Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind

Date: 2022-11-02

Book Authors: Yuval Noah Harari

I didn’t expect a history book to influence how I think about startups, money, or culture — but Sapiens isn’t just history. It’s a lens. It zooms out so far, you start questioning the very stories that modern life runs on. Harari takes you through 70,000 years of human evolution and somehow makes it feel… intimate. The big idea? That everything we believe in — religion, money, companies, even countries — is a shared fiction. Stories we agree on. And build around.

💡 What Shifted in Me: • Money isn’t real. It’s a story. A belief system. And like all stories, it needs trust to function. • Corporations are legal fictions. But powerful ones — because we believe they exist. • The Agricultural Revolution wasn’t a win. It might’ve trapped us in cycles of labor and scarcity. • Human progress isn’t linear. We’re not always smarter or better — just more organised, and often more dangerous

⚖️ What I Loved: • It made me feel small — in a good way. Like I’m part of something much bigger, older, and messier than I thought. • Harari’s writing is clean, clever, and full of “aha” moments. • It connected dots between anthropology, economics, psychology, and tech — without sounding like a textbook.

🤔 What Didn’t Land:: • Some chapters felt heavy or dense — especially toward the end. • There’s an undercurrent of cynicism that might not sit well with everyone. • You won’t walk away with “answers” — just better questions.

📈 Final Verdict: Sapiens doesn’t help you build a business. It helps you understand why humans build anything at all. If you want to zoom out, challenge your assumptions, and rethink everything from branding to nationalism — this one’s worth the read.

Rating: 4.8/5