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Sapiens

a Brief History of Humankind
Feb 26, 2019
I thought the first half of the book was excellent. There, the author provides insights into the competition between Sapiens and other human tribes (e.g. Neanderthals) and provides his thesis for the survival of this relatively unremarkable branch of the human tree. The chapters that talk about the growth of language/writing as factors in the ability of a community to grow beyond a certain size (and ultimately form and empire) was particularly interesting, as was the idea that "myth" (be it religious, national or ideological) is a necessary glue for the establishment and continuity of large scale tribes (nations). The book becomes more tedious in the second half where it feels like one aspect or another of the modern world - religion, economics, capitalism, etc) are presented one after another so the author can say, "see? Just like I said." This was a 400 page book that should have stopped at page 200.