Other Sellers on Amazon
& FREE Delivery
85% positive over last 12 months
+ $3.00 Delivery
83% positive over last 12 months
& FREE Delivery
86% positive over last 12 months

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.
Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.


Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2: The Pillars of Civilization Paperback – 26 October 2021
Yuval Noah Harari (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
Amazon Price | New from | Used from |
Enhance your purchase
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
This second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History, the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari's #1 New York Times bestseller, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution--when humans fell into a trap we've yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns.
What if humanity's major woes--war, plague, famine and inequality--originated 12,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens converted from nomads to settlers, in pursuit of the fantasy of productivity and efficiency? What if by seeking to control plants and animals, humans ended up being controlled by kings, priests, and Kafkaesque bureaucracy? Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History-The Pillars of Civilization explores a crucial chapter in human development: the Agricultural Revolution. This is the story of how wheat took over the world; how an unlikely marriage between a god and a bureaucrat created the first empires; and how war, plague, famine, and inequality became an intractable feature of the human condition.
But it's not all doom and gloom with this book's cast of entertaining characters and colorful humorous scenes. Yuval, Zoe, Prof. Saraswati, Cindy and Bill (now farmers), Detective Lopez, and Dr. Fiction, all introduced in Volume 1, once again travel the length and breadth of human history, this time investigating the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had on our species. The cunning Mephisto shows them how to ensnare humans, King Hammurabi lays down the law, and Confucius explains harmonious society. The origins of modern farming are introduced through Elizabethan tragedy; the changing fortunes of domesticated plants and animals are tracked in the columns of the Daily Business News; the story of urbanization is portrayed as a travel brochure, offering discount journeys to ancient Babylon and China; and the history of inequality unfolds in a superhero detective story; with guest appearances by historical and cultural personalities throughout such as Thomas Jefferson, Scarlett O'Hara, Margaret Thatcher, and John Lennon.
Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2 is a radical, witty and colorful retelling of the story of humankind for adults and young adults, and can be read on its own or in sequence with Volume I.
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper Perennial
- Publication date26 October 2021
- Dimensions20.32 x 1.91 x 27.31 cm
- ISBN-100063212234
- ISBN-13978-0063212237
Frequently bought together
- +
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Product description
Review
A skillfully entertaining education.....Throughout, the authors seek to present a concise rendering of the full march of humankind and point out elements that are fictionalized, misrepresented, or exaggerated--and show how those elements have shaped human behavior, norms, and mores. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
About the Author
Prof. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Sapiens: A Graphic History. His books have sold over 35 million copies in 65 languages, and he is considered one of the world's most influential public intellectuals today. The Guardian has credited Sapiens with revolutionizing the non-fiction market and popularizing "brainy books".
In 2020 Harari joined forces with renowned comics artists David Vandermeulen and Daniel Casanave, to create Sapiens: A Graphic History: a radical adaptation of the original Sapiens into a graphic novel series. This illustrated collection casts Yuval Noah Harari in the role of guide, who takes the reader through the entire history of the human species, accompanied by a range of fictional characters and traveling through time, space and popular culture references.
Born in Haifa, Israel, in 1976, Harari received his PhD from the University of Oxford in 2002, and is currently a lecturer at the Department of History, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He originally specialized in world history, medieval history and military history, and his current research focuses on macro-historical questions such as: What is the relationship between history and biology? What is the essential difference between Homo sapiens and other animals? Is there justice in history? Does history have a direction? Did people become happier as history unfolded? What ethical questions do science and technology raise in the 21st century?
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper Perennial (26 October 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0063212234
- ISBN-13 : 978-0063212237
- Dimensions : 20.32 x 1.91 x 27.31 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 189,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 243 in Graphic Novel Adaptations
- 297 in Biography & History Graphic Novels
- 804 in History of Civilization & Culture
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Prof. Yuval Noah Harari has a PhD in History from the University of Oxford and lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in world history. His books have been translated into 65 languages, with 40 million copies sold worldwide. 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind' (2014) looked deep into our past, 'Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow' (2016) considered far-future scenarios, and '21 Lessons for the 21st Century' (2018) zoomed in on the biggest questions of the present moment. 'Sapiens: A Graphic History' (launched in 2020) is a radical adaptation of 'Sapiens' into a graphic novel series, which Harari created and co-wrote in collaboration with comics artists David Vandermeulen (co-writer) and Daniel Casanave (illustrator).
Customer reviews
Top reviews from Australia
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Top reviews from other countries

This second volume (the pillars of civilization) feels much more rambling and seems mostly cobbled together from a list of pet social theories/ agendas of the author. It's strongly opinionated, which I guess is OK in principle, but this is presumably intended to be a factual book aimed at young people(?) without the necessary caveats. In fact I'm not sure who it's aimed at since its a bit patronizing for adults but wouldn't interest teenagers. I was hoping for perhaps a brief summary of some themes of human history and an outline of some cultures. References to, for example, Sumer are mostly just humorous and glimpsed through illustrations. It feels like a missed opportunity to explain some great stuff. A reference system to some primary evidence at least would be appreciated (just one example: In the authors view that the agricultural revolution made people miserable, much seems to hinge on the idea that hunter gatherers practised family planning, whereas early farmers did not. It all feels very speculative.)

This book seems to be aimed at 12 to 14 year olds.
It carries little information and the modest pictures add nothing to the text.
Filled with doom.
Not for me, returned within the day.

Regarding this book, I appreciate the efforts taken to deal with hierarchies, Slavery, racism and discrimination. However I feel the arguments proposed regarding slavery and how they bolstered hierarchies are some what halfbaked.
In a nutshell the three arguments are. Europeans established the transatlantic slave trade because Arabs and Africans were participating in the slavery already. Since they were participating in the slavery already it was (Convenient) not the word he used, to follow suit for economic prosperity.
The second argument which bolsters the first argument is that, European explorers, so-called explorers had already established safe navigable routes. So It follows that the path was laid out as it was closer to transport African slaves from the coast of Africa to New lands in Brazil and the Americas.
The last argument states that, Africans had proven immune to tropical diseases, So (conveniently) not the word used, would prove to be the suitable tools for their new Prosperous nations.
Now I don’t know whether this was a objective fact or subjective opinion, or some what in the middle as the previous chapter myths of men introduced a new keyword - intersubjective reality. If so, In conclusion why we have slavery and racism is because of fiction – stories that white Europeans created. I feel this is below satisfactory to say the very least as an argument.


Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2022
Regarding this book, I appreciate the efforts taken to deal with hierarchies, Slavery, racism and discrimination. However I feel the arguments proposed regarding slavery and how they bolstered hierarchies are some what halfbaked.
In a nutshell the three arguments are. Europeans established the transatlantic slave trade because Arabs and Africans were participating in the slavery already. Since they were participating in the slavery already it was (Convenient) not the word he used, to follow suit for economic prosperity.
The second argument which bolsters the first argument is that, European explorers, so-called explorers had already established safe navigable routes. So It follows that the path was laid out as it was closer to transport African slaves from the coast of Africa to New lands in Brazil and the Americas.
The last argument states that, Africans had proven immune to tropical diseases, So (conveniently) not the word used, would prove to be the suitable tools for their new Prosperous nations.
Now I don’t know whether this was a objective fact or subjective opinion, or some what in the middle as the previous chapter myths of men introduced a new keyword - intersubjective reality. If so, In conclusion why we have slavery and racism is because of fiction – stories that white Europeans created. I feel this is below satisfactory to say the very least as an argument.


