Notes

Thought it was very mediocre despite glowing reviews everywhere from Amazon to Goodreads to [redacted]. The most interesting idea within, which I imagine is unlikely to have originated with him, is that most of what makes human civilization so advanced is make belief. Religion, constitutions, civil liberties, money etc. all require everyone to believe in the same myths to function properly. These myths allow more complex social structures to exist beyond simple tribes of up to 150 members. What's the so what? I suppose it's not meant to be a super actionable idea; instead, it can serve as a lens to examine real life concepts like culture and leadership in an organization (esp. with more than 150 employees), political mandate, social movements, etc. The concept provides justification for investing in soft power, controlling the media, developing back stories and symbolism.

Outside of that, thought the book was ok. For newbies, maybe it serves as a solid introduction to the history of the world. For me though most things he accounted for I either already knew or didn't seem particularly interesting or useful to learn. Further, while initially the book sounded iconoclast in its depiction of religion as a myth, it ultimately stayed in mainstream liberal academia with its paeans to PC ideas like equality among races, genders, cultures, animal rights, etc.