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

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Sapiens, if you remember, had four sections: The Cognitive Revolution, The Agricultural Revolution, The Unification of Humankind, and The Scientific Revolution. This first graphic volume covers the first section of the cognitive revolution. At the same time, seeing his theories visually makes them all the more concrete in your head, and you might tend to forget that all his theories are heavily reliant on his assumptions. Adult readers might be able to filter out the chaff from the wheat; youngsters might take his version as an accurate representation of the past. So the content is still relevant, but to be taken with a pinch of salt, just like in the original book. 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.

What if humanity’s major woes—war, plague, famine and inequality—originated 12,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens converted from nomads to settlers, in pursuit of the fantasy of productivity and efficiency? What if by seeking to control plants and animals, humans ended up being controlled by kings, priests, and Kafkaesque bureaucracy? Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History–The Pillars of Civilization explores a crucial chapter in human development: the Agricultural Revolution. This is the story of how wheat took over the world; how an unlikely marriage between a god and a bureaucrat created the first empires; and how war, plague, famine, and inequality became an intractable feature of the human condition. The illustrations are A-grade, no doubts about that. I never thought an intense book such as Sapiens could be represented so interactively. But mainly because of the rich variety of characters, the illustrations add a pizzazz to the book. 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.

Saya perlu memberi kredit pada penerjemah dan penyunting buku ini, Damaring Tyas W. Palar dan Andya Primanda. Salah satu judul bab dalam buku ini, "maestro fiksi", yang kemudian menjadi bab favorit saya, menjadi amat jenius menurut saya karena penggunaan kata "maestro" dibanding menerjemahkan langsung dari bahasa inggrisnya, "master of fiction". Kata 'maestro' dalam KBBI berarti 'orang yang ahli dalam bidang seni', dan buat saya pribadi memberi makna 'pencipta'. Ditambah dengan 'fiksi', menandakan sapiens sebagai ahli dan pencipta dari hasil karya berupa 'fiksi' yang dianggap seni oleh tim penerjemah. It is not an easy job to take a nonfiction tome such as Sapiens and adapt it to a graphic version. So I must appreciate the efforts of the author, the storyboard artists, illustrators and editors who would have worked on this graphic version. They have done a fabulous job. Prof. 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”.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? The best-selling book by Yuval Noah Harari has been beautifully adapted into a graphic novel just in time for Christmas. The story of humankind is told through the delicate illustrations, bringing science and history together to help us understand how Homo sapiens came to inhabit the Earth. Amy Barrett, BBC Science Focus Magazine

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 A] wonderful graphic novel... Smart, funny and dipped deep in the reality of what we as a species are... Crammed with the details that made the original so jaw-dropping and essential. Big Issue *Books of the Year* In 2020 Harari joined forces with renowned comics artists David Vandermeulen and Daniel Casanave, to create Sapiens: A Graphic History: a radical adaptation of the original Sapiens into a graphic novel series. This illustratedcollection casts Yuval Noah Harari in the role of guide, who takes the reader through the entire history of the human species, accompanied by a range of fictional characters and traveling through time, space and popular culture references.Yuval Noah Harari’s full-throated review of our species may have been blurbed by Jared Diamond, but Harari’s conclusions are at once balder and less tendentious than that of his famous colleague. New York magazine These two points aren't to drive you away from sharing the book with your children, but just so that you can make an informed decision of when you want to share it with them. Saya juga sangat senang dengan pembawaan bab terakhir, "Pembunuh Berantai Antarbenua" yang mengambil tema "pengadilan", dan ditutup dengan pesan ekologis bahwa kita semua bersalah, dan masa depan keberlangsungan hewan dan tumbuhan ada di tangan kita semua. Saya kalau bisa standing ovation di depan penulisnya, saya akan lakukan itu.