Best History of Civilization & Culture Books
Here you will get Best History of Civilization & Culture Books For you.This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Author: by Yuval Noah Harari
Published at: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (May 15, 2018)
ISBN: 978-0062316110
Official U.S.Edition with full color illustrations throughout. #1 New York Times Bestseller The Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg, now available as a beautifully packaged paperbackFrom a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolutiona #1 international bestsellerthat explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be human.
One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only onehomo 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.
From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.
2. Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization
Author: by Edward Slingerland
English
384 pages
0316453382
A “entertaining and enlightening” deep dive into the alcohol-soaked origins of civilizationand the evolutionary roots of humanity’s appetite for intoxication.(Daniel E. Lieberman, author of Exercised) While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants, none have offered a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place.
Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told.
In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies.
3. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Author: by Jared Diamond Ph.D.
English
528 pages
0393354326
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize New York Times Bestseller Over Two Million Copies SoldOne of the most significant projects embarked upon by any intellectual of our generation (Gregg Easterbrook, New York Times), Guns, Germs, and Steel presents a groundbreaking, unified narrative of human history.
Why did Eurasians conquer, displace, or decimate Native Americans, Australians, and Africans, instead of the reverse? In this artful, informative, and delightful (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, a classic of our time, evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond dismantles racist theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors actually responsible for its broadest patterns.
The story begins 13,000 years ago, when Stone Age hunter-gatherers constituted the entire human population. Around that time, the developmental paths of human societies on different continents began to diverge greatly. Early domestication of wild plants and animals in the Fertile Crescent, China, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and other areas gave peoples of those regions a head start at a new way of life.
4. Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Humankind (Vol. 1)
Author: by Yuval Noah Harari
Harper
English
248 pages
New York Times BestsellerA hardcover edition of the first volume of the graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s smash #1 New York Times and international bestseller recommended by President Barack Obama and Bill Gates, with gorgeous full-color illustrations and concise, easy to comprehend text for readers of all ages.
One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only onehomo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? In this first volume of the full-color illustrated adaptation of his groundbreaking book, renowned historian Yuval Harari tells the story of humankind’s creation and evolution, exploring the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be human.
From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens challenges us to reconsider accepted beliefs, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and view specific events within the context of larger ideas.
5. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (FSG Classics) by Anne Fadiman (2012-04-24)
Author: by Anne Fadiman
0374533407
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
English
Book
6
Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Author: by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Scribner
English
608 pages
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a documentary from Ken Burns on PBS, this New York Times bestseller is an extraordinary achievement (The New Yorker)a magnificent, profoundly humane biography of cancerfrom its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.
Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived withand perished fromfor more than five thousand years.
The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out war against cancer.
7. Humankind: A Hopeful History
Author: by Rutger Bregman
Little, Brown and Company
English
480 pages
From New York Times bestselling author of Utopia for Realists comes a “bold” (Daniel H. Pink) and “extraordinary” (Susan Cain) argument that humans thrive in a crisis and that our innate kindness and cooperation have been the greatest factors in our long-term success on the planet.
If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It’s a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives.
From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we’re taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest. But what if it isn’t true? International bestseller Rutger Bregman provides new perspective on the past 200,000 years of human history, setting out to prove that we are hardwired for kindness, geared toward cooperation rather than competition, and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another.
8. The German Genius: Europe's Third Renaissance, the Second Scientific Revolution, and the Twentieth Century
Author: by Peter Watson
B003M69A64
HarperCollins e-books
June 9, 2010
The German Genius is a virtuoso cultural history of German ideas and influence, from 1750 to the present day, by acclaimed historian Peter Watson (Making of the Modern Mind, Ideas). From Bach, Goethe, and Schopenhauer to Nietzsche, Freud, and Einstein, from the arts and humanities to science and philosophy, The German Genius is a lively and accessible review of over 250 years of German intellectual history.
In the process, it explains the devastating effects of World War II, which transformed a vibrant and brilliantly artistic culture into a vehicle of warfare and destruction, and it shows how the German culture advanced in the war’s aftermath.
9. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Author: by Yuval Noah Harari
Harper Perennial
English
464 pages
Official U.S.Edition with full color illustrations throughout. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning his focus toward humanity’s future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods.
Over the past century humankind has managed to do the impossible and rein in famine, plague, and war. This may seem hard to accept, but, as Harari explains in his trademark stylethorough, yet rivetingfamine, plague and war have been transformed from incomprehensible and uncontrollable forces of nature into manageable challenges.
For the first time ever, more people die from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals put together.
The average American is a thousand times more likely to die from binging at McDonalds than from being blown up by Al Qaeda. What then will replace famine, plague, and war at the top of the human agenda? As the self-made gods of planet earth, what destinies will we set ourselves, and which quests will we undertake?
10. Fingerprints of the Gods
Author: by Graham Hancock
Crown
English
592 pages
Could the story of mankind be far older than we have previously believed? Using tools as varied as archaeo-astronomy, geology, and computer analysis of ancient myths, Graham Hancock presents a compelling case to suggest that it is. A fancy piece of historical sleuthing …
Intriguing and entertaining and sturdy enough to give a long pause for thought. Kirkus Reviews In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock embarks on a worldwide quest to put together all the pieces of the vast and fascinating jigsaw of mankind’s hidden past.
In ancient monuments as far apart as Egypt’s Great Sphinx, the strange Andean ruins of Tihuanaco, and Mexico’s awe-inspiring Temples of the Sun and Moon, he reveals not only the clear fingerprints of an as-yet-unidentified civilization of remote antiquity, but also startling evidence of its vast sophistication, technological advancement, and evolved scientific knowledge.
A record-breaking number one bestseller in Britain, Fingerprints of the Gods contains the makings of an intellectual revolution, a dramatic and irreversible change in the way that we understand our pastand so our future. And Fingerprints of God tells us something more.
11. The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World
Author: by Marie Favereau
English
384 pages
0674244214
Outstanding, original, and revolutionary. Favereau subjects the Mongols to a much-needed re-evaluation, showing how they were able not only to conquer but to control a vast empire.A remarkable book. Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk RoadsThe Mongols are widely known for one thing: conquest.
In the first comprehensive history of the Horde, the western portion of the Mongol empire that arose after the death of Chinggis Khan, Marie Favereau shows that the accomplishments of the Mongols extended far beyond war. For three hundred years, the Horde was no less a force in global development than Rome had been.
It left behind a profound legacy in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, palpable to this day. Favereau takes us inside one of the most powerful sources of cross-border integration in world history. The Horde was the central node in the Eurasian commercial boom of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was a conduit for exchanges across thousands of miles.
12. Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal
Author: by Mark Bittman
English
384 pages
1328974626
“Epic and engrossing.” The New York Times Book ReviewFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author and pioneering journalist, an expansive look at how history has been shaped by humanity’s appetite for food, farmland, and the money behind it alland how a better future is within reach.
The story of humankind is usually told as one of technological innovation and economic influenceof arrowheads and atomic bombs, settlers and stock markets. But behind it all, there is an even more fundamental driver: Food. In Animal, Vegetable, Junk, trusted food authority Mark Bittman offers a panoramic view of how the frenzy for food has driven human history to some of its most catastrophic moments, from slavery and colonialism to famine and genocideand to our current moment, wherein Big Food exacerbates climate change, plunders our planet, and sickens its people.
Even still, Bittman refuses to concede that the battle is lost, pointing to activists, workers, and governments around the world who are choosing well-being over corporate greed and gluttony, and fighting to free society from Big Food’s grip. Sweeping, impassioned, and ultimately full of hope, Animal, Vegetable, Junk reveals not only how food has shaped our past, but also how we can transform it to reclaim our future.
13. First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human
Author: by Jeremy DeSilva
Harper (April 6, 2021)
English
352 pages
DeSilva takes us on a brilliant, fun, and scientifically deep stroll through history, anatomy, and evolution, in order to illustrate the powerful story of how a particular mode of movement helped make us one of the most wonderful, dangerous and fascinating species on Earth.
Agustn Fuentes, Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University and author of Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of BeingBreezy popular science at its best…. Makes a compelling case overall. Science NewsBlending history, science, and culture, a stunning and highly engaging evolutionary story exploring how walking on two legs allowed humans to become the planet’s dominant species.
Humans are the only mammals to walk on two, rather than four legsa locomotion known as bipedalism. We strive to be upstanding citizens, honor those who stand tall and proud, and take a stand against injustices. We follow in each other’s footsteps and celebrate a child’s beginning to walk.
But why, and how, exactly, did we take our first steps?And at what cost? Bipedalism has its drawbacks: giving birth is more difficult and dangerous; our running speed is much slower than other animals; and we suffer a variety of ailments, from hernias to sinus problems.
14. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Author: by Yuval Noah Harari
Random House
English
416 pages
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In Sapiens, he explored our past. In Homo Deus, he looked to our future. Now, one of the most innovative thinkers on the planet turns to the present to make sense of today’s most pressing issues.Fascinating …
A crucial global conversation about how to take on the problems of the twenty-first century. Bill Gates, The New York Times Book ReviewNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY FINANCIAL TIMES AND PAMELA PAUL, KQED How do computers and robots change the meaning of being human?
How do we deal with the epidemic of fake news? Are nations and religions still relevant? What should we teach our children? Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today’s most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future.
As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, hacking becomes a tactic of war, and the world feels more polarized than ever, Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive.
15. Salt: A World History
Author: by Mark Kurlansky
B005NHN1A6
Vintage Digital
September 30, 2011
Homer called it a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. As Mark Kurlansky so brilliantly relates here, salt has shaped civilisation from the beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind.
Wars have been fought over salt and, while salt taxes secured empires across Europe and Asia, they have also inspired revolution – Gandhi’s salt march in 1930 began the overthrow of British rule in India. From the rural Sichuan province where the last home-made soya sauce is produced to the Cheshire brine springs that supplied salt around the globe, Mark Kurlansky has produced a kaleidoscope of world history, a multi-layered masterpiece that blends political, commercial, scientific, religious and culinary records into a rich and memorable tale.
16. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
Author: by Iain McGilchrist
Yale University Press
English
616 pages
A pioneering exploration of the differences between the brain’s right and left hemispheres and their effects on society, history, and culture”one of the few contemporary works deserving classic status (Nicholas Shakespeare, The Times, London)Persuasively argues that our society is suffering from the consequences of an over-dominant left hemisphere losing touch with its natural regulative master’ the right.
Brilliant and disturbing. Salley Vickers, a Guardian Best Book of the Year”I know of no better exposition of the current state of functional brain neuroscience.W.F. Bynum, TLSWhy is the brain divided? The difference between right and left hemispheres has been puzzled over for centuries.
Drawing upon a vast body of brain research, the renowned psychiatrist, author, and thinker Iain McGilchrist reveals that the difference between the two sides is profoundtwo whole, coherent, but incompatible ways of experiencing the world. The detail-oriented left hemisphere prefers mechanisms to living things and is inclined to self-interest, while the right hemisphere has greater breadth, flexibility, and generosity.
