Sapiens

《人類大歷史：從野獸到扮演上帝》10萬年前的地球至少存在了6種品種的人類，而現在只剩一種，就是我們。我們的品種是如何擊敗其他品種而存活下來的？我們的祖先最開始是如何創造城邦與王國？為什麼我們會開始膜拜神？為什麼我們信賴金錢、書籍和法律？為什麼我們會發展出政治、時間和消費者主義？而我們在經過千年之後的演化又會變成什麼樣子？這是不只是一本解答人類歷史演化的書，同時也告訴讀者我們的存在、現在正在做的事、想法、影響以及我們的未來。

100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?

In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, palaeontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come?

Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power ... and our future.

'Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international bestseller. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!' - Jared Diamond

‘I encourage all of us, whatever our beliefs, to question the basic narratives of our world, to connect past developments with present concerns, and not to be afraid of controversial issues.’

Dr Yuval Noah Harari has a PhD in History from the University of Oxford and now lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specialising in World History. His research focuses on broad questions, such as: What is the relation between history and biology? Is there justice in history? Did people become happier as history unfolded?

65,000 people have signed up to his online course, A Brief History of Humankind. Sapiens is an international bestseller and is being published in more than 20 languages worldwide. In 2012 Harari was awarded the annual Polonsky Prize for Creativity and Originality in the Humanistic Disciplines.

What the critics say
Sapiens is the sort of book that sweeps the cobwebs out of your brain. Its author, Yuval Noah Harari, is a young Israeli academic and an intellectual acrobat whose logical leaps have you gasping with admiration...Harari's writing radiates power and clarity, making the world strange and new
- The Sunday Times

Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international best-seller. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!
- Jared Diamond

Sapiens is packed with heretical thinking and surprising facts. This riveting, myth-busting book cannot be summarised in any detail; you will simply have to read it
- Financial Times

This lucid, illuminating and brilliantly written single-volume history of our species examines how we succeeded in the battle for dominance, thanks to such crucial factors as Fire, Gossip, Agriculture, Mythology, Money, Contradictions and Science (which made us deadly). Harari explains how we came to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism. Having read it, I feel as if I've had a whole new education.
- The Bookseller

A rare book...thrilling and breathtaking
- The Observer

Sapiens is a starburst of a book, as enjoyable as it is stimulating
- Sunday Express

Full of shocking and wondrous stories
- Sunday Times

Harari delivers a boldly synthesized account of Homo sapiens' rise through the hominin ranks...A view of our ascent as nasty, brutish, long - and endlessly fascinating
- Nature

Harari can write. Not in the sense that most authors can...But really, really write, with wit, clarity, elegance and a wonderful eye for metaphor
- The Times

A vaultingly ambitious history of humankind...vivid, provocative and enlightening
- Lunch with the FT

Sapiens is a fast-paced, witty and challenging romp through 70,000 years of human history...I did love it, and if you are interested in the whole story of humankind, I'm confident that you will love it too
- Literary Review

This is mega-history of the best sort: sweeping but not simplistic, contemporary but not gimmicky, provocative but not contrarian. Almost everyone will want to argue with one part of this book or another, but working out which part and why will do us all good.
- Dr Steven Gunn

We usually think that we are an outcome of our personal history, where we grew up, the way our parents educated us, etc. In Sapiens, Harari delves deep into our history as a species to help us understand who we are and what made us this way. An engrossing read.
- Dan Ariely, New York Times Bestselling author of Predictably Irrational

Provocative, thrillingly erudite
- Metro

Eloquent and wonderfully funny
- i

Harari’s book provides a compelling account of the human past, present and possible future
- Geographical