The Best History and Futurology Books
(Updated 2024)
February 14, 2022Do you need a change from technical books? Something you can read before going to bed without your head spinning all night?
Then this is the right place for you!
On this page, you will find short reviews and recommendations of some history books highly worth reading.
Likewise, as a contrast to reference books, I can recommend you some books on sociology and social psychology.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
by Yuval Noah Harari
Sapiens tells the story of humankind from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century, trying to find an answer to the question of why humanity, in particular, has risen to dominate the world.
The author divides human history into four epochs:
- In the cognitive revolution, humans developed the imagination that enabled them to create abstract things like gods, money, nations, trade networks, corporations, and human rights. It was the shared belief in these stories that enabled people to work together in large numbers.
- With the agricultural revolution, people began to reshape their environment actively. They increased food production, and population growth accelerated rapidly.
- Unification of humanity: People living in once-independent tribes began to build cities, empires, and trade networks – culminating in a global empire as we know it today.
- During the scientific revolution, humanity began to explore the workings of the world and gradually replace the religiously based worldview with an objective one. This ultimately led to the rapid technological progress we are currently experiencing.
Despite all the progress, the welfare of humankind has not continuously improved. The agricultural revolution, for example, led to a far more one-sided way of life and diet than that of the hunter-gatherers.
Other animals suffered and continue to suffer from progress to this day. Many species have been wiped out, while others live in squalid conditions as mere food producers.
Humanity has reduced hunger, diseases, and wars in recent decades indeed - there are also efforts to improve the welfare of animals. But whether this is a sustainable trend remains to be seen.
This very insightful book ends with a brief glimpse into the future, which the author will explore in-depth in his follow-up work, Homo Deus.
Suitable as an audio book? Yes.
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
by Yuval Noah Harari
After describing humanity's history up to the present day in "Sapiens," the author paints a picture of what the future of humankind might look like.
What challenges will the human species face in the coming decades after containing famines, epidemics, and wars?
What goals and purpose will it still have?
Will it optimize body and mind? Will it overcome death? Will it create artificial life?
Will we continue to be guided by humanistic values such as freedom and equality? Or by algorithms and Big Data?
Will some of humanity evolve into god-like beings (Homo Deus) and treat the left-behind humans the way we treat other animals on this planet today?
Harari draws an exciting vision of the future. Because of the rapid pace of development, we may witness some of the changes ... or be able to prevent them.
Like its predecessor, a recommended read if you need a break from reference books.
Suitable as an audio book? Yes.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
by Yuval Noah Harari
After his journey into the past ("Sapiens") and future ("Homo Deus"), Harari moves into the present to find answers to the most pressing questions of our time - a time of rapid change and uncertainty, of information overload and polarization, of climate change and Brexit, biotech and Big Data.
In 21 chapters, the author addresses political, technological, social, and philosophical questions. Questions like:
- What will become of our liberal democracy?
- How will algorithms and Big Data change our decision-making and freedom of choice?
- What kind of work will people be doing in the near future, and how can we prepare our children for it?
While the word "lessons" suggests otherwise, the author does not have clear-cut answers to these questions. Rather, he wants to get us thinking about the major challenges of the 21st century and our values in these turbulent times.
Suitable as an audio book? Yes.
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
by Yuval Noah Harari
In Life 3.0, physicist Max Tegmark describes the current state of research in artificial intelligence and explores in depth what future scenarios – both utopian and dystopian – could be in store for humanity due to the rise of AI.
Covering a wide range of topics, the author reflects on how AI could impact the world of work, our democracy, crime-fighting, warfare, and ultimately, society as a whole, as well as the ethical challenges this could bring.
As a physicist, the author also deals with the fascinating questions of the physical foundations for intelligence and consciousness and their ultimate limits. For example, he considers the development of a cosmos-spanning AI highly unlikely, as, with the speed of light as the upper limit for information transfer, it would take billions of years to think a single thought.
Ultimately, he challenges us to think about how we can develop artificial intelligence to serve humanity's long-term goals – and what those goals are in the first place.
Life 3.0 is exciting, entertaining, and brilliantly written. The author explains all the technical terms clearly, so you don't need to be a physicist to understand the book. A recommendation for anyone who wants to have their say on the future of AI and its influence on humanity.
Suitable as an audio book? Yes.