In the series finale of the popular series Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister took the stage and reasoned out why the Three eyed Raven, Bran The Broken, must be made king. He said, "Stories are what bind people together. And who better to be king than Bran, who knows our complete past." When I heard that line, I thought there couldn't be a dumber reason for someone to be made king. After reading Sapiens, however, I stand corrected.
Sapiens started off as a book trying to explain the origins of the current species of humans, Homo Sapiens. Soon after, the book diverged as a commentary on the ever-transient culture of humankind, from the foragers to the modern 21^st^ century beings. A remarkable feature of this book is the wide audience it caters to. Historians, psychologists, social scientists, nutritionists, athletes, minimalists and many more sects of society will be able to gain some insight of how their professions evolved from the grassroots.
Captivating, stimulating and unputdownable, Sapiens held me hooked for over five days. It was an intense read, which had me deeply introspecting the various ideologies, habits and instincts I had innately inscribed in me or had imbibed because of my culture and environment. The book covered the various important revolutions that humankind went through to come to today's level of comfort and technological prowess.
Probably the most thought-provoking part of the book was the explanation of "common myths" that we as humankind have come to think we are born with. These "common myths" are the stories that bind us together, and they are the very essence of our society and civilizations. Theism, capitalism, nationalism, communism and every other ideology we have is a construct meant to manage humanity. To escape this construct is impossible, because the very imagination behind these "common myths" are the foundation stones of the evolution of Homo Sapiens. We can move from one myth to another, but we cannot break it. We would then be no different than any other primate that roams the face of this earth. This was a great realization for me; it made sense there was no meaning in life from a biological standpoint except procreation. We have the genes to make sure our species is successful, by reproduction, but apart from that, all other meanings in life are self-imposed. The basis of most of our myths is ascribing this meaning to life.
The book walked through all the millennia that Homo Sapiens lived through, presenting accepted theories, archaeological findings and debatable hypotheses that were scary, wondrous and disillusioning. From our forager ancestors, to our agricultural roots, and our increasing reliance on economics, the book covers all the important developments. I especially liked the fact that the author made sure to understand the psyche of all our ancestors, as that is what history should be about. So often, history is misconstrued as just dates and figures, which hold little importance to our lives. But understanding the mindset, emotions and feelings of historical figures will help us understand how to shape our future. The mistakes of the past will help define the breakthroughs of the future. It is this connection that the book brings about, which really holds the reader to every page. It is a story, a very good one, of a species which dominated all the other million species with considerable ease. And it was all possible due to human cooperation. We tend to think we are individualistic beings, who can accomplish anything on Earth by devaluing human ties and bonds. This book served me a reminder of how important cooperation is, to shape the future of humankind, and to also survive.
The last part of the book dwelled on happiness, and what it meant through the ages. The author focused quite a bit on the Buddhist teachings as the religion is based on finding true happiness. I encourage you to read the book, and dwell on the many stories of our evolution. The conclusions you draw might be very different from mine, but those conclusions will tell you more about yourself and what you 'want to want'. Sapiens, is a must read, according to me. It is not fiction, it is not history, but certainly somewhere in between.