“Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari is a rare work. A truly interdisciplinary telling of the rise of Homo sapiens to be the dominant species on earth, Harari’s book tells the story of humanity from there emergency to the present moment (and possible futures) in a mere 466 pages. Hariri is a that most rare breed of scholar: a generalist who can weave a grand story with deep insight and artfulness. Moreover, the book is fun— not only is Hariri an author of big ideas, he is also a fantastic writer.

There are too many ideas in this book to discuss here. What do you expect with a book that tells the entire history of humanity from start to (perhaps) finish? I purposefully want to keep away describing each detail. The story is too complex, and Hariri tells it much better than I can. The book is one that is well worth reading slowly.

If there was one essential point that provides the foundation to Hariri’s text, it would be the need for large-scale human communities to be developed and maintained through multiple inter-subjective realities. These are stories that are not inherently or objectively true and yet are essential to the functioning of human society. What I enjoy about his use of this idea is that it does not say that these things are true and need to be followed blindly. Nor does he say that we must arrogantly reject them out of hand as not true and therefore not important. He says that these ideas are simultaneously not true and very important. He playfully says that many of the great religious traditions are inter-subjective realities but so is money, capitalism, nations, human rights, gender, aristocracy, and even science. Essentially, these are narratives or stories that we tell and bind us closer together.

One smaller point that resonated with me was Hariri’s discussion of the cruelty that humanity has wrought against other animals on earth. This idea is a reoccurring presence in the book. Sapiens overtook their cousins like the Neanderthals violently. They destroyed most of the big animals on all continents. Sapiens domesticated animals and kept them in virtual slavery, which has only become more cruel and barbarous as a logical consequence of industrialization. This point shows a deeper truth: that Sapiens collective rise has been at the expense of much individual suffering.

I finished this book and its ideas and concepts still rattle around in my brain. Its lucid writing and deft handling of thought-provoking questions will challenge your own identity and will make you think about the world. I plan on assigning it as the back-bone text for a course I am going to teach at a university on the idea of ideas. I cannot recommend this book more highly.