# Sapiens

> Publisher-reported sales of Harari’s history book reached 25 million copies worldwide.

- Owner: Yuval Noah Harari; Dvir (Hebrew), Harvill Secker / Vintage (UK), Harper (US)
- Kind: Book
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: Jun 2011
- Milestone date: By end of 2017
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 21 (Niche, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Maker origin, Platform jump, Press loop, Controversy, Political adoption

## Summary

Sapiens began as a Hebrew book, then reached English readers, BBC listeners and Zuckerberg’s book club. Gates and Obama recommended it. Its publisher reported 25 million sales in 2024.

## Timeline

- Jun 2011 — Yuval Noah Harari (Retail) — Harari published the Hebrew book in Israel, drawing on his undergraduate world-history lectures.
- 2014-09-04 — Harvill Secker / Vintage Digital (Retail) — Harvill Secker’s English edition appeared in Britain; Penguin dated its ebook September 4.
- 2014-09-08 — BBC Radio 4 (Audio) — BBC Radio 4 began a five-part abridgement read by Adrian Scarborough.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/sapiens-book

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Sapiens.” Case HIS-01330. Spread Score v1.2: 21/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01330