Sapiens: a Graphic History, Volume 4

The fourth and final volume in the Sapiens: A Graphic History series–the illustrated adaptation of the internationally bestselling phenomenon–is a magnificent whistlestop tour through the scientific and industrial revolutions during which rapid scientific advancements transform the social order, usher in modern capitalism, and lead us to our own technological age and the dawn of artificial intelligence.

Until 1500 AD, Homo sapiens had reached a plateau of medical, military, and economic power, focusing their resources on preserving a social order that had existed for centuries. So, how did we go from medieval scrolls to ebooks; abacuses to computers? From the Santa Maria to nuclear subs; the earth to the moon? As Yuval Noah Harari shows, the key to jumpstarting the Scientific Revolution was one major discovery: ignorance. Ignorance–coupled with curiosity–drove the pursuit to acquire new knowledge. This pursuit kicked off an endless cycle spurred by science, politics, and capitalism–a feedback loop that has brought us to the brink of a new sort of intelligence poised to supersede humanity as we know it.

Grafting onto Part 4 of the original Sapiens book, Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 4 examines how a shift toward scientific thinking has transformed human history. In the sixteenth century, science overtook religion and philosophy as the dominant way of understanding the world–fueling imperialism and colonialism, the Industrial Revolution, and the unraveling of old social and political structures. These revolutions resulted in scientific and technological inventions ad infinitum, each new discovery both a tool and a weapon. Taking us from the sixteenth century through today, Volume 4 also looks ahead, asking how breakthroughs like artificial intelligence might transform human consciousness and the future of our species.

Like the three volumes before it, this final installment in the Sapiens: A Graphic History series is an engaging, insightful, and colorful retelling of the story of humankind for curious minds of all ages. Once again, Yuval Noah Harari, David Vandermeulen, and Daniel Casanave present the complicated story of humankind with wit, empathy, and originality. This final volume can be browsed through on its own or read in sequence with the previous books.