Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Humankind (Vol. 1)

Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout.

#1 New York Times Bestseller

The Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg, now available as a beautifully packaged paperback

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution―a #1 international bestseller―that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”

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?

Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book of big history that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful world history graphic novel is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

This graphic adaptation brings Dr. Harari’s groundbreaking analysis to life, exploring the biggest questions about our species:

• Human Evolution: A look at the other human species that walked the Earth―and an investigation into why only Homo Sapiens survived.
• The Cognitive Revolution: Journey back 70,000 years to the moment that changed everything, when our ancestors began to think in new ways and cooperate in massive numbers.
• Biology Meets History: A unique approach that integrates science and history to challenge everything you thought you knew about our shared past.
• The Future of Humanity: A provocative look ahead at how our species is beginning to bend the laws of natural selection and what it might mean for our future.

Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling historian and philosopher, is considered one of the world’s most influential intellectuals today. His popular books―including Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, and the series Sapiens: A Graphic History and Unstoppable Us―have sold more than fifty million copies in sixty-five languages. Harari, with his husband, Itzik Yahav, cofounded Sapienship, a social impact company with projects in the fields of education and storytelling, whose main goal is to tell and retell our shared human story. Harari has a PhD in history from the University of Oxford. He has been a lecturer at the Department of History in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.