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A good start could be my first thought after turning the last page: This book should be obligatory at schools.
The author is telling us a story about a world and its inhabitants and how it got to to where it is now. What I really liked was the fact that the author was not trying to impose one conception or another. Harari keeps the perfect balance by every statement he makes. A very good example is the sensitive topic of religion and the existence of gods.
At first the author takes us through the years building up to the creation of religion and why it was necessary. He is actually denying the existence of gods and acknowledges the fact that this could scandalize some people. Then hurries to soften them by explaining that religion actually is pretty important if we want to keep societies together and going forward. He talks about how actually religion makes societies more stable and how we need it to keep the good work as a group, which leads to the success of all humanity. The whole statement was so well written, with good arguments and details, that it could turn a non-believer into one who shakes his/her head approvingly and with understanding.
The book is a manual on how to perceive the world and all that comes with it. But Harari doesn't stop there. He makes us look up to the sky, to the limitless cosmos and further into our future, because ,as this book will show you, our species will never stop evolving and will never be satisfied with what there is.
That is probably the only book that made me go "WOW" many times. I used to perceive the world as most people do. Money is the root of all evil. Empires were (and are) a big bad thing, crushing down the small man. Religion denies simple science and brainwashes people. But Harari's points of view, reinforced with really good arguments, explained in a very simple language, made me change my mind.
I'll give away only one interesting statement: we didn't cultivate the wheat, or the corn, or the rice,as much as they cultivated us. By making us stay at one place, always at their service. So more people gather at the same places, which leads to bigger and bigger communities, who need to work together somehow, which leads to the "imaginary order" of fairy tells, gods, kings and taxes. This grammatically and structurally simple sentence carries tons of meaning and food for thought. This is exactly what this book will do to yours, if you care enough to read it thoroughly.
Another one, which completely took me by surprise was that, actually "...religion, together with money and empires,, is one of mankind's unifiers". Being absolutely honest, this makes a lot of sense when you think about it. We need something to keep us together, to make us work together, to communicate no matter what in terms of good future. An what could that be? Read the quote again.
But by calling those ideas "statements" I'm not giving the author enough credit. Because all hе talks about are actually historical facts, a sober look at all the actions that took place during our evolution. He is being realistic, not making crazy hypothesis or jumping to conclusions, that would suit his thesis.
I have so much more to say, but I'm afraid I'll spoil the whole adventure that starts with the first people аll the way to the futuristic robotic gods.
Just keep you mind open and let it travel through the pages, observing things as they were and as you probably have never seen them before.
The book is a manual on how to perceive the world and all that comes with it. But Harari doesn't stop there. He makes us look up to the sky, to the limitless cosmos and further into our future, because ,as this book will show you, our species will never stop evolving and will never be satisfied with what there is.
That is probably the only book that made me go "WOW" many times. I used to perceive the world as most people do. Money is the root of all evil. Empires were (and are) a big bad thing, crushing down the small man. Religion denies simple science and brainwashes people. But Harari's points of view, reinforced with really good arguments, explained in a very simple language, made me change my mind.
I'll give away only one interesting statement: we didn't cultivate the wheat, or the corn, or the rice,as much as they cultivated us. By making us stay at one place, always at their service. So more people gather at the same places, which leads to bigger and bigger communities, who need to work together somehow, which leads to the "imaginary order" of fairy tells, gods, kings and taxes. This grammatically and structurally simple sentence carries tons of meaning and food for thought. This is exactly what this book will do to yours, if you care enough to read it thoroughly.
Another one, which completely took me by surprise was that, actually "...religion, together with money and empires,, is one of mankind's unifiers". Being absolutely honest, this makes a lot of sense when you think about it. We need something to keep us together, to make us work together, to communicate no matter what in terms of good future. An what could that be? Read the quote again.
But by calling those ideas "statements" I'm not giving the author enough credit. Because all hе talks about are actually historical facts, a sober look at all the actions that took place during our evolution. He is being realistic, not making crazy hypothesis or jumping to conclusions, that would suit his thesis.
I have so much more to say, but I'm afraid I'll spoil the whole adventure that starts with the first people аll the way to the futuristic robotic gods.
Just keep you mind open and let it travel through the pages, observing things as they were and as you probably have never seen them before.
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