Sapiens A Graphic History, Volume 1: The Birth of Humankind (SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY, 1)

Product Information

Book Genre: Anthropology, Bande Dessinée, Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels Manga, History, Nonfiction, Science, Sequential Art Featuring easy-to-understand text covering the first part of the original edition, this adaptation of the mind-expanding book furthers the ongoing conversation as it introduces Harari's ideas to a wider new readership. Overall, I think I enjoyed this book even more than Sapiens primarily because of the illustrations and characters. To visualise the original content in this graphic version was a thrilling experience, and to do so along with Professor Saraswati was simply enthralling! I definitely was not a fan of the artwork, although that might be polished up by the time this thing actually hits the shelves.

But for all his ambition and influence, Harari cuts a rather sober figure. Slim, bespectacled and shaven-headed, he speaks softly but insistently not just about our distant past but also of the near future of humanity and the various existential threats looming. “If Harari weren’t always out in public,” a New Yorker profile noted earlier this year, “one might mistake him for a recluse.” In this first volume of the adaptation of his ground-breaking book, renowned historian Yuval Harari tells the story of humankind's creation and evolution, exploring the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human". From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens challenges us to reconsider accepted beliefs, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and view specific events within the context of larger ideas. Well yes, the book is heavy for a graphic novel, but considering what Sapiens was, this is perfect for those who want an insight into it without struggling through the intense content. Especially for those who aren't too crazy about nonfiction, this graphic novel will be a great way to know Harari's theories.

Customer reviews

Harari's out-of-the-box thinking is arguably his greatest strength... These theories are what moves history forward, and what makes the book so engaging for an astonishing number of people. Katherine Prentice, Glasgow Guardian

There is nudity in the illustrations. Nothing vulgar. Just that in a couple of panels, the pubic area of human males and females is depicted. There are some panels with breasts shown. In case there's any household in the nation that doesn't yet own a copy of Yuval Noah Harari's zillion-selling Sapiens...there's now a zippy new digest of the book in comics form... An imaginative and prankish gallop through human prehistory. Spectator One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Sapiens takes readers on a sweeping tour of the history of our species…. Harari’s formidable intellect sheds light on the biggest breakthroughs in the human story…important reading for serious-minded, self-reflective sapiens. Washington PostProf. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Sapiens: A Graphic History Volume 1 and Volume 2. His books have soldover35million copies in 65 languages, and he is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals today. The Guardian hascredited Sapienswith revolutionizing the non-fiction market and popularizing “brainy books”. However, I did learn a lot, and I learned that while researchers know an awful lot, there is an awful lot they don't know as well.