Sapiens

A brief history of humankind. Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?

In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we’re going. Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind’s extraordinary history - from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age - and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world.

Timeline of History
The Cognitive Revolution

• An animal of no significance
• The tree of knowledge
• A day in the life of Adam and Eve
• The flood

The agricultural revolution

• History's biggest fraud
• Building pyramids
• Memory overload
• There is no justice in history

The unification of humankind

• The arrow of history
• The scent of money
• Imperial visions
• The law of religion
• The secret of success

The scientific revolution

• The discovery of ignorance
• The marriage of science and empire
• The capitalist creed
• The wheels of industry
• A permanent revolution
• And the lived happily ever after
• The end of Homo Sapiens

Afterword: The animal that became a god
Notes
Acknowledgements
Image credits
Index