rolex yachtmaster 40mm blue dial

Rolex Yacht-Master 40 Blue Dial Men's Luxury Watch 126622-0002

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There is big news, and there is Rolex big news, and in some ways, ne'er the twain shall meet. At Baselworld this year, Rolex debuted a first for the company: the very first, ever, Rolex delivered on a rubber strap. Now, for most companies this would have little effect on watch enthusiasts other than to evoke (very) tepid interest at best, and boredom at worst – but this is not an ordinary rubber strap, this is an official, designed-and-tested-and-thoroughly-obsessed-over-by-Rolex rubber strap. And thereby hangs a tale.

The Yachtmaster, as we have mentioned in some of our previous coverage , occupies a somewhat particular place in Rolex’s lineup of sports watches; it shares water-resistance and a turning bezel with the Submariner (the latter is water resistant to 300 m while the Yachtmaster standard model is water resistant to 100 m). It is certainly not a tool watch; the Yachtmaster is offered in either platinum and steel, or gold and steel (that’s Rolesium and Rolesor, lest we forget) and is either quietly or unequivocally luxurious depending on what size and metal you go for (Rolex makes the Yachtmaster in both 35 mm and 40 mm sizes). 

The Yachtmaster’s history goes back to the first introduction of the watch in 1992, although the name, interestingly enough, appears on the dial of a prototype Yachtmaster Chronograph from the late 1960s (a watch so legendary I am actually forced to use the word; one of three known is in the collection of Mr. John Goldberger; we covered it – and a host of other remarkable ultra-rare watches from his collection – in a very memorable episode of Talking Watches ).

The term “Yachtmaster” is also, incidentally, used for a certificate of competency in yachting which is issued by the Royal Yachting Association, although we’re unaware of any specific association between the RYA and the Yachtmaster watch.

Now, this newest version of the Yachtmaster does take a few pages from the existing Yachtmaster playbook: 100-meter water resistance, a bidirectional turning bezel, and a dial and hands that echo the Submariner. There are also a couple of features that may make vintage Sub enthusiasts wonder if Rolex mightn’t have an exceedingly subtle sense of humor; the gilt coronet and “Rolex,” and the red lettering, both features which according to HODINKEE founder Ben Clymer would have, had they appeared on a Rolex dive watch, made it instantly the single most popular watch in the modern Rolex inventory. The case is rose gold – Rolex famously makes their own, called Everose, in their own foundry, with a bit of platinum mixed in to prevent discoloration – and the bezel, rather than being some other precious metal (as is the case in the “standard” Yachtmasters) is in black Cerachrom – a very technical-looking matte black that contrasts sharply with the gold case. Somehow, between the rose gold, the Cerachrom bezel, and the new Oysterflex bracelet this manages to be the most luxurious and at the same time most technical Yachtmaster yet (leaving aside the Yachtmaster II, which we recently reviewed right here , but that is a watch that marches to the beat of a different drummer entirely).

The two different versions of the Everose Yachtmaster (40 mm and 37 mm) sport different movements; the larger uses the caliber 3135 and the smaller, the newer 2236, which sports the “Syloxi” silicon balance spring (first used by Rolex in 2014).

The Oysterflex bracelet is, in a nutshell, quite a piece of work. One of the most endearing traits of Rolex as a company is that it tends to demonstrate what we can only describe as a laudable degree of corporate obsessive-compulsive disorder when it comes to research and development, and it does so, often, without making any sort of fanfare about it at all. In this case we do know a little bit about the Oysterflex, however – it is basically designed to have the hypoallergenic and comfort properties of a rubber strap and the durability and shape-retention properties of a bracelet. 

At the core of the Oysterflex bracelet are metal inserts made of titanium and nickel, which are used to affix the bracelet to the clasp and watch case; over those is a sheathing of “high-performance black elastomer.” “Elastomer” is a portmanteau word, formed from “elastic” and “polymer” and is a general term for natural and synthetic rubbers. In addition to the materials complexity of the Oysterflex bracelet, it is also shaped in a rather unusual fashion – there are ridges molded into the the wristward face of the bracelet, which are intended to allow the bracelet when worn to better approximate the natural curvature of the wrist.

They might look a bit odd but in practice, the design works out quite wonderfully; this is easily the most downright comfortable and organic-feeling rubber strap I have ever worn, and like the entire watch manages to be both extremely technical in feel, and very luxurious at the same time; I doubt whether any company has ever taken so much trouble over the design of a strap (for all that Rolex prefers the term “bracelet” in describing the Oysterflex, habit dies hard and you’ll probably find yourself calling it a strap, just as we did). On the wrist, the two stabilizing ridges do exactly what they are supposed to: keep the watch from shifting, as heavier watches on rubber straps are wont to do, without requiring you to have the strap uncomfortably tight. The Everose Oysterlock clasp does a superb job mechanically and also looks fabulous into the bargain; the quality of finish on the clasp and case may not seem terribly elaborate at first, but it is as technically flawless as anything I have ever seen at any price, on any watch.

What we have here, in other words, is a very Rolex interpretation of luxury. Yes, this is a gold watch, and a gold Rolex, and wearing a gold Rolex always carries with it, shall we say, certain semiotic complexities. However there is also another side to the watch, and to the Rolex approach to luxury in general: the taking of such pains to produce technical perfection that technical perfection becomes a luxury in itself.

The Everose Rolex Yachtmaster, in Rolex Everose, with Everose Oysterclasp and Oysterflex bracelet, as shown, $22,000 in 37 mm, and $24,950 in 40 mm. For more info, check out Rolex.com.

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Owner review: rolex yacht-master 40 126622.

Before we get to my Rolex Yacht-Master 40 126622 review, we need some background. In 1992 Rolex introduced a watch that shared the silhouette of their beloved Submariner but in solid 18k yellow gold, embossed YG bezel insert soldered to the bezel, funky white dial, and the unusual name “Yacht-Master” written where “Submariner” would normally live. People then and now still wonder.. “Why?”.

Rumor has it Rolex wanted to drastically update the Submariner but were scared that the changes were too extreme. The Submariner was essentially their poster child and arguably their most iconic watch. Fearing backlash, they created a whole new line. Rolex rarely creates completely new watches, the last time they made a new watch before the Rolex Yacht-Master was in 1964 when the Daytona was introduced. Luckily it paid off as the Yacht-Master was pretty well received!

Even though the Rolex Yacht-Master 40 at first glance looks very similar to the Submariner it’s a totally different wearing experience. The case shape is completely different from the Sub. Its case profile is composed of compound curves with the lugs swooping downwards very similar to a Daytona, the case is also fully polished. My particular Rolex Yacht-Master 40 126622 being Roleisum (Rolex’s term for the combination of Platinum and Steel which was first introduced in 1999 with the ref. 16622), in combination with the blue sunburst dial and red accents, gives it such a unique aesthetic it sets it apart in Rolex’s catalog. Rolex I think perfected their blue dials, it’s absolutely gorgeous! Pictures do not do it justice whatsoever. In person, it appears much darker, almost black however in direct light that’s when the striking blue hue pops. The date function is also very convenient!

What is it like to wear a Rolex Yacht-Master? I would describe it as the most comfortable and stressful watch I have ever worn and owned. What most people don’t realize is that it’s a thin watch and I mean THIN. At 11.5mm it’s just as thin or even thinner than a 34mm 114200 Air-King! Like what? The case hugs your wrist amazingly while the oyster bracelet seems to caress you. It makes you want to wear it every single day, I mean how could you not? Thin, sporty, beautiful, comfortable and low key a strap monster. Until you see a scratch or nick on the solid Platinum bezel insert, call up Rolex Service Center to see how much it would be to replace it and they slap you in the face with a $2500 (before taxes) quote for JUST the bezel/bezel insert assembly (they’re soldered together remember?). Then you think “Okay, okay which Seiko ’s do I sell to cover the cost of a freaking bezel”. Did I mention the case is fully polished?

Has this ever happened to me? No, because I’m extremely OCD, however I was curious and called RSC, I also used to own the 16622 and was trained to wear long sleeves only, only wear it sparingly, cover my wrist when walking through doorways, never let it touch denim (yes, denim will scratch it apparently), and for all I know never sneeze near it or even look at it too long because for all I know that could probably scratch it too. To top it all off, of COURSE the bracelet and clasp has Polished Center Links! While I am exaggerating the fragility of the Rolex Yacht-Master, the stress of potentially scuffing it is real.

The Rolex Yacht-Master 40 126622 is arguably one of my favorite watches ever made. I never thought I’d ever get to own one. It’s beautiful, ridiculously comfortable, relatively uncommon, however so stressful to wear. I have owned it for almost exactly one year and I personally try to enjoy every second I wear it; I even strap changed it with zero scuffs! I have and I do but my OCD and extreme caution lends itself to be a difficult one to fully appreciate without worry. I’ve debated if this watch was right for me all the time. However, I would recommend this watch to anyone minutely interested. I have no regrets having owned two of them like an insane person, but who in the watch collecting world isn’t insane?

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Exploring the Legendary Rolex Submariner 16613: A Detailed Review

Discover the allure of the Rolex 16613 – a blend of luxury and functionality that has captivated watch enthusiasts for decades. This comprehensive review delves into the history, features, and enduring appeal of this iconic Submariner model. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or considering your first luxury timepiece, our in-depth analysis will guide you through the world of the Rolex 16613.

Evolution of the Rolex Submariner 16613

The Rolex 16613 stands as a testament to the brand’s commitment to innovation and luxury. Born from the legendary Rolex Submariner collection, this model marked a significant milestone in Rolex’s history . Introduced in 1988, the 16613 brought a touch of opulence to the rugged dive watch world with its two-tone design.

Throughout its production run from 1988 to 2010, the Rolex Submariner 16613 saw subtle refinements that enhanced its appeal. Early models featured tritium dials, later replaced by Super-LumiNova for improved luminescence. The clasp design evolved, offering better security and comfort for divers and enthusiasts alike.

Compared to modern Submariners, the 16613 retains a vintage charm with its aluminum bezel insert and slightly thinner case profile. While newer models boast ceramic bezels and broader lugs, many collectors prefer the 16613’s classic proportions and the warmth of its two-tone design, making it a bridge between vintage and contemporary Rolex aesthetics.

Key Features of the Rolex 16613

The Rolex Submariner 16613 is a masterpiece of horological engineering, combining form and function in a package that has stood the test of time. From its robust construction to its precise movement, every aspect of this watch exemplifies Rolex’s commitment to excellence . Let’s explore the key features that make the 16613 a standout model in the Submariner line.

Materials and Build Quality

The Rolex 16613 showcases a harmonious blend of durability and luxury. Its case and bracelet feature a two-tone design, marrying the strength of 904L stainless steel with the opulence of 18k yellow gold. This combination not only provides superior corrosion resistance but also offers a visual appeal that transitions seamlessly from diving excursions to formal events.

The iconic blue or black dial options complement the two-tone design, with the blue variant being particularly sought after. The dial’s color depth and sunburst finish create a mesmerizing play of light, enhancing the watch’s overall elegance. Gold-trimmed hour markers and hands provide excellent contrast, ensuring readability in various lighting conditions.

Case and Size

The Rolex Submariner 16613 boasts a classic 40mm case diameter, striking the perfect balance between presence and wearability. This size has become iconic in the watch world, suitable for a wide range of wrist sizes and preferences. The Oyster case construction, a hallmark of Rolex innovation, ensures water resistance up to an impressive 300 meters (1,000 feet).

The case profile of the 16613 is slightly slimmer compared to modern Submariner models, giving it a more subtle presence on the wrist. This design feature, coupled with the comfortable Oyster bracelet, makes the 16613 an excellent choice for daily wear. The screw-down crown, featuring Rolex’s Triplock system, further enhances the watch’s water resistance and protects the movement.

Bezel and Dial

The unidirectional rotatable bezel of the Rolex 16613 is both a functional diving tool and a design element. Featuring 60-minute graduations, it allows divers to accurately monitor their underwater time. The aluminum bezel insert, available in blue or black to match the dial, offers a classic look that has aged beautifully on many vintage pieces.

Luminescent markers on both the dial and bezel provide exceptional readability in low-light conditions, a crucial feature for professional divers. The Submariner’s signature Mercedes hands and dot markers are instantly recognizable, maintaining legibility even in the murky depths of the ocean. The date window at 3 o’clock, magnified by the Cyclops lens, adds practical functionality to the watch’s elegant design.

At the heart of the Rolex Submariner 16613 beats the reliable Caliber 3135 movement. This self-winding mechanical movement is a testament to Rolex’s watchmaking prowess, offering precision and durability that have made it a mainstay in many Rolex models. COSC-certified as a chronometer, the 3135 ensures exceptional timekeeping accuracy.

The Caliber 3135 boasts a power reserve of approximately 48 hours, allowing the watch to maintain accurate time even when left unworn over a weekend. Rolex’s Parachrom Bleu hairspring provides increased resistance to shocks and temperature variations, enhancing the movement’s overall reliability. The smooth sweeping seconds hand, moving at 28,800 vibrations per hour, is a hallmark of high-end mechanical watchmaking.

The Oyster bracelet of the Rolex 16613 is a perfect complement to its two-tone case. Combining brushed stainless steel outer links with polished 18k yellow gold center links, the bracelet offers both durability and luxury. The contrast between the metals creates a visual interest that elevates the watch’s overall aesthetic.

Rolex’s attention to detail extends to the bracelet’s clasp. The Glidelock extension system allows for fine adjustments without tools, ensuring a perfect fit over a wetsuit or for daily comfort. The folding Oysterlock safety clasp provides security, preventing accidental openings. These features, combined with the bracelet’s solid construction, contribute to the 16613’s reputation as a reliable companion for both underwater adventures and everyday wear.

Why the Rolex Submariner 16613 is Iconic

The Rolex Submariner 16613 holds a special place in the hearts of watch enthusiasts and collectors alike. Its two-tone design represents a perfect balance between sportiness and elegance, embodying the versatility that Rolex is known for. This model bridges the gap between tool watch functionality and luxurious appeal, making it a standout piece in the Submariner lineup.

Throughout its production run, the 16613 has graced the wrists of notable figures, from Hollywood celebrities to business tycoons. Its appearances in films and high-profile events have cemented its status as a symbol of success and refined taste. The watch’s ability to look equally at home in the boardroom and on the beach underscores its iconic versatility, appealing to those who appreciate a timepiece that can keep up with diverse lifestyles.

Unmatched Performance and Durability

The Rolex Submariner 16613 isn’t just a pretty face; it’s a robust tool watch designed to withstand the rigors of professional diving. Its water resistance to 300 meters ensures reliable performance in underwater environments, while the unidirectional bezel provides a crucial safety feature for divers monitoring their dive times. The Triplock crown system and solid case construction contribute to its exceptional water resistance and overall durability.

The combination of stainless steel and 18k yellow gold in the 16613 offers more than aesthetic appeal. This pairing enhances the watch’s corrosion resistance, particularly important in marine environments where exposure to saltwater is common. The 904L stainless steel used by Rolex is especially resistant to pitting and maintains its luster even after years of use in harsh conditions.

Over time, the Caliber 3135 movement has proven its reliability and longevity. Many 16613 models from the late 1980s and early 1990s continue to keep excellent time with proper maintenance. The movement’s robust construction and Rolex’s use of high-quality materials contribute to its ability to withstand the test of time, often requiring only routine servicing to maintain peak performance.

A Solid Investment: The Rolex 16613’s Financial Appeal

The Rolex 16613 has demonstrated impressive appreciation over the years, solidifying its status as a sound investment piece. Since its discontinuation in 2010, the model has seen steady growth in value, particularly for well-preserved examples. This appreciation reflects both the watch’s enduring popularity and the overall strength of the vintage Rolex market.

Several factors influence the investment value of a 16613. Condition is paramount, with collectors placing a premium on pieces that retain their original finish and show minimal signs of polishing. The presence of original papers and box (known as “full set”) significantly enhances value, often commanding prices 20-30% higher than watches sold without these accessories. Original parts, particularly the bezel insert and dial, are crucial for maintaining maximum value.

Compared to other Submariner models, the 16613 occupies a unique position in terms of investment potential. While it may not appreciate as rapidly as some rare vintage models, it often outperforms many modern Submariners in terms of value retention. Its two-tone design and discontinued status contribute to its desirability, positioning it as a sweet spot for collectors seeking a balance between wearability and investment potential.

Captivating Variations and Rare Finds

The Rolex Submariner 16613 offers collectors a range of variations to pursue, with dial color being a primary differentiator. The blue dial variant, often referred to as the “Bluesy,” is particularly coveted for its vibrant hue that seems to change under different lighting conditions. The black dial version, while less common, appeals to those seeking a more understated look. Both colors have their devotees, with preferences often driving slight differences in market value.

Within the 16613 line, certain variations have become highly sought after by collectors. Early models featuring tritium dials, identified by the “T SWISS T” or “SWISS T<25” markings at the bottom of the dial, command a premium. Dials with specific color variations or subtle production changes, such as the “flat four” bezel (where the ‘4’ in ’40’ on the bezel has a flat top), can significantly increase a watch’s collectibility and value.

The presence of original box and papers cannot be overstated when it comes to the 16613’s collectibility and resale value. A full set not only provides provenance but also offers insight into the watch’s history and authenticity. Collectors are often willing to pay a substantial premium for a complete set, sometimes up to 25-30% more than for the watch alone. This emphasis on documentation underscores the importance of preserving all original materials when purchasing a luxury timepiece.

Your Buying Guide to the Perfect Rolex 16613

When venturing into the world of pre-owned Rolex Submariner 16613s, knowledge is your greatest asset. Start by familiarizing yourself with the model’s hallmarks: the two-tone design, the specific shade of blue or black on the dial and bezel, and the characteristic Oyster bracelet. Pay close attention to the overall condition, looking for signs of excessive wear or poor maintenance that might indicate a troubled history.

Authenticity is paramount when purchasing a Rolex 16613. Familiarize yourself with the model’s specific features, such as the engraved rehaut (the space between the dial and crystal), the precise positioning of dial text, and the quality of the cyclops magnification. The serial and model numbers should be correctly positioned between the lugs. When possible, ask for detailed, high-resolution images of these areas to scrutinize before making a purchase.

Be wary of Submariner 16613s with aftermarket modifications. While some changes, like a strap swap, are easily reversible, others can significantly impact the watch’s value and authenticity. Aftermarket dials, non-original hands, or replaced bezels are red flags that should prompt caution. If considering a modified piece, ensure that all original parts are included with the sale to maintain the watch’s long-term value.

The importance of purchasing from a trusted dealer cannot be overstated. Reputable sellers offer authenticity guarantees, detailed service histories, and often provide warranties on pre-owned pieces. They should be willing to answer all your questions and provide detailed information about the watch’s condition and history. While you might pay a slight premium compared to private sales, the peace of mind and after-sale support are invaluable when investing in a luxury timepiece like the Rolex Submariner 16613.

Conclusion: Why the Rolex 16613 Remains a Sought-After Model

The Rolex 16613 stands as a testament to timeless design and uncompromising quality. Its blend of functionality and luxury has captivated watch enthusiasts for decades, cementing its place in horological history. From its robust performance as a dive watch to its elegant presence in social settings, the 16613 exemplifies versatility in luxury watchmaking.

For those considering adding a Rolex Submariner 16613 to their collection, it represents more than just a timepiece. It’s an investment in craftsmanship, a piece of watchmaking history, and a symbol of personal achievement. Whether you’re drawn to its technical prowess, its investment potential, or simply its classic good looks, the 16613 offers something special for every watch lover.

If you’re in the market for a Rolex 16613 for sale , look no further than Bob’s Watches. As specialists in luxury timepieces, we offer a curated selection of authenticated Rolex Submariner models, including the iconic 16613. Our team of experts is ready to guide you through the selection process, ensuring you find the perfect example to cherish for years to come.

About Bob's Watches

With over two decades of experience in the industry, Bob's Watches has cultivated a deep passion and expertise in luxury timepieces, making them a trusted authority in the watch community. With a passion for horology and over two decades of experience, Bob's Watches has established itself as a go-to resource for buying, selling, and trading luxury watches. They offer an extensive selection of pre-owned timepieces from renowned brands such as Rolex, OMEGA, Patek Philippe, Panerai, and more. At Bob's Watches, authenticity and quality are of utmost importance. Each watch listed on their platform undergoes a meticulous inspection and authentication process by expert professionals, ensuring that customers can purchase with confidence, knowing they are acquiring genuine and top-notch timepieces. With a focus on exceptional customer service, Bob's Watches strives to provide a seamless and secure buying experience. Their user-friendly website allows customers to explore their diverse inventory, complete with detailed descriptions and high-resolution images. They also offer free overnight shipping and hassle-free returns to enhance customer convenience. Bob's Watches is not only a marketplace but also a valuable resource for watch enthusiasts. Their blog features insightful articles, industry news, buying guides, and educational content to help customers make informed decisions. With a strong BBB A+ rating and recognition from reputable news publications, Bob's Watches continues to be a trusted name in the luxury watch industry. Whether you're a seasoned collector or a novice, rely on Bob's Watches to navigate the world of luxury timepieces with confidence and expertise.

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sapiens book review

Be thinking.

Sapiens ? a critical review.

I much enjoyed Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind . It is a brilliant, thought-provoking odyssey through human history with its huge confident brush strokes painting enormous scenarios across time. It is massively engaging and continuously interesting. The book covers a mind-boggling 13.5 billion years of pre-history and history.

Fascinating but flawed

Harari’s pictures of the earliest men and then the foragers and agrarians are fascinating; but he breathlessly rushes on to take us past the agricultural revolution of 10,000 years ago, to the arrival of religion, the scientific revolution, industrialisation, the advent of artificial intelligence and the possible end of humankind. His contention is that Homo sapiens , originally an insignificant animal foraging in Africa has become ‘the terror of the ecosystem’ (p465). There is truth in this, of course, but his picture is very particular. He is best, in my view, on the modern world and his far-sighted analysis of what we are doing to ourselves struck many chords with me.

Harari is a better social scientist than philosopher, logician or historian

Nevertheless, in my opinion the book is also deeply flawed in places and Harari is a much better social scientist than he is philosopher, logician or historian. His critique of modern social ills is very refreshing and objective, his piecing together of the shards of pre-history imaginative and appear to the non-specialist convincing, but his understanding of some historical periods and documents is much less impressive – demonstrably so, in my view.

Misunderstanding the medieval world

Harari is not good on the medieval world, or at least the medieval church. He suggests that ‘premodern’ religion asserted that everything important to know about the world ‘was already known’ (p279) so there was no curiosity or expansion of learning. When does he think this view ceased? He makes it much too late. He gives the (imagined) example of a thirteenth-century peasant asking a priest about spiders and being rebuffed because such knowledge was not in the Bible. It’s hard to know where to begin in saying how wrong a concept this is.

For example, in the thirteenth century the friars, so often depicted as lazy and corrupt, were central to the learning of the universities. Moreover they were, at that time, able to teach independently of diktats from the Church. As a result, there was an exchange of scholarship between national boundaries and demanding standards were set. The Church also set up schools throughout much of Europe, so as more people became literate there was a corresponding increase in debate among the laity as well as among clerics. Huge library collections were amassed by monks who studied both religious and classical texts. Their scriptoria effectively became the research institutes of their day. One surviving example of this is the fascinating library of the Benedictines at San Marco in Florence. Commissioned in 1437, it became the first public library in Europe. This was a huge conceptual breakthrough in the dissemination of knowledge: the ordinary citizens of that great city now had access to the profoundest ideas from the classical period onwards.

And there is Thomas Aquinas. Usually considered to be the most brilliant mind of the thirteenth century, he wrote on ethics, natural law, political theory, Aristotle – the list goes on. Harari forgets to mention him – today, as all know, designated a saint in the Roman Catholic church.   

Harari tends to draw too firm a dividing line between the medieval and modern eras

In fact, it was the Church – through Peter Abelard in the twelfth century– that initiated the idea that a single authority was not sufficient for the establishment of knowledge, but that disputation was required to train the mind as well as the lecture for information. This was a breakthrough in thinking that set the pattern of university life for the centuries ahead.

Or what about John of Salisbury (twelfth-century bishop), the greatest social thinker since Augustine, who bequeathed to us the function of the rule of law and the concept that even the monarch is subject to law and may be removed by the people if he breaks it. Following Cicero he rejected dogmatic claims to certainty and asserted instead that ‘probable truth’ was the best we could aim for, which had to be constantly re-evaluated and revised. Harari is wrong therefore, to state that Vespucci (1504) was the first to say ‘we don’t know’ (p321).

So, historically Harari tends to draw too firm a dividing line between the medieval and modern eras (p285). He is good on the more modern period but the divide is manifest enough without overstating the case as he does.

Short-sighted reductionism

His passage about human rights not existing in nature is exactly right, but his treatment of the US Declaration of Independence is surely completely mistaken (p123). To ‘translate’ it as he does into a statement about evolution is like ‘translating’ a rainbow into a mere geometric arc, or better, ‘translating’ a landscape into a map. Of course, neither process is a translation for to do so is an impossibility. They are what they are. The one is an inspiration, the other an analysis. It is not a matter of one being untrue, the other true – for both landscapes and maps are capable of conveying truths of different kinds.

The Declaration is an aspirational statement about the rights that ought to be accorded to each individual under the rule of law in a post-Enlightenment nation predicated upon Christian principles. Harari’s ‘translation’ is a statement about what our era (currently) believes in a post-Darwinian culture about humanity’s evolutionary drives and our ‘selfish’ genes. ‘Biology’ may tell us those things but human experience and history tell a different story: there is altruism as well as egoism; there is love as well as fear and hatred; there is morality as well as amorality. The sword is not the only way in which events and epochs have been made. Indeed, to make biology/biochemistry the final irreducible way of perceiving human behaviour, as Harari seems to do, seems tragically short-sighted.

Religious illiteracy

I’m not surprised that the book is a bestseller in a (by and large) religiously illiterate society; and though it has a lot of merit in other areas, its critique of Judaism and Christianity is not historically respectable. A mere six lines of conjecture (p242) on the emergence of monotheism from polytheism – stated as fact – is indefensible. It lacks objectivity. The great world-transforming Abrahamic religion emerging from the deserts in the early Bronze Age period (as it evidently did) with an utterly new understanding of the sole Creator God is such an enormous change. It simply can’t be ignored in this way if the educated reader is to be convinced by his reconstructions.

Harari is demonstrably very shaky in his representation of what Christians believe

Harari is also demonstrably very shaky in his representation of what Christians believe. For example, his contention that belief in the Devil makes Christianity dualistic (equal independent good and evil gods) is simply untenable. One of the very earliest biblical texts (Book of Job) shows God allowing Satan to attack Job but irresistibly restricting his methods (Job 1:12). Later, Jesus banishes Satan from individuals (Mark 1:25 et al .) and the final book of the Bible shows God destroying Satan (Revelation 20:10). Not much dualism there! It’s all, of course, a profound mystery – but it’s quite certainly not caused by dualism according to the Bible. Harari either does not know his Bible or is choosing to misrepresent it. He also doesn’t know his Thomas Hardy who believed (some of the time!) precisely what Harari says ‘nobody in history’ believed, namely that God is evil – as evidenced in a novel like Tess of the d’Urbervilles or his poem The Convergence of the Twain .

Fumbling the problem of evil

We see another instance of Harari’s lack of objectivity in the way he deals with the problem of evil (p246). He states the well-worn idea that if we posit free will as the solution, that raises the further question: if God ‘knew in advance’ (Harari’s words) that the evil would be done why did he create the doer?

I would expect a scholar to present both sides of the argument, not a populist one-sided account as Harari does

But to be objective the author would need to raise the counter-question that if there is no free will, how can there be love and how can there be truth? Automatons without free will are coerced and love cannot exist between them – by definition. Again, if everything is predetermined then so is the opinion I have just expressed. In that case it has no validity as a measure of truth – it was predetermined either by chance forces at the Big Bang or by e.g. what I ate for breakfast which dictated my mood. These are age-old problems without easy solutions but I would expect a scholar to present both sides of the argument, not a populist one-sided account as Harari does.

Moreover, in Christian theology God created both time and space, but exists outside them. So the Christian God does not know anything ‘in advance’ which is a term applicable only to those who live inside the time–space continuum i.e. humanity. The Christian philosopher Boethius saw this first in the sixth century; theologians know it – but apparently Harari doesn’t, and he should.

Ignoring the resurrection

In common with so many, Harari is unable to explain why Christianity ‘took over the mighty Roman Empire' (p243) but calls it ‘one of history’s strangest twists’. So it is, but one explanation that should be considered is the resurrection of Christ which of course would fully account for it – if people would give the idea moment’s thought. But to the best of my knowledge there is no mention of it (even as an influential belief) anywhere in the book.

Harari is unable to explain why Christianity ‘took over the mighty Roman Empire' 

The standard reason given for such an absence is that ‘such things don’t happen in history: dead men don’t rise.’ But that, I fear, is logically a hopeless answer. The speaker believes it didn’t happen because they have already presupposed that God is not there to do it. Drop the presupposition, and suddenly the whole situation changes: in the light of that thought it now becomes perfectly feasible that this ‘strange twist’ was part of the divine purpose. And the funny thing is that unlike other religions, this is precisely where Christianity is most insistent on its historicity . Peter, Paul, the early church in general were convinced that Jesus was alive and they knew as well as we do that dead men are dead – and they knew better than us that us that crucified men are especially dead! The very first Christian sermons (about AD 33) were about the facts of their experience – the resurrection of Jesus – not about morals or religion or the future.

A one-sided view of the Church

Harari is right to highlight the appalling record of human warfare and there is no point trying to excuse the Church from its part in this. I have written at length about this elsewhere, as have far more able people. But do we really think that because everyone in Europe was labelled Catholic or Protestant (‘ cuius regio, eius religio ’) that the wars they fought were about religion ?

If the Church is cited as a negative influence, why, in a scholarly book, is its positive influence not also cited?

As the Cambridge Modern History points out about the appalling Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Day in 1572 (which event Harari cites on p241) – the Paris mob would as soon kill Catholics as Protestants – and did. It was the result of political intrigue, sexual jealousy, human barbarism and feud. Oxford Professor Keith Ward points out ‘religious wars are a tiny minority of human conflicts’ in his book Is Religion Dangerous? If the Church is being cited as a negative influence, why, in a scholarly book, is its undeniably unrivalled positive influence over the last 300 years (not to mention all the previous years) not also cited? It’s simply not good history to ignore the good educational and social impact of the Church. Both sides need to feature. [1]

Philosophical fault-lines

I wonder too about Harari’s seeming complacency on occasion, for instance about where economic progress has brought us to. Is it acceptable for him to write (on p296): ‘When calamity strikes an entire region, worldwide relief efforts are usually successful in preventing the worst. People still suffer from numerous depredations, humiliations and poverty-related illnesses but in most countries nobody is starving to death’? Tell that to the people of Haiti seven years after the earthquake with two and a half million still, according to the UN, needing humanitarian aid. Or the people of South Sudan dying of thirst and starvation as they try to reach refugee camps. There are sixty million refugees living in appalling poverty and distress at this moment . In the light of those facts, I think Harari’s comment is rather unsatisfactory.

But there is a larger philosophical fault-line running through the whole book which constantly threatens to break its conclusions in pieces. His whole contention is predicated on the idea that humankind is merely the product of accidental evolutionary forces and this means he is blind to seeing any real intentionality in history. It has direction certainly, but he believes it is the direction of an iceberg, not a ship.

Many of his opening remarks are just unwarranted assumptions 

This would be all right if he were straightforward in stating that all his arguments are predicated on the assumption that, as Bertrand Russell said, ‘Man is…but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms’ and utterly without significance. But instead, he does what a philosopher would call ‘begging the question’. That is, he assumes from the start what his contention requires him to prove – namely that mankind is on its own and without any sort of divine direction. Harari ought to have stated his assumed position at the start, but signally failed to do so. The result is that many of his opening remarks are just unwarranted assumptions based on that grandest of all assumptions: that humanity is cut adrift on a lonely planet, itself adrift in a drifting galaxy in a dying universe. Evidence please! – that humanity is ‘nothing but’ a biological entity and that human consciousness is not a pale (and fundamentally damaged) reflection of the divine mind.

The fact that (he says) Sapiens has been around for a long time, emerged by conquest of the Neanderthals and has a bloody and violent history has no logical connection to whether or not God made him (‘her’ for Harari) into a being capable of knowing right from wrong, perceiving God in the world and developing into Michelangelo, Mozart and Mother Teresa as well as into Nero and Hitler. To insist that such sublime or devilish beings are ‘no more than’ glorified apes is to ignore the elephant in the room: the small differences in our genetic codes are the very differences that may reasonably point to divine intervention – because the result is so shockingly disproportionate between ourselves and our nearest relatives. I’ve watched chimpanzees and the great apes; I love to do so (and especially adore gorillas!) but…so near, yet so so far.

Arguable assumptions

Here are a few short-hand examples of the author’s many assumptions to check out in context:

• ‘accidental genetic mutations…it was pure chance’ (p23)
• ‘no justice outside the common imagination of human beings’ (p31)
• ‘things that really exist’ (p35)

This last is such a huge leap of unwarranted faith. His concept of what ‘really exists’ seems to be ‘anything material’ but, in his opinion, nothing beyond this does ‘exist’ (his word). Actually, humans are mostly sure that immaterial things certainly exist: love, jealousy, rage, poverty, wealth, for starters. Dark matter also may make up most of the universe – it exists, we are told, but we can’t measure it.

His rendition of how biologists see the human condition is as one-sided as his treatment of earlier topics.

Harari’s final chapters are quite brilliant in their range and depth and hugely interesting about the possible future with the advent of AI – with or without Sapiens. His rendition, however, of how biologists see the human condition is as one-sided as his treatment of earlier topics. To say that our ‘subjective well-being is not determined by external parameters’ (p432) but by ‘serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin’ is to take the behaviourist view to the exclusion of all other biochemical/psychiatric science. Recent studies have concluded that human behaviour and well-being are the result not just of the amount of serotonin etc that we have in our bodies, but that our response to external events actually alters the amount of serotonin, dopamine etc which our bodies produce. It is two-way traffic. Our choices therefore are central. The way we behave actually affects our body chemistry, as well as vice versa. Harari is averse to using the word ‘mind’ and prefers ‘brain’ but the jury is out about whethe/how these two co-exist. There is one glance at this idea on page 458: without dismissing it he allows it precisely four lines, which for such a major ‘game-changer’ to the whole argument is a deeply worrying omission.

I liked his bold discussion about the questions of human happiness that historians and others are not asking, but was surprised by his two pages on ‘The Meaning of Life’ which I thought slightly disingenuous. ‘From a purely scientific viewpoint, human life has absolutely no meaning…Our actions are not part of some divine cosmic plan.’ (p438, my italics). The first sentence is fine – of course , that is true! How could it be otherwise? Science deals with how things happen, not why in terms of meaning or metaphysics . To look for meta physical answers in the physical sciences is ridiculous – they can’t be found there. It’s like looking for a sandpit in a swimming pool. Distinguished scientists like Sir Martin Rees and John Polkinghorne, at the very forefront of their profession, understand this and have written about the separation of the two ‘magisteria’. Science is about physical facts not meaning; we look to philosophy, history, religion and ethics for that. Harari’s second sentence is a non-sequitur – an inference that does not follow from the premise. God’s ‘cosmic plan’ may well be to use the universe he has set up to create beings both on earth and beyond (in time and eternity) which are glorious beyond our wildest dreams. I rather think he has already – when I consider what Sapiens has achieved.

A curiously encouraging end

I found the very last page of the book curiously encouraging:

We are more powerful than ever before…Worse still, humans seem to be more irresponsible than ever. Self-made gods with only the laws of physics to keep us company, we are accountable to no one. (p466)

Exactly! Time then for a change. Better to live in a world where we are accountable – to a just and loving God.

Harari is a brilliant writer, but one with a very decided agenda. He is excellent within his field but spreads his net too wide till some of the mesh breaks – allowing all sorts of confusing foreign bodies to pass in and out – and muddies the water. His failure to think clearly and objectively in areas outside his field will leave educated Christians unimpressed.

[1] See my book The Evil That Men Do . (Sacristy Press, 2016)

Marcus Paul

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3 mind-blowing facts about humans that I learned from reading 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind'

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• " Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind " is a bestseller praised by Barack Obama and Bill Gates.
• The nonfiction book explores the history and evolution of humans and the modern world.
• Here's a summary of 3 facts I learned and how they helped expand my understanding of humanity.

As an avid reader, my understanding of the world has greatly expanded through novels. I'm accustomed to looking at people through the emotional and psychological lens of relationships and community, always exploring how different social factors and personal histories make us so unique. 

And while I've mostly preferred learning through fictional stories and characters, the non-fiction bestseller "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind " not only amplified my understanding of the human condition but also deepened my understanding of human s. The book, a biological, intellectual, and economic account of humankind, explained the biological "why" behind everything I've ever known about people, including myself.

Dr. Yuval Noah Harari, an internationally recognized historian and philosopher, introduced me to concepts that explore the very foundation of how humans evolved from nomadic apes to philosophical beings who ponder the meaning of life. I've been spouting quotes and information from this book ever since I finished reading it, so here are the three most fascinating concepts I learned from "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind."

3 amazing facts I learned from "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind":

Self-preservation is a biological instinct that greatly impacted the course of humankind — and explains some of our problems today..

The early developments of Homo sapiens were entirely biological, centered around sustaining and creating life. Yet some of our evolution's disadvantages heavily outweighed the advantages.

For instance, in the development of the agricultural revolution, humans found that wheat was incredibly difficult to farm, not economically secure, and not even that nutritious. So why did we invest time and energy into farming anyway? According to Harari, farming fulfilled our biological needs by helping communities settle down, give birth to more babies in a shorter amount of time, and feed a larger number of people on a smaller space of land. 

To put it into today's terms, the pursuit of an easier life often generates greater hardships. It's called the luxury trap: As Harari puts it, "luxuries tend to become necessities and spawn new obligations." For example, we used to mails letter when we had something to say. Now, we send and receive dozens of emails every day, many of us considering it a necessity to have email access on our phones for even quicker responses. Immediate email correspondence was a luxury that has become a 21st-century necessity, spawning new obligations to be attached to our phones. 

It's nearly impossible to break the luxury trap cycle: It's spawned by our biological desire to make life easier so we can conserve time, energy, or money.  But humankind's instinct to cater to ourselves also has some positives. It's helped us evolve from farming wheat to generating significant technological advances and boosting our cognitive capacity for empathy, to name a few things. 

Because we create societal values, we can determine which values hold the most meaning.

When humans began to trade nomadic life for settlements, we created values to help govern societies. Our societal agreements are based on inter-subjective beliefs — the foundations of society are agreed-upon concepts of law, money, religion, and nations that link billions of humans to an imagined order that does not exist outside of our consciousness. Even the idea of "rights" is not something that exists in biology: It's an imagined order that controls the population because enough people believe in it.

The idea that we fabricated the social concepts that tie us to our political views and institutions might spur an existential crisis, but learning this was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. While fully abandoning the greatest societal contracts would create planet-wide chaos, it can be helpful to remember individual (and often invisible) pressures that we feel to be constantly achieving or fitting into a particular mold don't have as much control over us as we think. If we question some of these imagined constructs, we might find ourselves closer to intellectual freedom.

Happiness is a relatively recent focus for humankind.

As Harari points out, happiness is an incalculable abstraction. The closest measurable figure is pleasure, a chemical sensation that keeps humans alive by rewarding us when we eat or reproduce — not exactly what most of us think when we imagine self-fulfillment.

Yet, as the cognitive revolution carried humankind through advances that would shape all of planet Earth, the importance of happiness emerged. Happiness is subjective, the scale of which has dramatically changed from the Middle Ages to now. But it is also the unit many of us use to determine if our lives feel worthwhile. 

In much of the history of humankind, we ignored the idea that happiness drove any kind of evolution. But as we grew through rapid technological evolutions, our motivation has focused more on our subjective well-being. Humankind's search for a meaningful life is how we've managed to survive a history's worth of hardships, such as defending a country's values in a war or exploring new hobbies during a pandemic.

The biological rules that dictated the survival of Homo sapiens for hundreds of thousands of years have changed in only the past few decades. With our advances in medicine, agriculture, and technology, humans have been able to shift our focus from survival and reproduction to happiness and meaning. With this realization that humanity's sole purpose is no longer to survive but thrive , we can prioritize self-actualization. 

The bottom line

I learned so many profound theories from this book, and it broadened my understanding of humanity. While we evolved through our survivalist need for self-preservation, the cognitive revolution spawned societies founded on rules and values, some of which now create new barriers to our happiness and wellbeing.

More importantly, learning about our evolutionary history deepened my empathy for humankind and even towards myself. Thanks to this book, my view of my place in the world has shifted, as I remember that I wouldn't be here, typing this, if not for the billions of decisions my ancestors made. It's a borderline magical (and ok, a little overwhelming) realization. It makes me want to pursue a more meaningful life, and extend grace towards others and myself whenever I can. Gaining this perspective is one of the best takeaways a book could possibly give.

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A GRAPHIC HISTORY: THE BIRTH OF HUMANKIND: VOLUME ONE

by Yuval Noah Harari ; adapted by David Vandermeulen & illustrated by Daniel Casanave & Claire Champion ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2020

An informative, breathless sprint through the evolution and consequences of human development.

The professor and popular historian expands the reach of his internationally bestselling work with the launch of a graphic nonfiction series.

In a manner that is both playful and provocative, Harari teams with co-creators adept at the graphic format to enliven his academic studies. Here, a cartoon version of the professor takes other characters (and readers) on something of a madcap thrill ride through the history of human evolution, with a timeline that begins almost 14 billion years ago and extends into the future, when humanity becomes the defendant in “Ecosystem vs. Homo Sapiens,” a trial presided over by “Judge Gaia.” As Harari and his fellow time travelers visit with other academics and a variety of species, the vivid illustrations by Casaneve and colorist Champion bring the lessons of history into living color, and Vandermeulen helps condense Harari’s complex insights while sustaining narrative momentum. The text and illustrations herald evolution as “the greatest show on earth” while showing how only one of “six different human species” managed to emerge atop the food chain. While the Homo sapiens were not nearly as large, strong, fast, or powerful as other species that suffered extinction, they were able to triumph due to their development of the abilities to cooperate, communicate, and, perhaps most important, tell and share stories. That storytelling ultimately encompasses fiction, myth, history, and spirituality, and the success of shared stories accounts for a wide variety of historical events and trends, including Christianity, the French Revolution, and the Third Reich. The narrative climaxes with a crime caper, as a serial-killing spree results in the extinction of so many species, and the “Supreme Court of the future” must rule on the case against Homo sapiens . Within those deliberations, it’s clear that not “being aware of the consequences of their actions” is not a valid excuse.

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-06-305133-1

Page Count: 248

Publisher: Perennial/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | ANCIENT | WORLD | HISTORY | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | GENERAL HISTORY

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by Yuval Noah Harari ; illustrated by Ricard Zaplana Ruiz

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by Walter Isaacson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 2023

Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.

A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.

To call Elon Musk (b. 1971) “mercurial” is to undervalue the term; to call him a genius is incorrect. Instead, Musk has a gift for leveraging the genius of others in order to make things work. When they don’t, writes eminent biographer Isaacson, it’s because the notoriously headstrong Musk is so sure of himself that he charges ahead against the advice of others: “He does not like to share power.” In this sharp-edged biography, the author likens Musk to an earlier biographical subject, Steve Jobs. Given Musk’s recent political turn, born of the me-first libertarianism of the very rich, however, Henry Ford also comes to mind. What emerges clearly is that Musk, who may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome (“Empathy did not come naturally”), has nurtured several obsessions for years, apart from a passion for the letter X as both a brand and personal name. He firmly believes that “all requirements should be treated as recommendations”; that it is his destiny to make humankind a multi-planetary civilization through innovations in space travel; that government is generally an impediment and that “the thought police are gaining power”; and that “a maniacal sense of urgency” should guide his businesses. That need for speed has led to undeniable successes in beating schedules and competitors, but it has also wrought disaster: One of the most telling anecdotes in the book concerns Musk’s “demon mode” order to relocate thousands of Twitter servers from Sacramento to Portland at breakneck speed, which trashed big parts of the system for months. To judge by Isaacson’s account, that may have been by design, for Musk’s idea of creative destruction seems to mean mostly chaos.

Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023

ISBN: 9781982181284

Page Count: 688

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023

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BOOK TO SCREEN

THE RIGHT STUFF

by Tom Wolfe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 1979

Yes: it's high time for a de-romanticized, de-mythified, close-up retelling of the U.S. Space Program's launching—the inside story of those first seven astronauts. But no: jazzy, jivey, exclamation-pointed, italicized Tom Wolfe "Mr. Overkill" hasn't really got the fight stuff for the job. Admittedly, he covers all the ground. He begins with the competitive, macho world of test pilots from which the astronauts came (thus being grossly overqualified to just sit in a controlled capsule); he follows the choosing of the Seven, the preparations for space flight, the flights themselves, the feelings of the wives; and he presents the breathless press coverage, the sudden celebrity, the glorification. He even throws in some of the technology. But instead of replacing the heroic standard version with the ring of truth, Wolfe merely offers an alternative myth: a surreal, satiric, often cartoony Wolfe-arama that, especially since there isn't a bit of documentation along the way, has one constantly wondering if anything really happened the way Wolfe tells it. His astronauts (referred to as "the brethren" or "The True Brothers") are obsessed with having the "right stuff" that certain blend of guts and smarts that spells pilot success. The Press is a ravenous fool, always referred to as "the eternal Victorian Gent": when Walter Cronkite's voice breaks while reporting a possible astronaut death, "There was the Press the Genteel Gent, coming up with the appropriate emotion. . . live. . . with no prompting whatsoever!" And, most off-puttingly, Wolfe presumes to enter the minds of one and all: he's with near-drowing Gus Grissom ("Cox. . . That face up there!—it's Cox. . . Cox knew how to get people out of here! . . . Cox! . . ."); he's with Betty Grissom angry about not staying at Holiday Inn ("Now. . . they truly owed her"); and, in a crude hatchet-job, he's with John Glenn furious at Al Shepard's being chosen for the first flight, pontificating to the others about their licentious behavior, or holding onto his self-image during his flight ("Oh, yes! I've been here before! And I am immune! I don't get into corners I can't get out of! . . . The Presbyterian Pilot was not about to foul up. His pipeline to dear Lord could not be clearer"). Certainly there's much here that Wolfe is quite right about, much that people will be interested in hearing: the P-R whitewash of Grissom's foul-up, the Life magazine excesses, the inter-astronaut tensions. And, for those who want to give Wolfe the benefit of the doubt throughout, there are emotional reconstructions that are juicily shrill. But most readers outside the slick urban Wolfe orbit will find credibility fatally undermined by the self-indulgent digressions, the stylistic excesses, and the broadly satiric, anti-All-American stance; and, though The Right Stuff has enough energy, sass, and dirt to attract an audience, it mostly suggests that until Wolfe can put his subject first and his preening writing-persona second, he probably won't be a convincing chronicler of anything much weightier than radical chic.

Pub Date: Sept. 24, 1979

ISBN: 0312427565

Page Count: 370

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1979

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by Tom Wolfe

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Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind is a book by Yuval Noah Harari first published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011, and in English in 2014. The book surveys the history of humankind from the evolution of archaic human species in the Stone Age up to the twenty-first century, focusing on Homo sapiens.

The book covers a mind - boggling 13.5 billion years of pre-history and history. From the outset, Harari seeks to establish the multifold forces that made Homo (‘man’) into Homo sapiens (‘wise man’) – exploring the impact of a large brain, tool use, complex social structures and more.

The book , a biological, intellectual, and economic account of humankind, explained the biological "why" behind everything I've ever known about people, including myself.

Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind . One of the hallmarks of modern communication is the glossy, well-illustrated general science based histories of the origins of our species. Following in the tradition of Jacob Brownowski’s The Ascent of Man, Carl Sagan's Dragons of Eden, and Jared M. Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, Yuval Noah Harari ...

In Chapter 2 of “ Sapiens ,” Harari describes how, about seventy thousand years ago, Homo sapiens began to develop nuanced language, and thereby began to dominate other Homo species, and the world.

SAPIENS . The great debates of history aired out with satisfying vigor. Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) provides an immersion into the important revolutions that shaped world history: cognitive, agricultural and scientific. The book was originally published in Israel in 2011 and became a best-seller.

Although the book is billed as a short history, it is just as much a philosophical meditation on the human condition . One great overriding argument runs through it: that all human...

SAPIENS. A GRAPHIC HISTORY: THE BIRTH OF HUMANKIND: VOLUME ONE. by Yuval Noah Harari ; adapted by David Vandermeulen & illustrated by Daniel Casanave & Claire Champion ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2020. An informative , breathless sprint through the evolution and consequences of human development. bookshelf. shop now.

Pretty much everyone recommends reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Tim Ferris's podcast interviewee's often say that Sapiens is the book they gift the most and Amazon's 20,000 ratings give it 4.6 stars . But, with over 400 pages of dense content, is it actually worth reading?

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Hebrew: קיצור תולדות האנושות, Qitzur Toldot ha-Enoshut) is a book by Yuval Noah Harari, first published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011 based on a series of lectures Harari taught at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in English in 2014.

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For legibility underwater

The dial’s luminescent Chromalight display is an innovation that improved visibility in dark environments, an essential feature for divers.

Hour markers in simple shapes – triangles, circles, rectangles – and broad hour and minute hands enable instant and reliable reading to prevent any risk of confusion underwater.

Yellow Rolesor

A meeting of two metals.

Gold is coveted for its lustre and nobility. Steel reinforces strength and reliability. Together, they harmoniously combine the best of their properties.

A true Rolex signature, Rolesor has featured on Rolex models since the early 1930s, and was trademarked as a name in 1933. It is one of the prominent pillars of the Oyster collection.

The Oyster bracelet

Alchemy of form and function.

The Oyster bracelet is a perfect alchemy of form and function, aesthetics and technology, designed to be both robust and comfortable.

It is equipped with an Oysterlock clasp, which prevents accidental opening, and an ingenious Glidelock, allowing fine adjustments of the bracelet without using any tools — and allowing it to be worn comfortably over a diving suit.

More Submariner technical details

Reference   126613LN

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Oyster, 41 mm, Oystersteel and yellow gold

Oyster architecture

Monobloc middle case, screw-down case back and winding crown

Yellow Rolesor - combination of Oystersteel and yellow gold

Unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated, scratch-resistant Cerachrom insert in black ceramic, numerals and graduations coated in gold

Winding crown

Screw-down, Triplock triple waterproofness system

Scratch-resistant sapphire, Cyclops lens over the date

Water resistance

Waterproof to 300 metres / 1,000 feet

Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding

3235, Manufacture Rolex

-2/+2 sec/day, after casing

Centre hour, minute and seconds hands. Instantaneous date with rapid setting. Stop-seconds for precise time setting

Paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring. High-performance Paraflex shock absorbers

Bidirectional self-winding via Perpetual rotor

Power reserve

Approximately 70 hours

Oyster, three-piece solid links

Folding Oysterlock safety clasp with Rolex Glidelock extension system

Highly legible Chromalight display with long-lasting blue luminescence

Certification

Superlative Chronometer (COSC + Rolex certification after casing)

Learn how to set the time and other functions of your Rolex watch by consulting our user guides.

Submariner Date

Contact an Official Rolex Jeweler

Only official Rolex jewelers are allowed to sell and maintain a Rolex watch. With the necessary skills, technical know-how and special equipment, they guarantee the authenticity of each and every part of your Rolex and help you make the choice that will last a lifetime.

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