Work

A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots

By: James Suzman

Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith

"This book is a tour de force." -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take

A revolutionary new history of humankind through the prism of work by leading anthropologist James Suzman

Work defines who we are. It determines our status, and dictates how, where, and with whom we spend most of our time. It mediates our self-worth and molds our values. But are we hard-wired to work as hard as we do? Did our Stone Age ancestors also live to work and work to live? And what might a world where work plays a far less important role look like?

To answer these questions, James Suzman charts a grand history of "work" from the origins of life on Earth to our ever more automated present, challenging some of our deepest assumptions about who we are. Drawing insights from anthropology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, zoology, physics, and economics, he shows that while we have evolved to find joy meaning and purpose in work, for most of human history our ancestors worked far less and thought very differently about work than we do now. He demonstrates how our contemporary culture of work has its roots in the agricultural revolution ten thousand years ago. Our sense of what it is to be human was transformed by the transition from foraging to food production, and, later, our migration to cities. Since then, our relationships with one another and with our environments, and even our sense of the passage of time, have not been the same.

Arguing that we are in the midst of a similarly transformative point in history, Suzman shows how automation might revolutionize our relationship with work and in doing so usher in a more sustainable and equitable future for our world and ourselves.

Wow

Really makes you rethink the priorities and mechanisms of our modern economic systems.
Great book!

Comprehensive and enlightening

I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. Complex topics were well explained. Full of information I am reading this book again to learn and understand a topic that impacts everyone.

Strong in the first 2/3, fumbles through modernity

The book is phenomenal in the early parts dealing with human evolution, early human groups and tool use, hunter gatherer societies, dawn of agriculture, and growth of cities. Then the author sprints through 2000 years of modern history and narrows his focus mostly to advanced western capitalist societies and sometimes touching only tangentially on work in these sections. He has interesting throughlines for the modern era, but overall it is rushed and patchy after 1000 AD or so. Very little attention to modern labor institutions and modes of work organization.

My advice is to listen to the first three quarters or so of the book, which is fascinating, erudite, and engrossing. The last part has good moments but falls flat overall.

Life-changing

If you want to know why I say this, read the book. Every human needs to read it.

Well done!,

Fantastic research, nicely organized, factual, and informative. Enjoyed the presentation, good pace and easy to listen to.