21 Lessons for the 21st Century Paperback – 30 Aug. 2018

Harari’s first two books, ‘Sapiens’, ‘and ‘Homo Deus’ have been critically acclaimed, and one wonders what else can he come up with. This question is normally asked of fiction writers, but Harari’s first two books have been so tremendously popular to the extent that they were likened to best-selling novels. This, his third book, does not disappoint. It is a book of 21 essays on different subjects beginning with ‘Disillusionment’, ‘Work’, ‘Liberty’, and ‘Equality’ under Part I, entitled, ‘The Technological Challenge’. The book has a total of five Parts. The other four are: ‘The Political Challenge’, Despair and Hope’, Truth’, and ‘Resilience’. Harari’s thoughts spring from the basic, but important question, ‘What can we say about the meaning of life today?’ In order to put the age-old question into the context of today, Harari examines the scientific and cultural changes that have transformed human societies across the world. One major change wrought by technology is the phenomenon in which we get increasingly distanced from our own bodies, and are being absorbed into smartphones and computers. Harari shows how ‘benign patriotism’ can so easily be transformed into ultra-nationalism; form the belief that ‘My nation is unique’ (every nation is) to ‘My nation is supreme’. Once we get to that, war and strife is, frighteningly, just a step away. He devotes a chapter each to ‘immigration’ and ‘terrorism’ because these are the two bogeymen of the world – not just the Western world. Harari fears that when New York or London eventually sinks below the Atlantic Ocean, people will be blaming Bush, Blair and Obama for focussing on the wrong front. Given the undertones of religious conflicts and differences in the wars that an American-led West had inflicted on various parts of the world, Harari had much to say in his chapters on ‘God’ and ‘Secularism’. He tries to show how irrational belief in a personal God is. ‘Science cannot explain the “Big Bang”, they exclaim, “so that must be God’s doing”…After giving the name of “God” to the unknown secrets of the cosmos, they then use this to somehow condemn bikinis and divorces’. Not to mention abortion, eating pork, and drinking beer. What does it mean ‘Not to use the name of God in vain’? Harari suggests that it should mean that ‘we should never use the name of God to justify our political interests, our economic ambitions or our personal hatred’. He exposes the problems of dogmatism, and warns against the illusion that the falsity in one’s creed or ideology will never be allowed to happen. ‘if you believe in an absolute truth revealed in a transcendent power’, he writes, ‘you cannot allow yourself to admit any error – for that would nullify your whole story. But if you believe in a quest for truth by fallible humans, admitting blunders is an inherent part of the game’. Harari’s conclusion is a treat to read and has much to commend in the way he reconciles religious beliefs and rational thinking. Humans love story-telling, he writes, and the answers to the question, ‘what is the meaning of life?’ lie in the stories – but we do not have just one story each. And this is crucial. We not just a Muslim, or an Italian, or a capitalist. We do not have just one identity as a human. And we have many stories. We must not shut them out for the sake of one favourite.

Unlike Sapiens (about the past) and Homo Deus (the future), 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a series of commentaries, thoughts and meditations on the present. Some of the main themes are ones which readers of the earlier books will be familiar with – for example, how what separates man from our ape cousins is our ability to believe in and live by stories. We are able to believe in things (religion, democracy, money) which have no objective reality or independent existence, or be part of communities (nations, corporations, online) of people we don’t know. A historian, polymath, atheist and cynic, Harari is capable of insights of dazzling simplicity yet which are backed by deep reading and thought. Here are just a few, taken out of context but I promise it’s worth following up the context:The revolutions in biotech and infotech are made by engineers, entrepreneurs and scientists who are hardly aware of the political implications of their decisions…Donald Trump warned voters that the Mexicans and Chinese will take their jobs, and that they should therefore build a wall on the Mexican border. He never warned voters that algorithms will take their jobs, nor did he suggest building a firewall on the border with California.Humans have two abilities – physical and cognitive. The former have been partly supplemented by machines. Artificial Intelligence is challenging the latter…. Communism has no answer to automation, as the masses lose their economic value and become irrelevant.Artificial Intelligence and human stupidity – if we concentrate too much on AI and not enough on human consciousness, AI will end up merely empowering the stupidity of humans.Globalisation has resulted in growing inequality – the richest 100 own more than poorest 4 billion – and might in time lead to speciation. [People and species are opposite - species split, whereas people coalesce into larger groups, though mergers change.] Challenges are now supra-national – there are no national solutions to global warming. Nations have no answer to technological disruption. The nationalist wave [which he attributes in some measure to nostalgia] cannot turn the clock back to 1939 or 1914. Europe is a good example of supra-national solutions [he thinks Brexit is a bad idea]. Early humans faced problems which local tribes couldn’t handle (for example, Nile floods). Nowadays problems are supra-national.Most stories are held together by the weight of their roof rather than by the strength of their foundations. Consider the Christian story. It has the flimsiest of foundations…. Yet enormous global institutions have been built on top of that story, and their weight presses down with such overwhelming force that they keep the story in place.This is another intellectual tour de force from Harari, though as other reviewers have said it’s essential to have read the other two books first.

Basically, they are giving pirated third class paper quality version. This is expected from Flipkart but not Amazon.People might argue that expectations should be low for a low price, but I say that the Big discounts displayed on products should also be according to similar quality stuff, and not the original publication.

Essential reading. Quality of ideas, opinions and writing in line with his earlier books.A note to Penguin and its imprints. Please stop printing with Replika. The quality of print is abysmal and this is the second such experience for me (Devlok 2). I know of others who have felt the same. If this continues, readers will complain in droves and/or stop buying your books printed with Replika. So change the quality of printing or the Press in question.

With a simple narrative, Yuval Noah Harari, one of the most innovative thinkers of our times, envisions the most profound changes expected in our lifetime. Simply Brilliant! My next must read will be Homo Deus & Sapiens.

The quality of the product is really good for its price. The book, I mean its Yoval Noah Harari!!! His work is impeccable. I would recommend this book to every millennial who has unanswered questions.

Highly enlightening. Well written in par with Harari’s earlier two books. An excellent exposure to the darker side of the developments taking place in the recent years in technology and AI. He wants us to be alert and to keep pace with those developments as otherwise we will be left far behind. An interesting narration about how many many of our unskilled jobs like driving, clerical, writing, teaching would be grabbed partly by AI. Many of our day today activities would be automated. Consequently we would be jobless unless we learn new skills. Though he is not giving solutions, his alertness sounds a bit not deliberately positive, for us to think seriously. No doubt a page turner, educates well.

Das Buch haelt nicht , was es verspricht. Er springt plakativ von Thema zu Thema, schmeisst statements in den Raum, begründet sie nicht tiefgründig. Es ist ein Sammelsurium an Platitüden, die jeglicher Wissenschaft fern sind... von Bhagavadgita zu Lion King mag da nur ein Beispiel sein.Das Buch ist eine völlige Enttäuschung

J'aimerais pouvoir mettre 6 étoiles.Pour donner le contexte, J'ai sur les 18 derniers mois ses 3 livres "Sapiens", puis "Homo Deus", et enfin "21 Lessons for the 21st century". J'ai été stupéfait par Sapiens, l'analyse de l'homme dans le temps long, la démarche de déconstruction pour tenter d'en déceler les caractéristiques uniques, et en particulier cette présentation convaincante de l'imagination humaine comme outil de collaboration à grande échelle. J'ai été fasciné par Homo Deus pour l'audace de sa vision du futur long, en particulier le passage probable de l'évolution par process aléatoire à l'évolution manufacturée, la définition de la vie comme "data processing" et la différence entre intelligence et conscience. J'ai hésité avant de lire Homo Deus en me disant qu'on ne peut pas être génial 2 fois.. Avant de lire "21 lessons" je me suis dit "jamais 2 sans 3" sans y croire... Bon, finalement Bingo ! Ce 3ème livre est aussi riche, aussi impressionnant de clarté, de clairvoyance et aussi éclairant que les précédents. La différence est qu'il passe plus rapidement sur les sujets, une dizaines environ sous forme de chapitres distincts. On sent que l'auteur pourrait faire un petit livre de chacun, tellement sa pensée est riche, et souvent originale. Avoir lu ses 2 précédents livres permet de comprendre ce qui n'est pas écrit. Sinon, le texte est clair mais appelle parfois des développements plus fournis. Une rupture, en revanche, est que l'auteur parle un peu de lui, de manière intime: son homosexualité, sa famille, ses études, ses questionnements, et sa rencontre avec la méditation (vipassana). Je me suis souvent demandé d'où venait l'originalité de sa pensée - au delà d'un certain génie individuel qui ne s'explique pas. Et je me disais qu'il y avait quelque chose de non occidental (nord américain ou européen) chez cet israélien adepte de la culture indienne, qui lui donnait un angle différent. Je pense que beaucoup de gens se demandent aussi d'où diable cet home sapiens tire toutes ses idées ?? :) Il donne quelques éléments.En tout cas, maintenant qu'il est devenu très célèbre, son livre était attendu, et beaucoup de journaux ont publié des extraits sous forme d'interviews. J'en ai ai lu plusieurs, ce qui n'a pas gâché la lecture du livre. L'enchaînement entre les chapitres, n'est pas toujours absolument naturel, mais bien amené.Et j'allais oublier: Il écrit vraiment très bien ! Le style est concis, clair, pas démonstratif comme souvent chez les érudits, et parfois léger, voire ironique. Un régal !

I'd say the topics mentioned in this book are very interesting ones indeed. However, I cannot help myself disliking the book for its pretentiousness.

To begin with, I have to say that I am a big admirer of the author and that I also read his first two books (Sapiens and Homo Deus) with great delight. So my view might be a bit biased.This said, I find his new book even more insightful than the two previous ones. The author presents his arguments for the various highly relevant topics (as always) very carefully. The last chapters on the "meaning of life" are not particularly easy to read, especially from an emotional perspective, but are maybe the most important ones. I found the chapter on meditation as closing of the book very encouraging.I cannot recommend this book enough, especially to people who are willing to put aside their own prejudices and to critically examine their own perspective to the various important topics of life.

The ideas in this book are important and our world needs them now. Harari develops them around a set of topics that reveal his unique no-sense approach to our contemporary problems. Like in Sapiens he exhibits an amazing clarity of thought and a large capacity to summarise complex issues. In reading some of his brilliant explanations, I caught myself thinking ' why couldn't I have thought of that myself ? '. I also learned a lot about facts I just didn't know existed. History has many lessons to teach to whomever wants to learn! Harari warns us and prepares us for the big challenges we and our children will face soon.

The book was printed on extremely bad paper and the ink in places was shown on both sides making it very hard to read. Also several pages in the introduction were bound in the wrong order. The book also lacked illustrations and drawings, possibly to save the printer some money.I wouldn't recommend this book despite its low price. What you save in money, you lose in quality. It would probably be a better investment to get a slightly more expensive copy which is printer by a proper publishing house.

This is a pirated book. Pages were missing.

サピエンスとホモデウスの作者ユヴァル・ノア・ハラリの３作目。一作目が人間（サピエンス）の歴史で２作目は神に近づく将来の人間。本作は著者の思考、瞑想を人間の本質に焦点を置き、現在直面している多様な問題（ＩＴ，バイオテクノロジーの急速な発展、自然破壊に起因する異常気候、宗教、移民など）を展開しながら本質に迫っていく。人間は集団でしか考えらない、真実では無く物語（ストーリー）を信じる等が一例。前２作では殆ど触れなかった日本も取り上げられ、大日本帝国がキリスト教と同じ手法を神道に当てはめ国を統治し軍国主義を推進したと説明している。特筆すべきは神格化されていた天皇が戦後、自ら”自分は神でない”と宣言した事を人類史上最初に”神が人間によって作られた事”を証明したとの記述。神の本質が暴かれたのです。憂うべきことが２点述べられている。一つは移民、技術の急速な進歩、異常気候などのグローバルな問題を１万年前に頂点を迎えた狩猟・採食民族（ハンター・ギャザラー）の脳が解決出来るのか？解決に従来通りツールを使うならＡＩしかないのか？二つ目は有効な対策にはせいぜい２，３０年しか余裕が無い、間に合うのか？人間の本質を評者のような俗人にも分かり易く解説した名作です。

Mr Hariri has done it again. The author of Sapiens and Homo Deus has written one more classic that cannot be missed by any body. As we are entering this 21 century we facing new problems because of AI taking over the human race.Technology is so much advanced it easy to use for destruction . Everybody interested in the survival of the Human race must read this wonderful book.Thanks Amazon for delivering this preorder book in time.

It is a Yual book and it stands by its pedigree. Each line credible and insightful the master of his genre, not only this, his other two books are also masterpieces for the readers.In this book he reveals the heartening secret of his focus, it is from the land of the yogis, he got the power of focus to think so deeply and to write so profoundly from our own venerable Goenka, the saint of vipasana!