Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Harari, Yuval Noah. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Hebrew: קיצור תולדות האנושות, [Ḳitsur toldot ha-enoshut]). Israel: Dvir Publishing House, 2011. English: Random House/Harper, 2014. For bibliographic details, see Wikipedia entry.[1] Note that Sapiens is available as an audiobook from Audible.com[2] and at lower cost elsewhere (but we cannot vouch for the cheaper dealers) and as a variation on the graphic novel, a "graphic history."[3]

A provocative book (not well received by some scholars [see Wikipedia entry]), immediately relevant in its final portions, ch. 19 f. See those final portions for educated speculation ca. 2014 on the possibilities of a "Gilgamesh Project" that could make some humans — presumably starting with the rich — "amortal": i.e., subject to death only through trauma or poisons or other non-disease threats. Harari misses nanotechnology but also gets to speculation on transhumanity after the "singularity" via genetic engineering and prosthetics sufficient to make a very strong and healthy, posthuman cyborg.

RDE, finishing, 23Jan23