《人類簡史：圖解歷史》第二卷，這部全彩圖解作品改編自尤瓦爾·赫拉利榮登《紐約時報》暢銷榜榜首的著作，聚焦於農業革命——人類由此陷入至今仍無法擺脫的陷阱：辛勤勞作卻收益遞減。
如果人類的種種苦難──戰爭、瘟疫、飢荒和不平等──起源於12,000年前，那時智人為了追求生產力和效率的幻想，從遊牧民族轉變為定居民族，那會怎麼樣？如果人類試圖控制動植物，最終卻被國王、祭司和卡夫卡式的官僚體系所控制，那又會怎麼樣？ 《人類簡史：圖解歷史》第二卷－《文明的支柱》探討了人類發展史上一個至關重要的篇章：農業革命。本書講述了小麥如何席捲全球；一位神祇與一位官僚如何締造了最初的帝國；以及戰爭、瘟疫、飢荒和不平等如何成為人類生存中難以根除的頑疾。
但本書並非全然悲觀絕望，書中眾多風趣幽默的角色和生動有趣的場景令人耳目一新。尤瓦爾、佐伊、薩拉斯瓦蒂教授、辛蒂和比爾（如今已是農民）、洛佩茲警探和菲克遜博士——這些在第一卷中就已登場的角色——再次穿越人類歷史的長河，這次他們將探討農業革命對人類的影響。狡猾的梅菲斯特向他們展示如何誘捕人類，漢摩拉比國王頒布了法律，而孔子則闡述了和諧社會的真諦。現代農業的起源透過伊莉莎白時代的悲劇得以展現；馴養動植物的興衰更迭在《每日商業新聞》的專欄中得以追踪；城市化進程則被描繪成一本旅遊宣傳冊，提供前往古巴比倫和中國的折扣旅行。不平等的歷史在超級英雄偵探故事中展開；托馬斯·傑斐遜、斯嘉麗·奧哈拉、瑪格麗特·撒切爾和約翰·列儂等歷史和文化名人也穿插出場。
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
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.
