"One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one--homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition."--

An overview of world history discusses influential people and highlights important dates and events.

Discusses the rise and fall of the great empires of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon and other exciting events of the period 1500 BC to 500 BC.

"A trailblazing account of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution-from the development of agriculture and cities to the emergence of "the state," political violence, and social inequality-and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike--either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told,...

Each chapter focuses on one particular event which is placed in historical context and followed by biographical profiles of individuals who played active roles in the event.

Professor J. Rufus Fears, University of Oklahoma, delivers thirty-six lectures on great events that have shaped world history.