Q. Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind is anything but brief. How did the concept come up?
A. I was very interested in the big questions of history. For example, I wanted to understand how humans came to dominate the planet — why men dominated women in most human societies, why Europe dominated the world in the modern era, and whether all the power we have accumulated has made us any happier than our ancestors. In order to answer such big questions, it was imperative to look at the entire history of humankind. I have been working on this project for about 10 years. The really difficult part was not just to gather all the details, but to combine evidence and insight from different scientific disciplines. In the academy, our single reality is divided into different disciplines like history, biology, economics and philosophy. In order to truly understand the history of humankind, it is necessary to transcend these divisions, and to combine the findings of historians with the findings of scientists from other disciplines, particularly biology. After all, humans are animals, and without understanding biology, you cannot really understand humans.

Q. Will a layman be interested in reading this book?
A. I hope so. Scientists should not be content with writing just for other scientists. They must convey their findings to the general public in a simple and interesting way. Otherwise, how can they hope to influence society and politics? Take for example the relations between men and women. This is of great relevance to all people, so new discoveries about the history of gender relations should be made accessible to everyone. Many people believe that men have dominated women throughout history because men are physically stronger. However, power in human societies is determined by social co-operation and social skills, not by brute force.