Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Background

Yuval Noah Harari’s international bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind was originally written and published in Hebrew before appearing in its English-language edition in Great Britain in 2014, published by Harvill Secker, a division of the Random House Group Ltd. Harari, born in Israel in 1976, is a historian and philosopher who earned his PhD from the University of Oxford in 2002. He serves as a lecturer in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The book’s conceptual foundation came from Harari’s undergraduate world history course notes, which he adapted for publication. A major intellectual influence on the work was Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel, which encouraged Harari to adopt a sweeping, panoramic view of history. Harari also integrated principles derived from his extensive practice of Vipassana meditation, lending the narrative philosophical depth through themes such as impermanence and the nature of suffering. Sapiens is an influential work of universal history that charts the course of the human species from its humble origins to an urgent reckoning with its future. The book argues that history has been fundamentally shaped by three periods of profound change: the Cognitive Revolution, the Agricultural Revolution, and the Scientific Revolution. A central mechanism of human success is identified as the species' unique ability to cooperate flexibly on a large scale by creating and believing in shared "fictions" or "imagined orders". These collective myths include concepts such as money, nations, human rights, and corporations. The overall account challenges traditional progressive narratives, suggesting that advancements, such as the Agricultural Revolution, did not necessarily lead to genuine improvement or greater happiness for most individuals. As one of the most influential nonfiction books of the twenty-first century, Sapiens has sold over twenty-five million copies worldwide. It is credited with revitalizing the market for popular works of serious non-fiction. The book’s accessibility, insightful storytelling, and provocative nature led to its widespread appeal, despite its unusual structure. Its endorsement by globally influential figures like Barack Obama and Bill Gates significantly boosted its reception and sales. However, academic critique has been highly mixed; some reviewers found the work intellectually stimulating but criticized its tendency toward sensationalism, sweeping generalizations, and reliance on materialist reductionism. It has been noted that the vast temporal scope of the book allowed it to bypass the typical scrutiny of specialized scholars. The book’s success has since led to sequels and multiple media adaptations, including graphic novels and plans for a television series. For many readers, the book's suggestion that human life is ultimately meaningless has produced a liberating sense of perspective, releasing them from profound personal and political pressures.