The Dawn of Everything

A New History of Humanity

By: David Graeber, David Wengrow

Narrated by: Mark Williams

Length: 24 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

"An all-encompassing treatise on modern civilization, offering bold revisions to canonical understandings in sociology, anthropology, archaeology and political philosophy that led to where we are today."—The New York Times

A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.

For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself.

Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume.

The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

©2021 David Graeber and David Wengrow (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

Short-listed, Orwell Prize, 2022

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2021

Long-listed, NPR Best Book of the Year, 2021

Long-listed, Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, 2021

Interesting topic, mixed value

First I’ll rate various aspects, then provide my take.
Research in this book was 10/10. Well researched and had a sizable list of cited sources and authors.
Writing was 5-6/10. At various points I zoned out for a minute and the author was still belaboring the same point without adding anything new or interesting. Concision is not something this point does well, and it’s also bad at signposting where the author is going with things.
Voice performance 10/10. I was impressed that the reader got all the academic words and even the french terms correct. Engaging way to listen to it.
Analysis was a 6/10.
Let me preface by saying I disagree with the central thesis of the book, namely that egalitarian models of human society which existed previously can be emulated today. With that bias aside, I assess that the authors play fast and loose with their analysis. Several case studies point to of ancient civilizations and basically say: “We don’t see anything hierarchical, therefore we have to conclude they were egalitarian.” Not the case; they need positive evidence to make a positive case for their model. All they’ve done is try to shift the burden of proof onto others.
That being said, there were a lot of subclaims I found interesting and insightful. There are a lot, and I do think some of their better analysis does deserve mention. In particular, I liked their takedown that individuals had to organize into states and that the march to modern nation states was inevitable. Likewise they did a good job of showing that civilization and technological development (agriculture, metallurgy) are not linked.

Overall: 8/10.
The book has a lot of interesting analysis, though the main thrust of it is pretty shaky. The writing could be improved and shortened. Overall I enjoyed, and I thought the audio format was actually a good way to digest it.

RELIVING THE PAST

David Graeber and David Wengrow persuasively reject the view of farming as a critical step leading to tribes, hamlets, villages, cities, and future nation-states. Graber and Wengrow’s archeological research reveal human remains and structures are found in many areas of the world long before any evidence of farming. Their research suggests hunter-gatherer populations created and sustained stable communities with remnants of worship, government rule, and tools for construction, punishment, and defense. These early civilizations knew nothing of or practiced any form of organized farming.

The goal of the author’s research is to find an answer to the question of why inequality plagues civilization. They suggest inequality is (in part) created by the myth propounded by stories like the bibles’ garden of Eden. The myth of original sin and redemption sets many precedents for inequality and redemption through good works. Their archaeological research suggests the plague of inequality has never been cured because history and archaeological evidence shows civilization wobbles between extremes. First, there is the altruism of sharing benefits of life with everyone. Second is the realism of what is mine is mine. Graeber and Wengrow argue there is history and archeological evidence proving both extremes exist but the second prevails more than the first. It would seem the first is more likely to preserve humanity, and the second to end it.

This is not light reading or listening, and it remains a speculative story of civilizations’ growth, and organization. It seems a more careful examination of archeological evidence than the farming explanations from different authors like Fukuyama, Diamond, Pinker, and Harari.

Listen to the Sample First!

Several reviewers have complained about the reader; I think he’s fine. You don’t have to believe me, or the critical reviewers - just listen to the sample before deciding. It would be a shame to miss out on this excellent book based on someone else’s subjective evaluation.

An enlightening read

I got so much more out of reading this book than I imagined I would. There is such a wealth information, much of it seldom if ever presented, packing every chapter. Both meandering and expertly pointed, I never hit a point of boredom or confusion throughout. The innovative perspectives presented here have energized and excited my own ideas of cultural norms, political and social forms and even my own thought patterns. I will be referencing and recommending this book for years to come.

Interesting and challenging

New look at old topics , synthesizing the latest findings and clues across multiple disciplines and thousands of years. Thought provoking and raising new questions but hardly a completely convincing picture of anything other than man's mental and moral plasticity. We are what we choose to be.

Many Surprising Observations

This presentation provides refreshing observations on human behavior, accenting segments of our history that have largely been obscured. I’m looking forward to listening to this work again.

Groundbreaking!

This well-researched work cleverly challenges widely-held assumptions about the relationship between history and anthropology.

A new way of looking at history and the future.

A deep dive into what forms a society can take. The concept that people can govern themselves gives new thought about how to think about government

Absolutely fascinating!!!!

This book provides an amazing study of the origins of society full of accounts of peoples most of us have not even known the existence of over many many thousands of years. It challenges everything that has generally been taught or assumed to be correct concerning the origin of the way we now live and for an old world opens up vistas of optimistic promise for the future.

This man can’t quit making hits

RIP to a real one. Not really groundbreaking knowledge in the anthropology space but I’ve never seen anyone synthesize the evidence in this way to show that other ways of organizing society are possible.