Our good friend and good buddy, Frank Sharp [HMHS Class of 1960], is an avid reader and photographer who left Union County many years ago for the Atlanta area. Since his retirement, he's had many photography exhibits and is indeed a world traveler. I know you will enjoy Frank's piece. Bonnie Heiskell Peters

A Masterpiece
There is no other word to describe Professor Yuval Harari’s book than to simply say that it is a masterpiece. He teaches world history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem after receiving his PhD in History from Oxford University. Remarkably, his Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind has been translated into 26 languages and is an international best seller. Like the professor, I myself once taught World History before entering the computer industry with the IBM mainframe back in the 60s.
I would rate his book along with other great world history books such as William McNeil’s A World History and his Rise of the West, Bronowski’s The Ascent of Man, Arnold Toynbee’s A Study of History James Burke’s The Day the Universe Changed, The Clash of Civilizations by Huntington and a few others. Dr. Harari is not only a great historian but also a wonderfully lucid writer, a rare combination.
Like James Burke, he is an especially gifted in linking together the many advances of man in different civilizations and times. I find the section on the Scientific Revolution an eye-opener to say the least. He divides Homo Sapiens time on Earth into three broad categories: The Cognitive Revolution when man first began to “think”, the Agricultural Revolution when man began to domesticate plants and animals and settle down into permanent dwellings and villages and finally the Scientific Revolution which gave rise to the Industrial-Revolution. Each section is neatly subdivided into brief subsection which makes it easy to read like on a train or in a cab. It is available in paper or Kindle.
I would hardily recommend this book to anyone and it would make a wonderful and timely graduation gift for any student headed off to college. You might like to read my other book review on Smithsonian Natural History – The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth which was published on Amazon.com in the past.