Forced my way through this, didn't like it so much. It's a "broad sweep" history, with a perspective that wobbles between neo-liberal ("hasn't capitalism made everything brilliant!") and neo-conservative ("medieval peasants were perhaps happier than modern people because they believed that their lives had a purpose in a way that secular people can't). As I read it I found myself coming up with objections to the broad sweep argument from stuff that I knew, and I suspect that people who know more about the disciplines he references - archaeology, anthropology, and so on - might find lots more.
Looking forward to reading "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" which I understand has a more detailed take-down.
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