Book 158: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (Audiobook) Read by Derek Perkins

Let me start by saying that this book is anything but brief. I bought the Audible version of this book on June 12, and it took me until yesterday to finish it. Three months and change. I've never run a marathon, but I hear the last mile is the toughest... and I definitely dragged myself across the finish line on this one.

Despite of (and also because of) its length, this book was utterly brilliant. Yuval Noah Harari tells the [not brief] story of the development of the species of homo sapiens (us) and leaves no stone unturned. The author's wit and use of metaphors with some of the tougher concepts made this complicated book much easier to digest.

Of the topics Harari covered in this book, I was most fascinated by the "mythical" constructs of government, religion, rule of law, human rights. Since I was listening to this while I was driving, I kept thinking how bizarre speed limits and stop signs are. (You'll understand if you read it.) Societal change - movement from the family/community structure to the state - also got my attention. I'm a sociology nut, so every chapter of this book was like digging up a new treasure.

The narrator, Derek Perkins, has my deepest respect for being able to read this unabridged version from start to finish. He sounds a bit like the actor Michael Cain.

Harari has written a second book, Homo Deus, which I also have from Audible. I'll start that after I recover from Sapiens, which completely kicked my ass.