21 Lessons for the 21st Century

372 pages

English language

Published Sept. 20, 2018 by Spiegel & Grau.

ISBN:: 978-0-525-51217-2
OCLC Number:: 1029771757
Goodreads:: 38820046

(1 review)

In Sapiens, he explored our past. In Homo Deus, he looked to our future. Now, one of the most innovative thinkers on the planet turns to the present to make sense of today's most pressing issues.

How do computers and robots change the meaning of being human? How do we deal with the epidemic of fake news? Are nations and religions still relevant? What should we teach our children?

Yuval Noah Harari's 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today's most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, hacking becomes a tactic of war, and the world feels more polarized than ever, Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to …

In Sapiens, he explored our past. In Homo Deus, he looked to our future. Now, one of the most innovative thinkers on the planet turns to the present to make sense of today's most pressing issues.

How do computers and robots change the meaning of being human? How do we deal with the epidemic of fake news? Are nations and religions still relevant? What should we teach our children?

Yuval Noah Harari's 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today's most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, hacking becomes a tactic of war, and the world feels more polarized than ever, Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive.

In twenty-one accessible chapters that are both provocative and profound, Harari builds on the ideas explored in his previous books, untangling political, technological, social, and existential issues and offering advice on how to prepare for a very different future from the world we now live in: How can we retain freedom of choice when Big Data is watching us? What will the future workforce look like, and how should we ready ourselves for it? How should we deal with the threat of terrorism? Why is liberal democracy in crisis?

Harari's unique ability to make sense of where we have come from and where we are going has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. Here he invites us to consider values, meaning, and personal engagement in a world full of noise and uncertainty. When we are deluged with irrelevant information, clarity is power. Presenting complex contemporary challenges clearly and accessibly, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is essential reading.

12 editions

Steven Deobald reviewed 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

Review of '21 Lessons for the 21st Century' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book left me wide-eyed and exclaiming silently in my own head "Yes, exactly!" as often as "Sapiens" did before it. Where "Homo Deus" felt like a (mild) disappointment compared to Harari's original work, "21 Lessons" and its focus on the near-term future really showcases Harari's wisdom as a researcher and skill as a writer.

Through stories and anecdotes woven into his almost unbelievably extensive research as a historian, "21 Lessons" is perhaps as entertaining and insightful as any other book I've read. It is accessible to anyone and the ideas presented regarding the fate of our species are stitched together beautifully. The arc of the 21 chapters has a progressive, almost orchestral, quality to it. Each chapter builds on all those which precede it and although some chapters have surprisingly variable writing styles, none feels like Harari is attempting to showboat or to force his medium into the overly …

This book left me wide-eyed and exclaiming silently in my own head "Yes, exactly!" as often as "Sapiens" did before it. Where "Homo Deus" felt like a (mild) disappointment compared to Harari's original work, "21 Lessons" and its focus on the near-term future really showcases Harari's wisdom as a researcher and skill as a writer.

Through stories and anecdotes woven into his almost unbelievably extensive research as a historian, "21 Lessons" is perhaps as entertaining and insightful as any other book I've read. It is accessible to anyone and the ideas presented regarding the fate of our species are stitched together beautifully. The arc of the 21 chapters has a progressive, almost orchestral, quality to it. Each chapter builds on all those which precede it and although some chapters have surprisingly variable writing styles, none feels like Harari is attempting to showboat or to force his medium into the overly artistic.

The 21 lessons are surprisingly practical and much of the focus tends toward specific methods one might use to make sense of the 21st century as much as concrete advice describing specific actions one might take, say, tomorrow. The first concrete advice appears as two bullet points at the end of Chapter 17. Yet, in a world inundated with irrelevant information and myriad choices, the preceding 16 chapters have as much to do with providing the reader with real alternatives as they do with building the base for the final four.

I sincerely hope this isn't the end of Harari's writing career. This book ends on a note which implies a sort of finality. Whether or not we will see another masterpiece from him, this book is easily worth a second or third read to digest it all.

Subjects

World politics
Modern Civilization