Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2: The Pillars of Civilization

By Yuval Noah Harari

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This second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History, the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s #1 New York Times bestseller, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution—when humans fell into a trap we’ve yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns.

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.

But it’s not all doom and gloom with this book’s cast of entertaining characters and colorful humorous scenes. Yuval, Zoe, Prof. Saraswati, Cindy and Bill (now farmers), Detective Lopez, and Dr. Fiction, all introduced in Volume 1, once again travel the length and breadth of human history, this time investigating the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had on our species. The cunning Mephisto shows them how to ensnare humans, King Hammurabi lays down the law, and Confucius explains harmonious society. The origins of modern farming are introduced through Elizabethan tragedy; the changing fortunes of domesticated plants and animals are tracked in the columns of the Daily Business News; the story of urbanization is portrayed as a travel brochure, offering discount journeys to ancient Babylon and China; and the history of inequality unfolds in a superhero detective story; with guest appearances by historical and cultural personalities throughout such as Thomas Jefferson, Scarlett O'Hara, Margaret Thatcher, and John Lennon.

Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2 is a radical, witty and colorful retelling of the story of humankind for adults and young adults, and can be read on its own or in sequence with Volume I.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063212244

Yuval Noah Harari

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, and the series Sapiens: A Graphic History and Unstoppable Us—have sold more than forty-five 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 focus the public conversation on the most important global challenges facing the world today. Harari has a PhD in history from the University of Oxford. He is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, and lectures in the depart­ment of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Reviews for Sapiens

[darthdeverell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume Two: The Pillars of Civilization, Yuval Noah Harari, David Vandermeulen, and Daniel Casanave adapt Harari’s Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind. Harari appears as the narrator, leading the reader through interactions with various experts in biology, physiology, chemistry, archaeology, and history as they examine how Homo sapiens mastered agriculture, developed new myths, created civilizations around the world, and what this says about the differences in biology and culture. In describing the rise of complex civilizations amid the agricultural revolution, Harari, Vandermeulen, and Casanave argue, “Anxieties and worries are the building blocks of the state” (p. 78). They continue, “There are twin pillars to every large-scale human order – mythology and… bureaucracy!” (p. 153). Naturally, most of these orders create inequality that uses mythology about supposed divinely-ordained orders to justify the very inequalities they create. In discussing the differences between biological sex and the cultural construction of gender, Harari, Vandermeulen, and Casanave argue, “Things that break the laws of nature just don’t exist. If something does exist, then that means that it complies with the laws of nature!” (p. 218). They conintue, “Most of the laws, norms, rights and obligations that define masculinity and femininity reflect cultural preferences more than biological necessities” (p. 221). Like the first volume, the graphic medium works particularly well for tackling these complex topics in an accessible format for readers of all ages. The creative team never talks down to their audience, but they work to clearly explain each topic and its deeper connection to the overall theme of the book. More to the point, there’s a sense of fun about Sapiens: A Graphic History that increases the accessibility of these topics.

[mktoronto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bringing in Kafka (who is only identified as Franz K) to talk about the development of beauracracy is utterly brilliant. Lots of little jokes sprinkled in if you understand the references. Again,fascinating material presented in a very engaging way. A stunning work.

[jepeters333 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History, the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s #1 New York Times bestseller, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution—when humans fell into a trap we’ve yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns.

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.

But it’s not all doom and gloom with this book’s cast of entertaining characters and colorful humorous scenes. Yuval, Zoe, Prof. Saraswati, Cindy and Bill (now farmers), Detective Lopez, and Dr. Fiction, all introduced in Volume 1, once again travel the length and breadth of human history, this time investigating the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had on our species. The cunning Mephisto shows them how to ensnare humans, King Hammurabi lays down the law, and Confucius explains harmonious society. The origins of modern farming are introduced through Elizabethan tragedy; the changing fortunes of domesticated plants and animals are tracked in the columns of the Daily Business News; the story of urbanization is portrayed as a travel brochure, offering discount journeys to ancient Babylon and China; and the history of inequality unfolds in a superhero detective story; with guest appearances by historical and cultural personalities throughout such as Thomas Jefferson, Scarlett O'Hara, Margaret Thatcher, and John Lennon.

[villemezbrown · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Agricultural Revolution really kicks humanity down the slippery slope to tangled bureaucracy, hegemony of the elites, classism, racism, and sexism. Wheat is the ultimate big bad!

Harari and his collaborators really dig deep into the fictions upon which our history and our present social order is constructed, ripping away the pseudoscience and myths to get at what the science really supports.

Not as mind-blowing as the first volume -- which motivated me to read the big book from which this series is adapted -- but still very good even if the lessons seem a little more repetitive and simplified. A lot of time is spent on the Hindu caste system and U.S. slavery, making me a little curious how the Israeli author would apply some of his reasoning and deconstruction to the current state of his nation.