Sapiens

“One of the most-talked-about books of the last couple of years, and for good reason. Both sobering and conservatively optimistic in equal measure.”

From Ek's curated list at One Grand Books (originally compiled for Vulture's Spotify CEO favorite books feature).

“There's not many times I read a book where I've come out with 20 new ideas I hadn't thought about before and that book made me think like that.”

Hassabis singles out Sapiens as unusually generative — most books don't shift his model of the world, this one did.

“Following the Muqaddimah, which was a history from the perspective of an intellectual in the 1300s, Sapiens is a contemporary exploration of many similar questions. I'm looking forward to reading these different perspectives.”

Twelfth A Year of Books pick, announced June 15, 2015. Zuckerberg later hosted Harari for a public conversation as part of his 2019 personal challenge.

Hastings calls Sapiens 'extraordinary' in the Tim Ferriss interview, citing it for understanding the big picture of human history.

On Tim Ferriss's podcast (episode #101), Hoffman names Sapiens as a book that has shaped his thinking about the evolution of humanity and where it goes next.

Recommended for entrepreneurs on his reading list.

“Melinda and I spent weeks talking about this history of the human race.”

The page cites a Gates Notes review blurb for Sapiens (quote attributed there).

Recommended in the cited Tim Ferriss interview or show notes.

Listed in the 'Science, Philosophy, Evolution, History of Human Civilization' section of Li Lu's published Recommended Book List (Himalaya Capital, May 2020).