For me this book started off well. I was interested in the sections about the historian Samuel Marshall and the statistics about war e..g 1% of fighter pilots responsible for 40% of planes brought down. I also enjoyed the section about Easter Island - something that I was intrigued by. This felt like when there was a satisfactory explanation of what led to a population decline, along came a better theory. I also liked the sections debunking what I learned in my psychology A level - revisiting the Stanford prison experiment and Milgram's experiment. I did feel however some of the stories were too anecdotal to support the substantial claims that were being made and were based on really small scale situations. I also found some parts fairly repetitive and unfortunately the second half didn't hold my attention as much as the first half.

One of those books that has an immediately obvious and appealing theme- what if people are inherently good? It apparently flies against everything we see every day in the news, media, etc but Rutger Bregman methodically, engagingly and compellingly takes real life examples we are all familiar with and views them with a new and refreshingly optimistic perspective.

I don't often read non-fiction.  For the most part I'd rather escape into a story, than read about something real.  But this sounded interesting, and during these times of Covid 19, I felt it was looking at something I had been thinking about myself - that people are, essentially, kind.
It's written in an easy to read way, and covers some really interesting experiments and ideas, talking about how things were when the experiments were originally run, and the problems with them.
I agree with the thoughts on the nature of the media today - it is deliberately inflammatory.  It exists to provoke emotion, and it can be exhausting.  I have stepped away from many news sources once again, as I can't take the endless pessimism.
I really believe in many of the things he discusses.  That people respond best when they are met with kindness and understanding.  That being open is better than immediately chastising someone or disagreeing with their views.  That when you praise children, they do better.  That educational systems at the moment are not working very well.  That society was in an absolute mess before this virus.
I felt real hope, in those early days of lockdown, that the world might finally change for the better.  That suddenly it was obvious who the key workers really were...the people who feed us, the people who protect us, the people who keep us well.  Caring, helpful, kind professions were the ones with value.  And those we rank high in society such as lawyers, bankers etc. were nowhere.  I really hoped that this would lead to a huge shift, across the whole world.  Because we stopped.  We stopped flying unnecessarily, we stopped using our cars unnecessarily.  We found that all those jobs where we'd been told we weren't allowed to work from home actually could be done from home.  And we saw help bursting up, rising up, from every community.  Mutual aid groups formed overnight, neighbours taking care of neighbours.  An outpouring of love.  We stayed at home, to keep everyone safe.

I feel more depressed at the desperate rush the government is in now to push things back to normal, without any real thought process as to how we could do things better.  But since they are run by money & power, it's no wonder they want the economy back on its feet, rather than thinking about how society could evolve from this point to be better.

Anyway, as you can see it made me think about a lot of different things.  I didn't always agree with absolutely everything in the book, but it was always interesting.  I came away from it feeling more hopeful, and conscious that small acts of kindness are still worth making, because the effects can ripple out in ways we can't even imagine.

This is a fantastic read.

Bregman's premise is that humans are a pretty decent species, and not the monsters that the media portrays through dodgy reporting and dubious science. The sections where he tears into widely reported examples of human selfishness and aggression - such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, the Milgram experiment, the self-destruction of Easter Island, Kitty Genovese's murder (all of which I'd heard of and believed the established narratives) - was eye-opening and shocking, shocking in the sense that they're still being used today, decades later, in school text books.

Right now, where societal divisions are being utilised for politcal gain, and it's too easy accept that society would implode without the controlling hand of the state, it's refreshing to read that humands are better than that. Leaders have to try hard to instill the hatred that's the cancer of our current time, so when that leadership changes, there's hope for us all.

An excellent book, read it.

Over the course of my career, there have been several occasions when I have thought, 'but people aren't really like that' in response to some well-established theory or other. Particular cases in point: several motivation theories, and the rational economic man. 

In what seems a very long book (illusion: 20% is the Reference section), Bregman examines the evidence for the assumptions and beliefs that we are basically evil, and need to be trained, honed and coerced into doing anything. System by system he dissects the evidence, the root causes of our assumptions, and comes up with some basic truths. They are all too apparent in this world of Johnson-Cummings (the Machiavelli behind our so-called Prime Minister) and Trump and his cronies.

Put simply, there is a range of natural behaviour in which the norm is pretty nice, friendly and knows that co-operation works. There are extremes either side. So why are we stuck with an extreme rather than a co-operative society?  Bregman answers, supported by masses of referenced stories and debunked research papers. People with a very high sense of self-interest lie to gain power. And they are ably assisted (through the ages, not just now) by self-serving journalists and newspaper owners, who know that sensational headlines best sell papers.

It's a really good read. You will know or have heard of, at least some of these theories that shape our society. You will recognise yourself and your neighbourhood. Deep down, most of your neighbours are pretty nice, you think. If only you had the time to hang out with them and get to know them better. 

There's a huge amount of things I could say, could lift from the book, or could quote.  But the crux is, the newspapers have fed us the lies that politicians and rich landowners want us to believe. Thay way both can get richer and more powerful. The news is a drug, so get off it. More peaceful protests have succeeded in achieving real change than violent ones, but papers will only report violent ones. All the most celebrated research we have been fed showing how nasty we are has as dubious a background as the scandalous MMR vaccine/autism research. They've been fixed, in other words.

Why do I believe these things to be true, when I've just read them in a book? Because of the degree of detail the author has gone into. And yes, because it tallies with my own experiences. People are basically nice. Get to know people of different backgrounds, races, colours, creeds and preferences. Most of them are just as nice as you are. How the self-serving ones manipulate us into electing them into power is another story. 

Read Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman. It'll help you feel better, if hoodwinked throughout the generations. It might fire your soul, too.

This book could not have been published at a better time. It is filled with positive stories on the strength and unity humans are capable of. However, it paints with very broad strokes and if you scratch at the surface of most of the stories they can't hold their water. Bregman writes in a warm and conversational style about heartwarming things that give you a lift if you take them at face value.

I enjoyed this book as it was a much needed tonic for the times we are in. Genuinely hard to argue with the logic and the evidence put forth, and therefore offers a valid and inspiring argument that all is not lost and that we are (mostly) all kind, caring, cooperative and good natured at heart. There is some really fascinating information, so much so I will need to begin my own research into it. The author promotes humankind should believe in good, do good and see good in order to achieve a better world for all. We should not believe everything we are presented with, we should question the news, which is, as he states, the biggest drug around. 
This book is a very easy read and a much needed tonic, especially for times we are in at the moment. (COVID 19 and lockdown)

A clear-sighted and scientifically robust argument for the essential goodness of humanity, this book is a fascinating and thought-provoking read. Bergman assembles new evidence to prove that well-known scientific studies are flawed, and long-held assumptions about human nature are wrong. 
Always readable and frequently witty, this is an enjoyable, uplifting title that deserves to have a place in every library. Highly recommended.

I picked up Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown when the world was facing the biggest crisis of this generation, and the timing could not have been more perfect. For years we have been conditioned to believe that, at our core, humans are selfish and governed by self-interest. But as the virus took its toll on the world, time and time again we saw communities coming together to help one another. Acts of kindness and selflessness performed by pre-schoolers to centenarians were seen around the globe.
And yet we shouldn’t be surprised. In his book Rutger Bregman re-examines the evidence, the studies and experiments that claim to prove the worst in human nature and reframes them, providing a new perspective on the last 200,000 years of human history. From the real-life Lord of the Flies to the Blitz, a Siberian fox farm to an infamous New York murder, Stanley Milgram’s Yale shock machine to the Stanford prison experiment, Bregman shows how believing in human kindness and altruism can be a new way to think – and act as the foundation for achieving true change in our society.
Despite dealing with academic studies and theories by psychologists and philosophers Bregman’s compiles a compelling case that is easy to read and enables to the reader to question the narratives that have been fed to us by the media. I whole heartedly endorse the sentiments of the reviewer from the Telegraph who says ‘This is the book we need right now . . . Entertaining, uplifting . . . If Bregman is right, this book might just make the world a kinder place’

Humankind has come at an absolutely perfect time for the world. This is the perfect read for anyone struggling to find light right now, a good fit for fans of Factfulness and Sapiens.

Humankind by Rutger Bergman is an interesting pop psychology book which helps you retrain your thinking around the thing that matters- having faith in the goodness of human beings.

A book that’s highly relevant for our times, Bergman’s research challenges the definition of man as selfish and violent from Hobbes to Philip Zimbardo of the Stanford Jail experiment fame. He looks at alternative research and business models like the prison system in Norway or the Buurtzorg health system in the Netherlands where, by focusing on taking care of people, the entire social system benefits from less crime, increased productivity and enhanced pride in one’s work.

What’s fascinating about this book is its attempt at recasting world events from a positive perspective. Instead of assuming, people will kill during warfare, Bergman’s research shows how averse is mankind to killing and if we can truly engage with each other beyond superficial empathy, we have the potential to achieve long term change. 

Humankind is a call to the possibility of a different reality if we can all take a step back from our loss aversion mindset and veneer theory of human beings giving into our worst at the slightest challenge. Super relevant in our times with black lives matter and the community engagement we have seen the world over with Covid -19 for instance.

I found this book really fascinating and have been quoting elements of it to friends and family. Some of the stories were familiar to me (I read The Tipping Point many years ago) but it was great to be reminded of them and to hear them in a different context. There were also lots of new stories and ideas. It is hugely relevant for the strange times in which we are currently living.

I teach media and English in a secondary school and will definitely be adding this title to our wider reading lists for both subjects.

This was a different type of read for me but as soon as I read the blurb, I wanted to read this book so I am grateful to @netgalley for my eARC.  

The timing of this book could not be more appropriate.  It is all about looking for the good in people and it is full of optimism.   It is interesting to read how the media can control our thoughts without us even realising it.  I enjoyed reading the different examples the author used to prove his theory.  The discussions  and the results of the studies are very thought provoking.
I know I will continue to dip into this book.  If you are looking for a book which will challenge you to think about humankind nowadays then this is definitely for you.  In the current climate of worry and uncertainty, it provides understanding and a welcome glimpse of hope for us all.

Not a book I can read quickly or at one time.  This quote from the beginning of the book is at the moment one of my favourites...shop bombed in blitz opened the next day with a sign saying ‘more open than usual’.

Every time I read another chapter it prompts me to read or research something else....now reading Utopia thanks to this...another delay. So I will thoroughly recommend this book even though I haven’t yet finished it. 

I am thinking of it as my ongoing lockdown educator! Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting book offering some optimism and hope in these trying times. It's easy to watch the news these days and conclude that humans are a bad lot, and in this book Rutger Bregman sets out to prove that that is not the case.

This book should be read simply for the fact that it challenges some of our assumptions. We tend to believe that the human race if extrinsically bad and without leaders or control would be complete anarchy. According to Bregman, the opposite is true, we are actually good but we are told that we are not so we can be controlled. By the media and our leaders.

This is not a conspiracy theory Bregman quotes lots of research to makes his point and also shows that some research that we have taken for valid is possibly very flawed. The crunch of the matter is our transition from hunter gatherers to agricultural society and the arrival of property and the need to protect it.
Overall some of the stuff is compelling and convincing and it is good to look at things differently every so often. The problem I have with the book is that it does not really give many solutions, are there any?

It is good to know that hunter gatherers would not have chosen leaders like ours, on the contrary they would have expelled them. The ability to collaborate and care for the community were sought after qualities while any sociopath individual with egocentric characteristics would have been expelled from the community. It is good to know but it would be even better to know how we could actually change the way we choose our leaders, how we reform the media and our institutions so that they reflect our alleged good nature rather than the psychopathic nature of our leaders.
The book gives lots of examples of prisons, schools, workplaces and so on that put trust on the individual and work really well, but how do we apply that principle to everything else?

In a few words the book left me wanted to know more and do more but all I got was ok and now what next?

What a superb and timely book!

Bregman takes the notion that, contrary to  apparently widely held opinion, humans are fundamentally kind and then looks at the evidence for and against this notion.  The reader is taken on an easily digestible journey looking at, and analysing, the arguments and evidence.  Bregman then deftly brings the whole to a conclusion, finishing with 10 take-away points.

Read at a time when the background was Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter this was an inciteful read and allowed the reader to form opinions as they went.  It might sit on the "non-fiction" shelf but don't let that stop you reading what I think will become a staple discussion text.  Its conversational style is accessible to all.

With huge thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Humankind fulfilled my expectations of an accessible non-fiction with an optimistic and hopeful tone. However, I found it dragged a bit at times, and although it's quite interesting as far as the history of ideas is concerned, I found it a bit over-simplistic for Rutger Bregman's argumentation to be completely convincing in some instances. Nevertheless, it gives food for thought, and is far preferable to the pessimist and other selfish ideologies around.

Extremely interesting insight into what makes us human. The level of research undertaken by is staggering. I found the book fascinating and incredibly informative. It's an accessible read too and particularly uplifting in these difficult Covid19 times. I've already gifted a copy.

This books delves deep into the theories that have been postulated about the human race over the centuries and examines the (often lacking) science behind them, whilst simultaneously looking at the evidence around us now and from our deep and distant past, before we began living in the civilisations we do now. Covering gender, race, crime, education and a myriad of other topics, this is a truly fascinating dive into our humanity and what makes us behave in the ways we do.