I was a bit disappointed with this. I was hoping for a more in depth look at our ancestors, particularly during the cognitive revolution. I did learn that chimps spend 5 hours a day chewing. I found the book more an overview. A useful one, but one that skirted the problems, and issues. For example, during the discussion about money, and specifically credit. Noah, uses the Spanish monarchy as an example of a state that repels credit in contrast with the Dutch republic. Or he later use the British industrial revolution to expand on the railway I think he missed things, such as the importance of dairy farming, Europe's division. The break of church and state. The dumb luck of missing the mongol invasion. That said I think the book acts as a good primer-particularly when talking about economics, and the rise of the modern capitalist /scientific state His critique of capitalism is interesting. I agree that markets can never be totally unregulated so, you accept this and ...