"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."-- Provided by publisher.

Translation of: Kitsur toldot ha-enoshut. 2011. "First published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011 by Kinneret, Mora-Bitan, Dvir."--Title page verso. "Previously published in a slightly different form in Great Britain in 2014 by Harvill Secker, a division of the Random House Group Ltd."--Title page verso.

Timeline of history -- Part One. The cognitive revolution. 1. An animal of no significance ; 2. The tree of knowledge ; 3. A day in the life of Adam and Eve ; 4. The flood -- Part Two. The agricultural revolution. 5. History's biggest fraud ; 6. Building pyramids ; 7. Memory overload ; 8. There is no justice in history -- Part Three. The unification of humankind. 9. The arrow of history ; 10. The scent of money ; 11. Imperial visions ; 12. The law of religion ; 13. The secret of success -- Part Four. The scientific revolution. 14. The discovery of ignorance ; 15. The marriage of science and empire ; 16. The capitalist creed ; 17. The wheels of industry ; 18. A permanent revolution ; 19. And they lived happily ever after ; 20. The end of Homo sapiens -- Afterword: The animal that became a god.