empires, the usage of money, the scientific revolution and capitalism, the industrial revolution and colonialism, right up to the present where we are threatening to break free from 4 billion years of natural selection by creating new forms of life through intelligent design, which makes one wonder, are humans going to be the Gods of the future?

What I liked most about the book was its ability to try and provide perspectives against the norm. Liberalism (which the book calls as the most dominant religion of our times) has made us believe that the ability to choose our actions and thoughts is the most fulfilling way to lead one’s life, but we find out how this was hardly the case throughout history, and how there isn’t a direct correlation between liberalism leading to a happier life. Indeed, the book makes one question if humanity has really progressed in all these millennia through various advances if we can’t fundamentally answer the question that if we as humans are happier today than a medieval era peasant or a hunter-gatherer of the past.

Of course, it is impossible for one to come to a conclusion of why events in history were shaped the way they were, and like the author rightly points, the more one knows about history, the more difficult it is to ascertain why it took a particular course and the innumerable roads which were not taken. By giving us this perspective, the author makes us appreciate our story even more.

I also enjoyed other comparisons such as how communism and other ideologies could also be considered religions, of how imagined orders and decrees have helped our species collaborate on a massive scale and why the scientific revolution and capitalism effectively changed our view to believe that we can improve our status, energy resources and wealth without limits.

If this was a lengthy review it is because the book is so densely packed with hundreds of such questions and answers which makes one enquire everything about themselves and their purpose and position in life. Definitely a must-read for anyone who wants to have a macro view of their species' journey through time.

Originally published here.