Homo Deus

By: Yuval Noah Harari

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

Yuval Noah Harari, author of the best-selling Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, envisions a not-too-distant world in which we face a new set of challenges. Now, in Homo Deus, he examines our future with his trademark blend of science, history, philosophy and every discipline in between.

Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the 21st century - from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers?

This is the next stage of evolution. This is Homo Deus. War is obsolete. You are more likely to commit suicide than be killed in conflict. Famine is disappearing. You are at more risk of obesity than starvation. Death is just a technical problem. Equality is out - but immortality is in. What does our future hold?

©2016 Yuval Noah Harari (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks

The book is great but the narrative is incomplete

I read and listen to audible at the same time. I realised that the narration of the book is incomplete. The narrator tend to skip a few paragraphs. Due to this reason, i have to constantly pause the audiobook in order to read the paragraph myself.

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

If you want to have your mind bend and stretched a bit, this book is for you

If Homo Sapiens gave me a few different and deeper perspectives about humanity, then Homo Deus really stretched my big picture systematic thinking mind into different orbits.

I can very well see some of the scenarios discussed here come to fruition- in fact I see many of the trains having left the stations already.

If anything, the book assumes to have figured out consciousness as a mere emergent property of complex networks and algorithms for which the scientific community has no consensus yet. The possibility that human computational powers extend still deeper than the presumed smart algorithms of the future cannot be discarded. In fact, that seems to me to be our only hope of survival as a species.

Excellent book! Really excellent!!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Gripping

Harari is an excellent writer that knows how to keep the reader interested. His still leaves us wjth more questions than answers in the end.

The new light

An insight into evolution, that takes Darwin to the next level.
A must read for all that challenge the status quo.

A continuation to Sapiens

The book is not as good as Sapiens but more uncomfortable / thought provoking which makes it a very challenging read.

The first part I felt does repeat many of the topics found in Sapiens, the second half of the book was great and a super fast read.

I would recommend reading it but not straight after Sapiens

Oh my God!!!...or oh my data!!!

I have enjoyed every word of this book. It poses a lot of relevant questions on what is happening in the world today and where are we going! A fresh look on the world and our role in it!

must read<br />

very logical and engaging experience
narrator is very good

would like if Yuval Harari reading the book

Harari invites you to open your mind and read

Getting through vanishing od human kind is not that bad after someone explains it this way. Each story is just a subjective view, but this one serves to open your eyes and mind and take in more and more information and wonderful ideas.

very informative

mind-blowing research, abundance of information, thought provoking insight into the history and future, makes the reader to recall what was read and think about it

Mind bending page turner

Absolutely loved this book. If you are a futurist and have a curiosity about the evolution of human existence, then this book is for you. It’s captivating and written to leave you with equal amounts of questions and answers.

Full of "wow, I never thought of it like that!"

Where does Homo Deus rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A really great follow-up to Sapiens. It didn't go in the direction I expected, but Harari, as ever, gives you lots and lots of food for thought!

What did you like best about this story?

The author manages to point out parallels in history that seem totally obvious once you hear them, but you'd never have thought of yourself. Then he extrapolates forward in a logical way to reach some very interesting, and sometimes challenging, predictions.

What does Derek Perkins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Personally I find this kind of non-fiction fascinating, but sometimes difficult to engage with when I'm not fresh. But by listening to it, so much of the hard work of bringing meaning out from the words is done by the narrator, so you can literally just sit back and listen.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

For me, this was one to take in in sections. The chapters are arranged logically and sensibly, and I like to absorb and reflect on one before I move on to the next

27 of 27 people found this review helpful

Second best book I've read

it stands just after Sapiens...amazing book! This book should be mandatory at schools, would make the difference.

21 of 23 people found this review helpful

All that but no bag of chips

What did you like best about Homo Deus? What did you like least?

Conclusion and that it was a sequel to Sapiens even though I think it did not live up to the glory of Sapiens.

If you’ve listened to books by Yuval Noah Harari before, how does this one compare?

I rated Sapiens 5 and Homo Deus 3.5 (out of 5).

What does Derek Perkins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He has a great voice and his narration style for this book is spot on because it is similar to the narration of a well done documentary.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

I don't see how it could be made into a movie but who knows. I would only watch as a follow up to Sapiens being made into a documentary-like movie.

Any additional comments?

Once in a while a book comes along that blows your mind. So much so that you just can't help but sing its praise to anyone who chats with you for more than five mins. Sapiens was such a book for me. I was looking forward to Homo Deus but unfortunately it was not worth my anticipation. There were parts repeated from Sapiens which I guess were included to give context to anyone who hasn't read Sapiens. A bit annoying but fair enough. I could have lived with that if chapters did not fill me with anticipation only to fall flat.

Overall I still give Homo Deus 3.5 stars (out of 5) because it pushes the boundaries of our present day beliefs (what Harari calls the 'myths' we tell ourselves) and for the conclusion which still manages to leave the reader intrigued, challenged and, for some, resigned to the notion that the world is well on its way to that conclusion unless something gives.

Thankfully, the narration is good and Harari's brilliance still shines through the paragraphs. I can't help but wonder what else that brilliance would have unearthed if Harari had taken his sweet time with this sequel.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Brilliant vision of where we might be heading

Brilliant, insightful, well researched and thought-provoking vision of the future of mankind. Disturbing and saddening in parts to realise the accuracy of his observations and logical extrapolation into the Brave new world that may await us.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Fascinating

Excellent book, incredibly thought provoking and challenging. Walks you through religious history to religious future and makes you question your existing prejudices.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

peak behind the curtain

fabulous look into how current society has come to be and where is mostly likely natural course will take it. a must read for an inquisitive mind.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Yuval & Derek do it again!

What a book! Great ideas & concepts which are brilliantly read. Top book. If you liked the first then you will like this too!

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Very thought provoking

Another excellent book by this author. Highly recommended. Some of his ideas and conclusions are difficult to take, but his logic is strong. Making us think was probably his purpose. Although tempting to listen without a break it probably better to take a break after each chapter and reflect on it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

thought provoking

yuval takes you on a tour you are not expecting. challenging, thought provoking, and insightful. I will digest this and return for another serving again.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

An irritated fan

I am a fan of Yuval Noah Harari however I do find this book a lot less well researched as 'Sapiens' and there are a lot of conclusions he jumps to that I kept finding myself thinking "that's not entirely true" and "that's not very likely". This irritated me, especially as my experience of his previous work was entirely the opposite. However his style that blends philosophy, science and history is always thought provoking and he is a very accomplished writer so it is still a worth while read/listen.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful