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.