UNSTOPPABLE US

The Story of Us

From the savannahs of Africa to the ice caps of Greenland, humans rule planet Earth. We are all-conquering and insatiable, most creative and most destructive. But how did we get to be so powerful? Why is the world so unfair? Is it possible to make friends with people who are very different from you? And how did the discovery of human ignorance transform the world forever?

This is epic history as you’ve never heard it before – with dwarves, giant snakes, a Great Lion Spirit that lives above the clouds, and the finger of a 50,000 year old child revealing mysteries of human origins. Meet Wanda the gatherer, Wheaty the farmer, two chatty skeletons, a crocodile with gold earrings, and fifty billion depressed chickens. Journey to long-lost cities, where people pray to rocks, ride elephants to battle, and eat rotten fish for breakfast. And follow the explorations of some of history’s greatest scientists, encountering humans with the heads of dogs, magic pies that grow to infinity, bombs made of tiny atoms, and computers that become smarter than humans.

In this mind-blowing true story for middle-grade readers, Yuval Noah Harari brings his signature style to a whole new audience, accompanied by vibrant colour illustrations by Ricard Zaplana Ruiz. Unstoppable Us has one key message for kids: the world in which we live didn’t have to be the way it is. People made it what it is. And people can change it.
Whether you’re 9 or 99, this book series can be enjoyed by anyone who ever wondered: Who are we? How did we get here? And where are humans headed next?

A Series of 4 Books

Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World (2022) kicks off the series by revealing that humans have a superpower, and that we’ve used it to create strange and mysterious things — from ghosts and spirits to governments and corporations. Follow the journey of ancient humans out of Africa, and on the way find out how fire shrank our stomachs, what the game of football tells us about being human, and why money is the most successful fairy tale ever.

Volume 2: Why the World Isn’t Fair (2024) shifts the focus from why humans came to dominate the planet to exploring the way we live together. Most history books are full of kings, queens and generals: where did they all come from?  Why do some people have so much while others have so little? This book tells the story of how an innocent experiment in growing wheat 10,000 years ago led to famine, plague and war, and still affects how we live now. Discover how ancient greeks developed writing, why we have to pay taxes, and how certain social groups obtained the rights they have today.

Volume 3: How Enemies Become Friends is perfect for anyone who has ever wondered: Is it possible to make friends with people who are very different from you? And why have there been so many wars throughout history? This book travels back in history across long centuries and huge empires – to find out what happens when human cultures collide. Prepare yourself for a journey to long-lost cities, where people prayed to rocks, rode elephants to battle, and ate rotten fish for breakfast! From the market of ancient Carthage to the court of the Great Mongol Khan – discover how fierce enemies sometimes became loving neighbors, how money changed the world, and what different people thought about gods, ghosts and demons.  Volume 3 will be published in English in early 2026.

Volume 4 – Coming Soon!