Reviews and Comments

The Sapiens book for capitalism. The economic history of the last 500 years. Why poor countries are poor and why rich countries are rich. What does the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO do. What's up with all those NGOs in Africa.

These are some of questions this book answers. Other reviews said it feels like taking the red pill and leaving the Matrix; it is exactly that. And the answers will make you outrageous.

Maybe you won't learn anything new; global equality is a major issue and we all know it. But the analysis, the facts, and the details this book presents helped me understand virtually everything about the current global economic system. I now feel much more confident to gauge what any economic policies are about.

Great book.

I've known this book forever and I always thought I knew what it says until I read it. It's true, I knew! But what a refreshing and succinct view on the theories of capitalism and its problems! Definitely recommended for all — even for people who know what it says!

I read half of it. I can't fathom the rave reviews for this book. It seems a bit repetitive, though I guess if you like stoicism you may like hearing about its implications in all aspects of life. Except for the argument that there is no point in getting angry for things you don't like happening, Marcus' outlook on life seems joyless and without drive for creation. Not convinced that I need to accept everything that happens because everything is part of nature.

I read Walkaway a year ago but it keeps coming back to my mind. A utopia inside a dystopia. Hard sci-fi read with major anti-sexism and LGBT-friendly plot points. Awesome characters in a post-scarcity world where everything can be 3d-printed. Ends in revolutionary high tech style <3

The baddest assest book on business. It starts with a most convincing 3-page introduction of how the authors' company, as the underdog, won all the bets in spite of no one believing in them. It is a direct opposite of the Silicon Valley mindset of building a company: launch on the side of your day job, don't take funding, grow linearly (not exponentially), hire slowly, and finally, be profitable from day 1.

Amazing read.

Easily readable and interesting book on the Silicon Valley vision of startups. Maybe one of the quintessential book of the SV mindset; a very convincing overview of why growth > all. Also, an interesting approach to some cached thoughts from school on why monopolies are bad (the book argues that monopolies are the essence of capitalism and we want them). Finally, some very interesting stories and mini case studies from PayPal, one of the author's previous companies.

Some extremely interesting bits about human history and prehistory and a variety of misconceptions busted. The hype behind this book seems justified, however, some very boring bits around the mid and the use of too simple language (at least in the English translation) were disheartening.

“Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!"