Opinion — Yuval Noah Harari
The author of the past, present, and future
Yuval Noah Harari, according to his biography on his website is “a historian, [and a] philosopher”.
He is also the author of the bestselling Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Sapiens: A Graphic History.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind deals with the events of our past. From our earliest days, to where we are now, the book beautifully encompasses the evolution of Homo Sapiens (and our ancestors). Throughout the book, there are many examples that can be applied to the current situations that we are living in today. One large point I captured was the fact that Homo Sapiens are social creatures, and that we need to communicate to survive with one another. It is rooted in our deepest cores (all the way back to our early days). Overall, the book shows us how we evolved, and how we are still dealing with some of the issues from our past.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century deals with the core lessons of our world today. The 21 lessons talk about 21 crucial lessons that need to be discussed in today’s society. The book also brings into light other ways of looking at these lessons, and how might the future be affected. The book takes these 21 lessons and beautifully intertwines all of these lessons within one another. The last chapter, Meditation, focuses on how to focus, and in turn, how we should take in these lessons.
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow deals with what the future might hold- based off of many pressing topics from his other books. This book talks about how the future may look (extremely different). The book also leaves many spots to think about how the reader might solve these pressing problems that will have to be addressed.
Overall, these three main books all reflect on all of us. How we are, what we are. Yuval’s books also leave room for you to think about yourself, and anything related to you. These books may be a mind bender, but they are definitely worth the read.
