Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2: The Pillars of Civilization
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- Create Date：2022-03-18 06:52:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Vandermeulen
- ISBN：0063212226
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Summary
This second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History， the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari's #1 New York Times bestseller， focuses on the Agricultural Revolution--when humans fell into a trap we've yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns。
What if humanity's major woes--war， plague， famine and inequality--originated 12，000 years ago， when Homo sapiens converted from nomads to settlers， in pursuit of the fantasy of productivity and efficiency？ What if by seeking to control plants and animals， humans ended up being controlled by kings， priests， and Kafkaesque bureaucracy？ Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History-The Pillars of Civilization explores a crucial chapter in human development: the Agricultural Revolution。 This is the story of how wheat took over the world; how an unlikely marriage between a god and a bureaucrat created the first empires; and how war， plague， famine， and inequality became an intractable feature of the human condition。
But it's not all doom and gloom with this book's cast of entertaining characters and colorful humorous scenes。 Yuval， Zoe， Prof。 Saraswati， Cindy and Bill （now farmers）， Detective Lopez， and Dr。 Fiction， all introduced in Volume 1， once again travel the length and breadth of human history， this time investigating the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had on our species。 The cunning Mephisto shows them how to ensnare humans， King Hammurabi lays down the law， and Confucius explains harmonious society。 The origins of modern farming are introduced through Elizabethan tragedy; the changing fortunes of domesticated plants and animals are tracked in the columns of the Daily Business News; the story of urbanization is portrayed as a travel brochure， offering discount journeys to ancient Babylon and China; and the history of inequality unfolds in a superhero detective story; with guest appearances by historical and cultural personalities throughout such as Thomas Jefferson， Scarlett O'Hara， Margaret Thatcher， and John Lennon。
Sapiens: A Graphic History， Volume 2 is a radical， witty and colorful retelling of the story of humankind for adults and young adults， and can be read on its own or in sequence with Volume I。
What if humanity's major woes--war， plague， famine and inequality--originated 12，000 years ago， when Homo sapiens converted from nomads to settlers， in pursuit of the fantasy of productivity and efficiency？ What if by seeking to control plants and animals， humans ended up being controlled by kings， priests， and Kafkaesque bureaucracy？ Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History-The Pillars of Civilization explores a crucial chapter in human development: the Agricultural Revolution。 This is the story of how wheat took over the world; how an unlikely marriage between a god and a bureaucrat created the first empires; and how war， plague， famine， and inequality became an intractable feature of the human condition。
But it's not all doom and gloom with this book's cast of entertaining characters and colorful humorous scenes。 Yuval， Zoe， Prof。 Saraswati， Cindy and Bill （now farmers）， Detective Lopez， and Dr。 Fiction， all introduced in Volume 1， once again travel the length and breadth of human history， this time investigating the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had on our species。 The cunning Mephisto shows them how to ensnare humans， King Hammurabi lays down the law， and Confucius explains harmonious society。 The origins of modern farming are introduced through Elizabethan tragedy; the changing fortunes of domesticated plants and animals are tracked in the columns of the Daily Business News; the story of urbanization is portrayed as a travel brochure， offering discount journeys to ancient Babylon and China; and the history of inequality unfolds in a superhero detective story; with guest appearances by historical and cultural personalities throughout such as Thomas Jefferson， Scarlett O'Hara， Margaret Thatcher， and John Lennon。
Sapiens: A Graphic History， Volume 2 is a radical， witty and colorful retelling of the story of humankind for adults and young adults， and can be read on its own or in sequence with Volume I。
Reviews
J
，
I would write my own review， but it seems like I had the same response to this one as many other people have already said too。 First one was better。 Still want to see more though so not stopping here。
Kyle
，
Interesting overview， with emphasis on the word "overview。" I would have liked an even deeper dive into his source material & the messy weeds of history。 He pushes a narrative/ argument， for sure: humans make up fictions as a means to achieve desired hierarchies。 It has the feel of pop anthropology， leaving me to wonder how many actual scientists/social scientists are reading and agreeing with Harari's work。 Interesting overview， with emphasis on the word "overview。" I would have liked an even deeper dive into his source material & the messy weeds of history。 He pushes a narrative/ argument， for sure: humans make up fictions as a means to achieve desired hierarchies。 It has the feel of pop anthropology， leaving me to wonder how many actual scientists/social scientists are reading and agreeing with Harari's work。 。。。more
Krishna Singh
，
Human history told through comic， simplistic， graphical mechanisms and with the power of story telling。 And all of this without much compromising on the core messages and critical theories！
Kevin Catalano
，
I didn't like this one as much as the first volume。 While one of the most fascinating aspects of Sapiens （the non-graphic-novel book） is the idea that homo sapiens' "best" tool for evolving is the imagined orders （or stories） they create， this volume focuses almost exclusively on that--and， frankly， hammers at it too hard。 （By the way， the first volume covers this， too; so it's really heavy-handed。）Still， I liked it， and I'll throw my money at the third volume， and the fourth， and。。。 I didn't like this one as much as the first volume。 While one of the most fascinating aspects of Sapiens （the non-graphic-novel book） is the idea that homo sapiens' "best" tool for evolving is the imagined orders （or stories） they create， this volume focuses almost exclusively on that--and， frankly， hammers at it too hard。 （By the way， the first volume covers this， too; so it's really heavy-handed。）Still， I liked it， and I'll throw my money at the third volume， and the fourth， and。。。 。。。more
Unidentified Sprout
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Author's point of view is from an analysis of physical form of the world， thus it may appear that he is against religious and that all stories shared in bible and scripture were written only with a hidden agenda— propaganda。 There is no need to debate whether its true or false to this claim， since it's also another "imaginary order" by an individual， as what the author implied， with enough persuasion， even a false imaginary order can be deemed as true， thus it would be good to leave it as that。I Author's point of view is from an analysis of physical form of the world， thus it may appear that he is against religious and that all stories shared in bible and scripture were written only with a hidden agenda— propaganda。 There is no need to debate whether its true or false to this claim， since it's also another "imaginary order" by an individual， as what the author implied， with enough persuasion， even a false imaginary order can be deemed as true， thus it would be good to leave it as that。I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its fun graphical representations。 The most memorable take away is how the fall of humanity is because of the greed to take ownership of things。 Domestication is the start of wanting to take ownership over a crop or animal。 This is where it leads to fights over properties and ownerships which eventually lead to the war， in the context of the society we live in today。Some other takeaways:Takeaway #01: Everything is on loan from nature。 We can fight for all we want， but eventually it will still return to nature once our life expires。 Nothing is permanent Takeaway #02: Be conscious not to fall for commercialism and forgot what is life。 Happiness is not defined by the objects you own （again the thing about ownership）Takeaway #03: Imaginary order is a rule （way of life） which humans have set for themselves to lead the mass majority。 When enough consciousness is accepting the imaginary order， even if its morally（example） wrong may be deemed correct。These are just my 2-cents thoughts， please be nice 🙏 。。。more
David Haberlah
，
Another exceptional graphic novel by Yuval and team。 Volume 2 is taking on many sociological myths that define historical and modern societies。 Well researched， insightful and highly entertaining with great historical “guest” characters。 I love the Faustian bargain with wheat and how Indian caste ideas are juxtaposed with US race ideas。 The ever changing gender roles throughout history was also most illuminating， in particular how these narratives can and are now being changed without having to Another exceptional graphic novel by Yuval and team。 Volume 2 is taking on many sociological myths that define historical and modern societies。 Well researched， insightful and highly entertaining with great historical “guest” characters。 I love the Faustian bargain with wheat and how Indian caste ideas are juxtaposed with US race ideas。 The ever changing gender roles throughout history was also most illuminating， in particular how these narratives can and are now being changed without having to resort to violence。 There’s hope that Sapiens takes control of the narrative she/he chooses to believe in to help save our planet and rich natural and cultural diversity。 。。。more
LeticiaNiv
，
He de confesar que por algún motivo que desconozco se me han hecho más pesadas las versiones gráficas de los ensayos de Yuval Noah Harari que los ensayos en sí。
Sharly
，
Muy decepcionante。 Si el primer tomo era sólido， interesante y lleno de ideas， este segundo es justo lo contrario。 El comic trata pocos temas y de manera bastante torpe， en mi humilde opinión。- Empieza hablando de la revolución agrícola。 Aquí habla el autor que el trigo domesticó al homo sapiens （y digo yo ¿y no lo hizo la madera， la piedra， el bronce， el acero， el petroleo， el gas， etc？）。 Luego pasa a hablar que esta revolución conllevo la infelicidad de la humanidad （un razonamiento no muy des Muy decepcionante。 Si el primer tomo era sólido， interesante y lleno de ideas， este segundo es justo lo contrario。 El comic trata pocos temas y de manera bastante torpe， en mi humilde opinión。- Empieza hablando de la revolución agrícola。 Aquí habla el autor que el trigo domesticó al homo sapiens （y digo yo ¿y no lo hizo la madera， la piedra， el bronce， el acero， el petroleo， el gas， etc？）。 Luego pasa a hablar que esta revolución conllevo la infelicidad de la humanidad （un razonamiento no muy desarrollado y sin sustento racional o científico）。- Luego Yuval pasa a hablar de la diferencia entre las leyes de la naturaleza y las humanas。 Tema poco interesante y al que le dedica bastante tiempo。- El resto es un crisol de ideas que no llegan a cuajar。Finalmente， me parece bien hacer referencia a temas de la generación woke。 Pero cuando se hace de manera repetida y， a veces， de manera bastante torpe， el mensaje pierde fuerza。 Para acabar reproduzco 3 viñetas de la pagina 77。- " la agricultura lo cambió todo。 cuando un agricultor se esforzaba en cultivar un campo de trigo o en criar un rebaño， llegaba a considerarlo su propiedad privada。。。"- "。。。 y cuando los humanos empezaron a poseer cabras pensaron que también podrían poseer humanos （como esclavos）"- "y los hombres pensaron que podría poseer a las mujeres。。。" 。。。more
Mijan Rashid
，
ভলিউম ১ এর মত সহজবোধ্য না। জ্ঞান বিপ্লব （cognitive revolution） ব্যাখ্যা করতে আরো সহজ ভাষা / বাক্য ব্যবহার হলে ভালো হতো।
Quique Castillo Aguilera
，
Creo que aquí me puedo limitar a reproducir la reseña publicada tras la lectura del primer volumen: "Entiendo que Harari se habrá rodeado de un equipo especializado para adaptar al formato de la novela gráfica un contenido tan complejo como el de su ensayo， lo que justifica el magnífico resultado。 Sin embargo， no confiaba en que la adaptación pudiese parecerme tan aceptable， tan clarificadora， tan atractiva para un público juvenil （por supuesto， opino que es una lectura que ha de aparecer obliga Creo que aquí me puedo limitar a reproducir la reseña publicada tras la lectura del primer volumen: "Entiendo que Harari se habrá rodeado de un equipo especializado para adaptar al formato de la novela gráfica un contenido tan complejo como el de su ensayo， lo que justifica el magnífico resultado。 Sin embargo， no confiaba en que la adaptación pudiese parecerme tan aceptable， tan clarificadora， tan atractiva para un público juvenil （por supuesto， opino que es una lectura que ha de aparecer obligatoriamente en toda biblioteca escolar）。 Ha conseguido despertarme el mismo interés que en su día la “versión extendida”， razón por la que le adjudico las cinco estrellas。" 。。。more
Hoang Nguyen
，
A Interesting book and not dry content
Magdalena
，
11/10， jestem ogromną fanką tych powieści graficznych。 Czekam na kolejny tom！
Beth
，
Had a tough time getting into this - not sure if it's because I didn't read Volume 1 first， or if it's due to the way it's told （as a group of people traveling through history and talking about it， rather than history actually happening）？ Just not my cup of tea。 Had a tough time getting into this - not sure if it's because I didn't read Volume 1 first， or if it's due to the way it's told （as a group of people traveling through history and talking about it， rather than history actually happening）？ Just not my cup of tea。 。。。more
Karen
，
I didn't find as much of this one new information as the first volume， but it was still informative and well put together。 I didn't find as much of this one new information as the first volume， but it was still informative and well put together。 。。。more
Romuald Bokej
，
Another installment of Sapiens series is equally impressive and informative。 These books should be compulsary to study in schools。
Aina
，
Muy buena segunda parte de Sapiens， en la línea del primer libro。 La novela gráfica vuelve a ser un gran acierto y es un libro para reflexionar。
Ananya Mandal
，
Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant！
Jaskaran Singh
，
This book was a bit less fun than the first one as it tackles the negative concepts of our history: racism， caste system， wheat revolutions， etc。 Harari wrote this book to target young audience。 So， I am not the targetted audience。 But I do want to see the reaction of teenagers who read this book。
Bruce clark
，
More than just a history of homo sapiens on planet earth。 The author explores the fictional creations of sapiens。 He contrasts nature/biology/evolution with culture/manmade fictions。 Society can't exist without fictions that help people understand the world they live in。 These fictions have changed over time and will change in the future， if enough people （millions） believe the new fiction。 Through much of history these changes were the result of war or violence （the Inquisition was an attempt t More than just a history of homo sapiens on planet earth。 The author explores the fictional creations of sapiens。 He contrasts nature/biology/evolution with culture/manmade fictions。 Society can't exist without fictions that help people understand the world they live in。 These fictions have changed over time and will change in the future， if enough people （millions） believe the new fiction。 Through much of history these changes were the result of war or violence （the Inquisition was an attempt to preserve a dying fiction; the American， French， and Russian revolutions were all bloody; The Civil War; WWI and WW2; ） But many changes did not require war: the feminist movement is changing the idea of patriarchal society。 。。。more
Pat
，
An interesting perspective on how societies developed especially through the use of agriculture。I always find it a bit odd he had his own characters compliment him on his own arguments in one segment in particular。 I will be reading more of his work but do feel he cherry picks examples a bit too freely。
Kitty
，
endiselt keeldun Harari telliskiviversiooni sest raamatust lugemast ja lohistan end inimkonna ajaloost koomiksi varal läbi， sorry not sorry :）kui midagi ette heita， siis vbla vahepeal läheb liiga nämmutamiseks siin - paaril korral läbitakse mingi teema kõigepealt tegelaste vestlusena （mis ongi selle raamatu põhiformaat， pildid on juurde ju kenad， aga sisu antakse edasi dialoogi abil） ja siis lastakse mingitel ajaloolistel või fiktsionaalsetel tegelastel sama point uuesti ette näidelda。 ma juba s endiselt keeldun Harari telliskiviversiooni sest raamatust lugemast ja lohistan end inimkonna ajaloost koomiksi varal läbi， sorry not sorry :）kui midagi ette heita， siis vbla vahepeal läheb liiga nämmutamiseks siin - paaril korral läbitakse mingi teema kõigepealt tegelaste vestlusena （mis ongi selle raamatu põhiformaat， pildid on juurde ju kenad， aga sisu antakse edasi dialoogi abil） ja siis lastakse mingitel ajaloolistel või fiktsionaalsetel tegelastel sama point uuesti ette näidelda。 ma juba sain aru， mispoolest korilase elu parem oli kui põlluharija， me just rääkisime sellest， säästke mind Billist ja Cindyst （need on sellised。。。 Flintstone'ide laadsed tegelased。 põlluharijad）！ajalooga jõudsimegi põllumajandusrevolutsioonini selles osas， et kuidas see ikkagi nii läks， et nisu inimesed orjastas。 ja et vaesed kanad-sead-lehmad。 lisaks on siin pikemalt juttu bürokraatia väljaarenemisest ja siis lõpuks sellest， kuidas ja miks kõigisse inimühiskonda püstihoidvatesse lugudesse （fictions） on ebavõrdsus sisse kirjutatud。 see viimane miks-küsimus ei saagi justkui väga head vastust， peale ehk selle， et see ei pea tegelikult nii olema ja et kui me endale teadvustame， et iga lugu - seadused， majandussüsteemid， religioonid jne - on ainult lugu （mitte bioloogiline paramatus või jumalik ettemääratus või loodusseadus）， siis on meil võimalik nad ümber kirjutada ja õiglasemaks teha。 。。。more
Kelley S
，
Should be required reading。 Fantastic series。
Ilse
，
I liked this one more than I did the previous one and I think that is because here the focus was more sociology and cultural theories， which are an interest area of mine。 Although there again was a lot of repetition of the same point， it was slightly less than in the previous volume， though I understand why it was done。 It isn't a book that one should probably read in one sitting， and thus in that scenario the repetition does make sense。 The illustrations were gorgeous and I like how a graphic n I liked this one more than I did the previous one and I think that is because here the focus was more sociology and cultural theories， which are an interest area of mine。 Although there again was a lot of repetition of the same point， it was slightly less than in the previous volume， though I understand why it was done。 It isn't a book that one should probably read in one sitting， and thus in that scenario the repetition does make sense。 The illustrations were gorgeous and I like how a graphic novel makes Sapiens accessible for a wider audience。 From the last page I assume there will be another volume and I can't wait to read that one too！ 。。。more
Nag Jayaraman
，
They have done an outstanding job with volume two， by introducing several characters to discuss human history through multiple viewpoints and non linear narratives。Purpose of reading and learning， imo， should be to engage with mind and trigger more thoughts and curiosity， from that angle this is a great book for everyone， especially kids while they are curious to learn。My 8yo is certainly enjoying it 🙂It’s a great conversation starter on many difficult to deal with concepts like role of religion They have done an outstanding job with volume two， by introducing several characters to discuss human history through multiple viewpoints and non linear narratives。Purpose of reading and learning， imo， should be to engage with mind and trigger more thoughts and curiosity， from that angle this is a great book for everyone， especially kids while they are curious to learn。My 8yo is certainly enjoying it 🙂It’s a great conversation starter on many difficult to deal with concepts like role of religion， identity， inherent social biases， norms， sense of Justice， relating to history as individuals and so on。 。。。more
Sri Wahyuni Purwanti
，
Interesting depiction of the human social grouping system。
Muhammad Edwin
，
"Perlu dua suku untuk berdamai， namun hanya perlu satu suku untuk memulai perang。" Buku Sapiens versi grafis volume 2 ini bercerita mengenai bagaimana cara pertanian， sebagai upaya Homo sapiens menopang populasinya yang makin membesar， malah memunculkan imperium， hak milik， kesenjangan， serta berbagai penderitaan akibat perang dan penyakit。 Juga peran tulisan， angka， dan fiksi dalam mendukung peradaban yang makin lama makin besar dan rumit。 Karena buku Sapiens originalnya tebal， jadi Sapiens ver "Perlu dua suku untuk berdamai， namun hanya perlu satu suku untuk memulai perang。" Buku Sapiens versi grafis volume 2 ini bercerita mengenai bagaimana cara pertanian， sebagai upaya Homo sapiens menopang populasinya yang makin membesar， malah memunculkan imperium， hak milik， kesenjangan， serta berbagai penderitaan akibat perang dan penyakit。 Juga peran tulisan， angka， dan fiksi dalam mendukung peradaban yang makin lama makin besar dan rumit。 Karena buku Sapiens originalnya tebal， jadi Sapiens versi grafis terbagi menjadi beberapa volume buku。 Masing-masing volume buku memiliki temanya tersendiri。 Lebih ringan， mudah dipahami， dan ada kocaknya juga。 Ini yang membedakan versi grafis/komik dengan versi originalnya。 Masih enak dibaca dan enak dilihat。 Dengan adanya beberapa karakter yang saling berdialog dan bercerita membuat saya sebagai pembaca serasa ikut dibawa jalan-jalan。 Seperti study tour。 Tapi volume 2 ini terasa banyak teorinya daripada sejarahnya。 Ditunggu volume 3 si tiga fiksi。 Semoga cepat terbit， cepat diterjemahin， dan ada di Gramedia Digital。 。。。more
Henrik Brynildsen
，
Bedre enn første bind。 Denne handler om sivilisasjonens utvikling， fra jordbruksrevolusjonen frem til i dag。 Fortellingen flyter godt， og tegneseriemediet utfyller temaene på en genial måte。Veldig mye av boka er viet til imaginære sannheter， et svært spennende tema。 Kollektiv overbevisning er en mektig kraft i samfunnet， men er i kontinuerlig utvikling。 Spesielt likte jeg delen om diskriminering og feminisme， de siste 100 årene har kjønnsdiskriminering minket betraktelig， forhåpentligvis forsvin Bedre enn første bind。 Denne handler om sivilisasjonens utvikling， fra jordbruksrevolusjonen frem til i dag。 Fortellingen flyter godt， og tegneseriemediet utfyller temaene på en genial måte。Veldig mye av boka er viet til imaginære sannheter， et svært spennende tema。 Kollektiv overbevisning er en mektig kraft i samfunnet， men er i kontinuerlig utvikling。 Spesielt likte jeg delen om diskriminering og feminisme， de siste 100 årene har kjønnsdiskriminering minket betraktelig， forhåpentligvis forsvinner den helt i løpet av min levealder。 。。。more
Alyssa
，
I enjoyed this however I felt like I was reading a textbook with how dense the dialogue was。 I had to go back and reread a couple of times。 Seemed like a lot for a graphic novel。
Lisa Muth
，
Wow， that was really good。 I read the first volume right before that and thought "Neat， that is quite enjoyable。" Now I read this second volume， I thought "These are actually really， really interesting thoughts that are super good explained。" I was fascinated by the explanation of how fiction enables civilizations， and about "bad" fiction like the idea of behavior being "natural"。 I read Sapiens （the actual book） a while ago but found that this comic was a super nice refresher。 Many thoughts act Wow， that was really good。 I read the first volume right before that and thought "Neat， that is quite enjoyable。" Now I read this second volume， I thought "These are actually really， really interesting thoughts that are super good explained。" I was fascinated by the explanation of how fiction enables civilizations， and about "bad" fiction like the idea of behavior being "natural"。 I read Sapiens （the actual book） a while ago but found that this comic was a super nice refresher。 Many thoughts actually felt new to me （did I really forget that much？）。As with the first volume， I was at first taken aback by the "double explanations"。 Something was explained。。。and then it was explained again。 But this also made sure that I grasped the thoughts way better， and after a while， I learned to appreciate them。 Making a comic panel is "expensive"， so there must have been considerations behind all these double explanations。 If I had to criticize something， it would be the lack of obvious structure and sudden "jumps" in content。 I sometimes thought: "Wait， are we still talking about x？ Will you come back to that？"All in all， a surprisingly fantastic read。 。。。more
Ioana
，