This fresh, well-written, and well-researched outlook and overview of history made me think about our ancestors and our world and provided a lot of discussion and conversation material.
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the…
I enjoyed reading about these believable characters and pre-historic life events because of the rigorous research and compelling writing style of the author.
'The book's plot is similar in key ways to ... Jean M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear--Kirkus Reviews Born in the harsh world of East Africa 1.8 million years ago, where hunger, death, and predation are a normal part of daily life, Lucy and her band of early humans struggle to survive. It is a time in history when they are relentlessly annihilated by predators, nature, their own people, and the next iteration of man. To make it worse, Lucy's band hates her. She is their leader's new mate and they don't understand her odd actions, don't like…
As a fellow travelers and overlander, I enjoyed reading about Mary's overland adventures in the Americas to mentally compare notes and to immerse myself into the culture and experiences through her eyes and good writing.
Thirty thousand miles driving from the USA to South America with a 6-year-old kid in a camper van. Will they make it?
After a decade in the corporate rat race, Mary was ready for a change. Too much stress and not enough time with her family left her feeling that her priorities were all wrong.
So she and her husband hatched a crazy plan to change their lives...
They quit their jobs.
They pulled their six-year-old daughter out of school.
And they moved into an old camper van to attempt a drive to the southernmost tip of the world!
Tropical waters turn tumultuous in this travel memoir, as a free-spirited woman jumps headfirst into a sailing adventure with a new man and his two dogs. Join Liesbet as she faces a decision that sends her into a whirlwind of love, loss, and living in the moment. When she swaps life as she knows it for an uncertain future on a sailboat, she succumbs to seasickness and a growing desire to be alone.
Guided by impulsiveness and the joys of an alternative lifestyle, she must navigate personal storms, trouble with US immigration, adverse weather conditions, and doubts about her newfound love.
Does Liesbet find happiness? Will the dogs outlast the man? Or is this just another reality check on a dream to live at sea?
