Yuval Noah Harari's Apocalyptic Vision

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. "About 14 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being." So begins Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011), by the Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, and so began one of the 21st century's most astonishing academic careers. Sapiens has sold more than 25 million copies in various languages. Since then, Harari has published several other books, which have also sold millions. He now employs some 15 people to organize his affairs and promote his ideas. Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. Harari might be, after the Dalai Lama, the figure of global renown who is least online.